As of 2019 going natural is the new trend. No longer do black women feel held captive by the merciless relaxer. In this new age we’re learning to love the hair that grows out of our head. I know my journey was a long seventeen years coming. (Want to get a little background about my hair journey? Read my piece on the Camp Thirlby website.)
For the most part once a woman decides to take the leap into the natural world, she starts with the #BigChop. I on the other hand was a bit more cautious and decided to slowly take steps into the lifestyle versus doing a cannonball.
I chose to transition and that was the best option for me. Only you will be able to decide what process will be best for you. I was hesitant and definitely thought my head was waaaay too large to just chop off all my hair. You might have the perfect sized head to rock the look.
I think the hardest part about going natural was finding the perfect hair products. It took trial, error and a lot of money. (These hair products AREN’T cheap.) But, I’ve finally found a few creams and shampoos that I absolutely adore.
This cream styler has become my personal fav'. It’s not too heavy to where it sits on your hair and doesn’t actually moisturize. I use it with my mousse when I'm doing a twist-out or I just apply it whenever I want to moisturize my hair.
I’ve tried a lot of different shampoos and most leave my hair feeling crispy, even when it’s still wet. My hair lady put me on to Design Essentials and I haven’t looked back. This shampoo is the bomb dot com.
There are different ways you can use this mousse, but I personally think it is most effective doing a twist-out. I’ve had a 98% track record with this product. Anytime I use it my definition is very much there. This specific Avocado & Almond one smells absolutely amazing!
Now we’re at the big boi’ of all the products. Now you’ve probably read the title and price and thought “sis I’m not dropping $30 dollars.” But this right here is legit. I didn’t spend $30 on this, but in the near future I surely will. The size you see in the photo is not the $30 size because I received this as a gift (Shout out to Every Stylish Girl’s event, Sip N Slay.) This super stretch creme does exactly what it says it’s going to do. I’ve never had that much reassurance in my life.
Now as you can see I’m still in search of a few more products to complete my full hair process, but I am so much closer than I was before.
I have technically been natural for three years, but a year ago I went to a hairstylist and she finally chopped off the little bit of dead ends I had left. So here is a full year of healthy hair growth.
*p.s* Contrary to these photos I do smile, my mother paid $3,000 for braces and I love my teeth, but you know sometimes the smize is it.
This length felt super short for me, but you could tell my hair was healthy. I no longer had this weird curly then straight thing going on.
This photo was right after I took out my twists mid summer. I am constantly going back and forth between either braids or sew-ins because I hate messing in my hair.
I’ve always been self-conscious especially about my hair. Years of “you need to fix that hair” only made me worry that it's present state wasn’t enough. But as you can now see we rock that Afro carefree.
This was the one and only time (I’m not kidding) I actually did a wash and go and it turned out how I wanted. I rarely do this style because it never looks how I want it to. (My handy dandy twist-out never fails me.)
I chose this photo not because you can see the length but more so you see the definition and healthy hair growth. (Also shameless plug of how good my skin looks *wink*)
Don’t think I am skipping these other months on purpose. My hair was in braids and then twists back to back. This was directly after I took out said twists.
I gave in (not by choice) and got a silk press. I originally was supposed to get braids, but the woman turned me away because she said my hair was too thick. (We’re not going to get into that today, but just know I was livid.) So luckily I was able to get this silk press last minute before I went to NYC. I loved seeing my hair straight, but I did not like having to put heat on it.
This was later April. After a few washes my hair was finally starting to go back to it’s natural hair pattern.
This is my hair as of May 8, 2019. I absolutely adore it. It’s come so far and we still have so much exploration to do together.
Going natural was one of the greatest decisions I made. I 10/10 recommend it for any hesitant black girl still thinking her 4A,4B, or 4C hair is not presentable. Sis, it is more than presentable it is PERFECT.
Let’s talk hair! Leave a comment and let me know about your hair journey.
Until Later,
Aiyana N. Ishmael
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Love this one. It’s nice to see how far you’ve come with your hair journey !!
Now I reallyyyy want to stop putting so much heat on my hair 😬 love this!