New Beginnings

My whole life, hair has been very important. Not so much because my mother made it a great issue, I've just always felt as though a lot of who I am is hidden in the roots of my hair. My mother is German, Irish, Greek, Spanish, and Native American while my father is African American and Native American. My parents got a divorce when I was seven years old, and even before their official break, my father was absent from my life. My mom has always been the one who styled my hair, even though my biological father is a hairdresser. When I was six, he cut bangs into my hair, but my mom wanted me to stay away from heat products, so I wore them curly. Looking back at my hair styles, I want to cringe because of how awkward I looked.

My mom used to do my hair in different fashions: pig tails, one long braid, half-up/half-down, all the way down, etc. She would use pink oil in my hair, which always made my hair feel moisturized. As a child, I guess you could say I embraced more ethnic hair products and I just let my hair exist in its natural state. When I was about eight or nine, I got braids for the first time; they weren't with fake hair, just my hair braided all over my head. In eighth grade, I got my hair braided with extensions for the first time and I really liked them. I remember that feeling of getting them done the night before school and not sleeping very much, thinking of my outfit and the reactions to my new hair from my friends. I really liked braids for about two months, but I felt like I was missing something. I just wanted my hair to look like the popular girls' hair because I thought I would feel prettier and also look prettier to other boys in my grade. Towards the end of my eighth grade year, I got my first relaxer. I can remember putting my hand out to touch the back of my hair, my hand was about two inches away from my hair as I expected it would be frizzy, and I didn't feel anything. Then I patted slowly through the air until I felt my straight, silky-smooth, and most importantly, flat hair. I was in love and I haven't looked back.

I got relaxers up until my senior year of high school, when my friend came over one day after school to straighten my hair and did it better than the women at the salon. She taught me how to straighten it myself and the rest is history.

In high school, my hair was almost to my belly button, and most importantly, it was healthy. I wore it straight quite a bit, but I also wore it curly.  I had no idea what I was doing with it when it was curly, however. I would just put in the cheapest moose (a ton of it too to ensure I didn't have the frizz) and I would be on my way. My now boyfriend would tell me it looked like top ramen.

After high school, I chopped it off, which was one of the bigger mistakes I've made with my hair because for the past six years, I've been trying to grow it out. Once I chopped it off, my curly hairstyle took a almost permanent vacation, as the shorter hair makes the curls shorten up and look frizzy when they are dry. My hair has grown slightly, but just when the length is where I want it, I have to cut it because the ends are fried.

As of last Friday, here is the length of my hair when straight:

My hairstylist told me I need to get it cut every six weeks, but I also need to let it go natural.

I literally got nervous when she said this because I do not know how to deal with my curly hair. My curly hair is like an estranged relative who has moved into my perfect existence for the summer. I decided, however, that I would try to leave it curly for the whole summer. I chalk this lunacy up to being a Taurus, I'm built to be adventurous. Well, more truthfully, I'm stubborn and out of that pigheadedness grows projects like these.

So, this summer, I am going natural. I hope to learn about the other part of my culture that I have ignored for most of my life. My biggest hope is that I will learn to feel as confident and beautiful with my curly hair that I do with my straight hair. This is my journey...

Goodbye beloved Sedu flat iron, we've had some beautiful times together:

And heat protector:

Hello curly hair:

Learning the process will be very new and challenging at times, I'm sure, as I have a specific idea of how I want my curls to look. First things first, I need to get my curls back to curling. With all the straightening I've done, most of my curls are straight now.  I have been washing my hair with KMS Silksheen Shampoo and Conditioner. I dry both ways, towel because I don't want to drip all over the floor, then I let my curls air dry for ten more minutes before I part my hair on the left side and spray the dream curls all over. I take the comb and make sure the product is evenly distributed throughout my hair, then take the Moroccan oil, just a half pump and put it in the four sections of my hair. Again, I take the pic and comb it through and then scrunch my curls until they are the size and shape I want.

After watching many YouTube tutorials, I have heard the Cat Walk Curls Rock by TiGi is a wonderful product for curly hair, so I plan on trying that tomorrow. I also have a Sephora trip to make this week where I am hoping I can buy some of the Carol's Daughter, as I have heard they are practically heaven for curly hair. I will post more pictures of my hair and its progress throughout the blog as well as any reviews of products I have.Follow @AlexiaaBrooks