Hair Image: Did any of you experience this when you went natural?

Hi Curly Nation!

It's ya girl MusiQ and today, I wanna talk to you guys about hair image. As I stated in my first blog entry, I used relaxers for over 20 years before I actualy went natural. Most of my life was spent with straight hair, so I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise to me what happened when I finally did my big chop. Before I explain my experience, I wanted to ask you all a few simple questions. Have any of you ever realized that you had a "relaxed" image of yourself once you went natural? And if you did, did your appearance as a natural ever come in conflict with that "relaxed" image? Let me explain what I mean....

Rewind to when I got my big chop. My first reaction was relief because I no longer had to deal with the two textures that were on top of my head. That relief was short-lived, however, and I felt the need to get my hair braided because I wasn't ready to rock my hair in it's natural state. Once I did get the courage to deal with my natural hair, I realized something that was very interesting before and after I would look at myself in the mirror each day, and that was that the image that I had of myself post-relaxer was still that of a woman with a relaxer. It might sound crazy to you, but this REALLY happened to me. That image of myself was so strong in my mind, that for a while, my actual appearance in the mirror would come as quite a shock to me. It was quite a strange phenomenon that really made it difficult to embrace the natural me for a while, but eventually, an image that took nearly twenty years to build was broken down in less than 3 months. Now, I'm embracing who I am naturally and it's a beautiful thing. 

To all the Naturalistas out there, let me know if you've had a similar hair image experience. I would really love your feedback on this subject. Until next time, Curly Nation!

Live Free! Live Natural!

~MusiQ

Let Me Introduce My Hair

Hey Curly Nation!!!

It's ya girl MusiQ, and I would like to start off this blog by telling you just a little bit about my hair journey leading up to my decision to go natural. From birth to adulthood, my hair and I have gone through thick and thin together.....LITERALLY! Prior to kindergarten, I was natural. Then from kindergarten to third grade, I was the victim of *gasp*......THE DREADED JERI CURL!!!! Yes, the jeri curl. I don't tell many people about this because of the embarassing jokes that you hear about jeri curls, but it really happened to me. Unfortunately, my hair and the jeri curl didn't agree with each other and I eventually was reduced to hair the length of a big chop. After growing my hair out, I eventually got a relaxer, which became my best friend from fourth grade to adulthood. Throughout my 19 years of relaxers, I experienced some good days and bad days with what some naturals call the "creamy crack," but some negative experiences with relaxers were not my reason for going natural. Last year, I began realizing the beauty of natural hair from the naturals that I saw on my college campus as well as in my family, but I was too scared to actually become natural myself. I wasn't quite sure if I could pull it off. It wasn't until my younger sister successfully transitioned from relaxed to completely natural, that I decided to take the plunge in May of 2010, and I am so glad that I did, Don't get me wrong. It hasn't been a bed of roses. Some days are better than others, but the rewards far outweigh the tough days. I think the hardest thing that I had to face about being natural was the mixed reviews from some of my friends and family. Being a soft-hearted person, that was pretty tough. The lesson that I learned in that, however, is that what's most important is what YOU think about yourself as a natural and not anyone elses opinion. Well, now that I have bored you with my story (lol), I will take my leave now. Until next time, Curly Nation!


Live Free! Live Natural!



~MusiQ