Trying to Find My Way Back.....

For the longest I was anti-natural, I would watch everyone as they post about transitioning etc, and be like I'm straight, ya'll can have it." Well, today I am eating my words and I am here to say " I am going natural". Now the funny thing about it is I was natural for the first 18 years of my life. My mother has never had a relaxer so my sister and I never got a relaxer, of course when I went off to college all of that changed. I honestly cannot remember the true texture of my natural hair or it's curl pattern, if any because I always got my hair hot combed after washing it. Things were much easier for me when I got my first relaxer, and I honestly felt better about myself. Unfortunately, it took a bad experience for me to see the natural light and start to walk over to the "other side". At the beginning of October I got a bad relaxer, something that I thought would never happen because I have been going to the same hairdresser since I graduated from college, so that's about 9 years. Well, things started off fine and then after the second wash after the relaxer I noticed excessive shedding, to the point my hair had become drastically thin. Now, I can admit that I can be quite vain and my hair is a big part of my sorry India Arie " I am my hair", so I went into a mini state of depression worrying that all of my hair was going to fall out. So I do what most of us do and immediately went to the internet and did a search about what to do to stop the shedding. I didn't go back to my hairdresser which I should have because I was so upset I didn't know how to handle talking to her. After a few home remedies I saw on the internet and YouTube I decided to be proactive and contact a professional. I was able to get an appointment the next day after talking to Saasha, and she gave me a reconstructor for my hair to help slow the shedding and gave me a protective hairstyle that required little manipulation. Yes, the shedding is still occurring not as bad, but still noticeable. I really had to give myself a reality check and tell myself "it is just hair, and that stressing about it is only going to make things worse."

So here I am 7 weeks post relaxer and ready for my journey. My hair is still very thin but it's is growing which is a plus, because many people have had real horror stories about hair never growing back. I can say my miracle product at the moment is castor oil, the left side of my hair has always been rather weak so with this bad relaxer it really did damage, and my edges started to thin. I started applying castor oil to my scalp on the weakest areas, and I have already seen hair growth after 2 weeks of use. I have also stopped using heat on my hair, I air dry my hair now and the most heat I use to to touch the top layer of my hair with the flat iron quickly right after washing and no more until the next wash. I am keeping the heat way from my roots as well so my natural hair can start to take it's true form and not straighten it out with heat.

I am very anxious to see my curl pattern, yet I know this will be a long journey I can't do the big chop my head is truly too big for that lol. However, I am in for the ride, this blog will take you along with me as I transition. I am truly open to all comments and suggestions as I make this change.