I AM MY HAIR (My Hair Story)

OKAY... So where to start? I've been stalking the Locked Hair Blog Exchange homepage and featured blogs for a while now and decided to start my own to add my two cents to the story... Our hair story. I've been rocking my hair naturally since 8th grade, roughly 8 years now and it hasn't always been chocolate and roses. My mother firmly believed in NO CHEMICALS on my hair when I was growing up and she lovingly plaited, twisted, cornrowed and styled my hair, adorned it with beads, 'knockers' and barettes until I was 9 and it hit just past my shoulders without a press. I got my very first perm was the day before my 5th grade graduation. My mother's boyfriend at the time wanted to "make my hair look nice" for my big day and put a "natural kiddie" perm in my hair (and actually did a good job for what its worth) while my mother was at work. I won't lye (pun intended LOL), it was shocking and amazing to experience water immediately hit my scalp when washing my hair it (my hair is so thick there was usually a delay LOL) and see it fall bone straight in to the sink in front of me. It was a bit too thin for my taste, but it was long, flowing, and lovely! And it had that bounce and effortless movement that I only experienced when I was wearing braids. I liked it! My mom came home that evening from work and broke down crying with anger and frustration at her boyfriend. I didn't understand why she was so mad, wasn't perm natural? My mother never put chemicals in my hair and I realized the gravity of what he had done when my hair started to dramatically break off during the summer. By September my hair was excessively dry, super short, uneven and badly damaged. My mom nursed my hair back to health for the next two years, then I took up her mantle and started doing my own hair. I promised myself that no matter what, no matter how coarse or frustrating doing my hair got, I would never, ever  put chemicals in my hair. 

After much trial and error, burn marks and lost hair (LOL) I had mastered the hot comb and wore a (not so cute) press, or just my 'fro. I experimented with braids and weaves in high school, I really liked braids and with much practice got good enough to start doing my own and charging for individuals and cornrows.

weavin' it up in HS

I loved wearing this color, braids in HS

bangs and pig tails, one of my press styles back in the day LOL

 By the end of high school I was used to doing individuals and working with synthetic and human hair but I was becoming restless about my options. Braids and weaves gave me the length I wanted, fluidity, flexibility and styling versatility. I could experiment with bright colors and change colors frequently without damaging my hair but after a while I really started to think about the psychology of wearing extensions. I often found myself thinking "Why do I have to wear someone else's hair to feel pretty?" I think wearing synthetic hair for so long (for me anyway) allowed me to become comfortable in it, and I used it as a standard and that honestly unattainable standard made me feel like my OWN hair was less valuable, which in turn made ME feel less valuable. I've heard people say "I am not my hair".  This definitely does NOT include me. I am my hair, each and every strand of it. When it  looks nice I feel amazing and confident. My hair is a beautiful reflection of me-- my mindstate, my history, my people and our history... and I wanted to take my power back.

 And I did! I have been wearing MY hair out for the past 2 years and I won't lie, it took a lot of courage at first to get comfortable with it. At first I would have this sort of anxiety like I needed to wrap my head (shame or modesty? I dunno lol) but I eventually got over it. It was summertime again and it was getting waaaaay to hot to be all wrapped up. So over the course of the past two years I have been going back and forth between my afro, braids, and two strand twists. I had considered locking but it just seemed so permanent and Ms. Versatility wasn't ready for that kind of commitment yet... Until I came across a photo of Dr. Joanne Cornwell. "OMG, WHAAAAAAAAT???!?" I  remember thinking. Who is this beautiful black woman with this glorious crown of booty length hair? I was seriously inspired and in awe, and thats when the research began. Soon there was one word on my mind all day, and all night: SISTERLOCKS. Famished for knowledge, I bought "That Hair Thing" by Dr. Joanne Cornwell and devoured every page like a madwoman. I also grabbed a copy of "Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America" by Ayana D. Byrd and Lori L. Tharps. Both works include a tremendous amount of valid and very relevant information regarding our past, and present hair struggles and how our past (subconsciously or otherwise) influences our styling choices. Both works break down in painstakingly brutal yet truthful detail, the psychology behind some of the styling choices we Black women make and WHY we make them. These books are really deep and I'd recommend them to anyone and everyone with an interest in Black hair.

FAST FORWARD 6 months later, I have been experimenting with two strand twist, trying to get a feel of what the locking process might be like. For the past year or so I've been putting in my two strand twists, letting them hang out for about a month through a couple washes then take them out and redo them but mostly I would just take out one existing twist out, comb it out, split it in half and make two twists, then repeat all over. I noticed that my hair started to mat or lock after about 2 weeks due to my texture, so when I would take them out I would have to soak them in conditioner to avoid hair loss... and pain (LOL). After a while I got tired of taking them out, my hair had grown quite a bit and I was mentally ready to lock (YES!!)

an early set of twists, about 6 weeks in-- I really like this size 

I made them smaller, about 3 weeks in

I still wanted Sisterlocks and I was willing to save for them too. I'm a student and I work part-time so I'd have to save. I had no intention of taking them out, and I wanted them done right the FIRST time so I was more than willing to pay whatever it took to start my journey on the right foot. I did my research and contacted a consultant in my area (who shall remain nameless) but I didn't like her vibe. I had a trillion and one questions for her and she seemed kinda stank about answering them and didn't even want to look at or touch my hair. Now, it wasn't a formal consultation, I just caught her in between clients (maybe why she was so short with me) but I didn't want this lady on my head for the next 6 month because I fully intended to take the retightening course if I decided to go with Sisterlocks. I didn't shop around for another consultant either, around the same time I was frequenting the LHBE homepage and pouring over all kinds of locking techniques: braidlocks, palm rolling, interlocking etc. all of which were beautiful and (for the most part) peoples locks all looked pretty much the same over time, so I decided to do them myself. I like the idea of braidlocks but didn't want to cut the little braids off after a while. Long story short, after about a month of indecision and having borderline split personality arguments with myself (LOL) I decided to start my own locks with and combination of methods. In very small sections, I braided about .5 centimeters down to avoid unraveling at the root, then two strand twist the rest of the way down. Four days later on DECEMBER 28, 2010 I came up with this:

Four hundred forty+ little twisties! Cute, huh? I parted at an angle because I have a widows peak and thought they would fall prettier. Usually when I part straight across my braids tend to stack up on top of each other but I wanted each lock to fall between my parts. I know that the Sisterlocks technique does NOT teach diamond shaped parts or parting at an angle (I wonder why? Maybe for retightening purposes? I dunno) but it worked for my little experiment so we'll see what happens in the long run (^.^) My locks are heavily inspired by Sisterlocks (can't you tell? LOL) but I'm proud that they are a creation of my own. I was super inspired and encouraged by Dr. Cornwell's ingenuity and boldness after reading "That Hair Thing" as well as the countless sistas linked on the Locked Hair Blog Exchange and DIY dredlock blogs. I'm excited and happy to be locked and I'm so looking forward to my future in locks.

So I guess thats it for now, now that ya'll are up to speed on my journey thus far I invite you to stick around. Opinions, questions and comments (positive and negative) are all welcome ^.^