I have never been able to get back the luxurious hair I had when I was 15 years old and a hairdresser left the relaxer in my hair way too long and my hair fell out. Yes I said fell out, it fell out by the roots. Well let me tell you, I went from having long, thick, relaxed hair down to the middle of my back that everyone complemented me on, to having hair that did not even come past my ears, was thinning and I had bald spots. I remember looking in the mirror and bawling every time I saw my hair. I had to have weekly treatments of iodine in my hair to stop anymore from falling out. Once my hair started to get back, my mother (and to this day I have no idea why I fell for this) decided that I needed to get a jherri curl. Yes I said jherri curl, well it was 1984. I had a teeny, weeny jheri curl, and I must say, my hair started to finally grow and thicken up a little just a little. I had this jherri curl for about one year, and then I grew it out. Weaves, weaves, weaves became my best friend during a time when weaves were taboo. While my hair grew, I was still not satisfied. I just could not get back the thickness that I had before my hair was burned off. Frustrated, I abandoned all weaves and decided to just go with the relaxer, thinking that my hair would grow, but I still was not happy with the growth. I went on like this for years.
The first time I decided to go natural with my hair was in 2006. I had about two inches of new growth after I had the relaxed ends cut off. I started off with little baby twists that I had to get re-twisted every two weeks at a cost of $50 a week. Way too much money. Frustrated once again, I succumbed to the creamy crack. I wore weaves on and off for about the next four years getting only the front and back of my hair relaxed for a more natural look (yeah right). I finally decided in 2010 that I liked what was under the weave, my natural hair had a unique curl pattern to it and most of all I loved the THICKNESS. I finally abandoned all weaves in September 2011. I AM FREE. I have been wearing my natural hair in two strand twists and twist outs, but now that the winter is upon us, I need a protective style. I love my hair. For the first time in my life I can honestly say I am comfortable and love the texture and growth of my hair. Who knew. I should have followed the natural hair path years ago. I most certainly would have avoided the thinning hairline and hair breakage.
