New Year, New attitude ~ Learn To Love Your Locks

Hello readers!

Happy New Year (I know it's a bit late)! Hopefully this will be a great year for us all.

I haven't written a post for quite a while. I have a lot to say, but I doubt I'll say it all today. So I'm going to talk about something that I've been thinking about for a while.

So....

Naturally curly, naturally wavy, naturally coily, naturally kinky...

Natural hair is natural hair. As I've said before, and as we all know, everyone's hair is different. When I started this blog, it was just meant to be a way for me to track my progress and share any hair mishaps or new discoveries with anyone who cared to stop by and read a post. Now it's about a bit more than that. This blog helps me stay motivated. I can monitor what works and doesn't work for me, and make note of things I like or don't like. By logging my errors, I can avoid making similar mistakes in the future. My blog is also meant to be my own little way of encouraging other women who want to go natural, who are transitioning, or who have even been natural for years. It's important to remember that these are MY opinions, MY experiences, and it is about MY hair. So what works for me may not be what works for you....

Curls...

So, why the mini essay? Well, I don't know how many people read/follow this blog. But the girls who have stumbled across posts have always been very nice. I get things like "I love your hair", which is always nice to hear, sometimes "You have beautiful hair", and often now "I wish my hair was curly/I want my hair to be curly like yours". The last statement bothers me a little. I love natural hair. All types, textures, "curl patterns", whatever. I think it's great and that's why I made the decision to go natural.

When I started transitioning, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if my hair would be really curly or super coarse/kinky. I hoped for something in between, but ultimately, it really didn't matter. I wanted my hair to be natural and that's what was important. Now personally, I prefer slightly kinkier hair to very curl hair, but that's just me. I feel like you can do more with it. I feel like it's easier to manipulate. Once you know how to work with it I feel like it's easier to style. I thought my hair would be somewhere in between kinky and curly. It is actually curlier than I expected it to be and I'm ok with that. Does the fact that my hair texture isn't exactly what I wanted/imagined it to be make me want to go back to relaxing my hair? No.I work with it and I make it work for me.

I worry that some ladies have already built up expectations in their head about exactly what kind of hair they should have, or what texture their natural hair will be. It's a fast way to be disappointed. Part of the beauty in going natural is embracing YOUR natural texture. Not mine, or anyone else's. So rather than thinking "I can't wait to have curls like hers" or "I wish my hair was a thick as *****", be excited about working with your own hair and curl pattern. Look forward to exploring all the different things you can do with your hair.

Your hair could ALWAYS be thinner, or thicker or smoother, or longer, you know? And it's ok to work towards specific goals like a set length, or just healthier hair generally. Just don't get too carried away with this kinky hair Vs. Curly hair stuff. It's just as bad as the Light skin Vs. Dark skin topic some people focus on. Both kinky and curly hair have their advantages and disadvantages. Chances are you'll have a mixture of textures on your head anyway.

Light or dark skin, Long or short hair, Curly or Kinky, it's all you, and it's beautiful! Enjoy it!

Much Love x