Natural Hair Journey- What I Learned My First Month Being Natural

Every week since I started this blog, I’ve made it my duty to share with you guys everything I know and have experienced about transitioning and natural hair.

You’ve reads tips on natural hair, you got introduced to several ladies who were kind enough to share their own journey with us. You also got reviews on some of my favorite products to use on my natural hair. But, what I came to realize is that I haven’t shared much with you about my personal journey.

To remedy the situation, I decided to have a section where you guys can get to know the face behind the blog a little bit better by letting you in on my own natural hair journey.

The past week marked my first month being natural.  And although a small victory, I am very excited to be celebrating this milestone in my natural hair journey. Yay me!

To share a little bit about my natural hair journey.

My natural hair journey is purely accidental. Yes, really, lol!

I call it accidental because if you had told me 1 year ago that today I would be rocking my natural hair, I’d laugh at you. I’d laugh very hard. I had been relaxed most of my life and being natural never crossed my mind.

As you must already know, with being relaxed also comes struggles.

Damaged hair is a given when you have relaxed hair. I’m sure most of you are nodding your heads yes right now. I was no stranger to the damages. Some I was able to overcome and others that just followed me around.

One example is when I relaxed my hair one week after dyeing it. I should’ve known better I know. The second example is when I took out my braids, washed my hair without detangling, applied a protein treatment only to deal with tangles so bad the left side of my head was left with very little hair when it was all said and done.

Unfortunately, my hair never really recovered from these two incidents no matter what I did.

The last thing that happened, started my natural hair journey. I relaxed my hair twice within two weeks because the first one didn’t take. From that point on, I just could not deal with the damages. So after some research, I decided to take matters into my own hands and started a healthy hair journey.

The Beginning of my natural hair journey.

Being natural wasn’t the original plan. When I began my hair journey, my intentions were to nurture my relaxed hair to stop the damages that were previously done. Unfortunately, I quickly found out that my hair was damaged beyond repair. At that point, I knew I needed to do something drastic if I wanted to have healthy hair again.

So that’s how I went from stretching my relaxer to transitioning to big chopping, all within 5 months. And from the day I big chopped, I realized it was the best decision I could’ve made for my hair.

It was great not to have to sweep my hair off the bathroom floor all the time. Even greater not to have hair all over my clothes and pillows. It even felt liberating.

[ctt template=”4″ link=”1z1UO” via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]The day I big chopped, I realized it was the best decision I could’ve made for my hair. misscoily[/ctt]

With shorter hair now came the struggle of figuring my hair out all over again.

The first few days, I didn’t really know what to think or how to feel. When I looked in the mirror, I did not recognize myself. I’ve had hair all my life, so this look was very new and shocking to me. But it was definitely too late to turn back now. It’s not like I could tape back the chopped pieces and go back to what used to be.

I had no choice but to deal with my Teeny Weeny Afro (TWA). Thank God I woke up from the shock and realized what I was missing. Lightbulb moment, I needed a go-to style for my hair. But how do I do that when I barely had any hair?

I did what any millennial would do.

I went on youtube and I found my new favorite go-to hairstyle (The wash and go). It has become my life saver and I have been rocking my own version of it ever since. I’m sure one day I’ll be able to try something other than the wash and go. But for now, it seems to be working, and I’m ok with it.

I have learned a lot about my hair since I began my transition. But I learned the most my first month being natural.

These past six months have been a learning process for me. I got to learn a lot about my hair, but also about me. The most I’ve learned have been during my one month of being natural.

1. I’ve learned to listen to my hair. No matter what, your hair will always talk to you. Your hair will let you know when it needs to be cleaned. It will let you know when it needs moisture. It will let you know when it needs a trim etc.. I think you get the picture.
2. I’ve learned that I should have a go-to style that I can rock for any occasion. It makes things easier.
3. I’ve learned that in order for me to learn how to deal with my hair, I have to experiment. It’s great to watch youtube videos and read about hair. But until you try it on your own, you won’t know what your hair is capable of.
4. I’ve learned that It’s just hair. My hair does not make me. With or without hair, I am still beautiful and I will always be me. And no matter how short my hair may be, with enough care it will grow back.
5. I’ve learned that people will always have an opinion. They will voice those opinions whether welcomed or not. But I should just live my life according to how I see fit, not according to other people’s opinions.

I am no expert but as you can see, my first month on my natural hair journey has taught quite a few things.

And every day that goes by, I am learning some more.  I know I have a long way to go and I still have a whole lot to learn. But I am down for the ride.

I hope this post was able to give you some insight into my very own natural hair journey, and what you can expect when you decide to take the jump if you haven’t done so yet.

Don’t forget to check out all the wonderful articles I’ve previously shared on the blog. And, if you’d like to be our next feature and share your journey with us, let me know by following the instructions found here.

What about you, what have you learned being natural? Do you remember what your first month being natural was like? Share with us in the comment section below ⇓