My hair, like most women's hair, has gone through quite a few stages and counting. Most were under the control and discretion of my parents, but I've been in control ever since I started making my own money.

Relaxed

Relaxed hair with bangs in high school

My hair was chemically relaxed straight when I was about 7 or 8 years old.  My mom would sometimes relax my hair at home.

Relaxed hair, ends tucked under my hairband at the back

In middle school I loved bangs. I would put one roller on a patch of hair on top of my head and call it a "bang".  My hair was so thin that my "bangs" were always standing up in the air, like I was in shock.   My friends would always tell me "your bangs are up" and I'd simply comb them down over my face.  Now I just had hair in front of my face, but I didn't care, they were... bangs :-).

In high school, my sister and I absolutely loved going to the salon. We needed to go once we felt the slightest appearance of 'naps' under our hair.   I remember begging our mom to take us as soon as she could! Our regular routine would be to go to Tina's (our hair stylist for many years) every two weeks to have our 'hur' did.  She always did a great job.   She would relax my sister's, mom's, and my own hair, wash our hair (my favorite part), condition it, then put it in rollers or 'press n curl' it (rare because I hated hot styling tools).  The only thing I hated about this experience was that it took a hell of a long time.  We'd of course have an appointment, but we'd sometimes wait 20-30 minutes to be seen. If we were late, that would be a good one hour wait. All in all, have our McDonald's, Soul Train, and Saturday Afternoon Movies (*thumbs down*) to get us through the day.  I'd find myself literally holding my hair with my hands to keep my style from blowing out of place. I'd be lucky if the style kept for church the next day.

Braids

braided individuals with curly ends for computer school graduation

individual braids

I started wearing braids in middle school.   My mom wanted to experiment with them and I ended up wearing those experiments to school. They were... um... different.  Yes. So different that some didn't want to stay on my head during class.   I was lucky once and had one braid slide off my head and straight into my backpack. Whew!  Going into high school, I started getting my hair professionally braided but still going for the cheap deals. We've been lucky with braiders.  We once had this one lady come visit us to braid my sister's and my hair for a very low price.  I was very grateful to her. She gave us, for the most part, the styles that we really wanted. We could use any hair color, and tell her any size to braid the hair in. If it was too small or too big, it was okay because she could fix that. She was so good to us!

I wore braids on and off, maybe once to twice a year, up until college. I loved going to get it professionally braided once in a while but I couldn't afford it all the time.

I still love braids, but getting a good price depends on who you know. For the most part, professionally done individuals will cost you from $120-$150. I'd like to go back to the braidery I usually go to, but the good ones keep leaving!

Weaves and Wigs

a half wig with a hairband in the front

Over the years, I've had to learn ways of protecting my hair while still having fun with it. One of the best ways for me to achieve certain hairstyles without damaging my own hair is with weaves and half wigs.  I began using half wigs as a protective style around 2006 and 2007 to allow my hair to rest and regrow healthier natural hair.  I did this for several months at a time and it worked! I had retained length and achieved many inches of new growth to play with.  Once I got used to wearing synthetic hair in the form of half wigs, I quickly learned how to weave my own hair.  Again, I grew incredible lengths with weaves. Not only was I gaining length, but I gained a new found freedom in ways that I can wear hairstyles that would normally damage my own hair!

Natural

This is the state my hair is in and the state I style it in.  I believe it was those burgundy braids that I was wearing when I discovered what kind of hair I really have.  It's really paid off and I've probably only started to get the hang of maintaining my natural hair a year or so ago... AND I'm still learning.  I'm just very pleased with all that I've done with my natural hair at it's different lengths, and all that I've done to grow it is keep it healthy.  Whether you're a transitioner, natural newbie, non-4b texture, long or straight haired woman or man, I hope that through this website you will find something helpful to take with you.