I
wanted to highlight a few young people who cut off most (if not all) of their
hair to start their new hair journey. I have noticed that many people highlight
long, curly natural hair way more than those with short, kinky hair. In no way
am I saying one is more beautiful but what I am saying is that they are all
beautiful. I really think that more people should display more inspiration for
short hair. It really is a constant battle trying to find some empowerment for
your short hair - especially when you are a teen trying so hard to be yourself
but you find yourself wanting more in terms of looks. Hopefully she inspires
you!
Christina (17 years old): I transitioned for 6 1/2 months & BC'd July 13, 2014 & boyyyy oh boyyyy was that the BEST decision I ever made! I started getting relaxers at like 6 or 7 so I had no clue what being natural was or that I could even grow curly hair since it's been chemically straighten for years! I remember flat ironing my hair EVERYDAY in middle/high school without a heat protectant. My hair usually stayed at collarbone length my whole life. I was sooo addicted to the creamy crack, I just had to relax my hair every month & I never gave it time to really grow.
Transitioning was easy-peasy, giving up the
flat iron was pretty hard but I was committed to healthy hair. But gurrllllll
when I got to months 3 & 4 Jesus had to take the wheel because I wasn't
having it with my hair. I wasn't a fan of short hair & I didn't even know
what my natural hair looked like. I used to cut little snippets of hair &
play with my curls all the time. I decided I was going to cut my hair during
the summer so I could start my junior year [of high school] new & improved.
I spent half of the school year looking like the struggle. In July I flew out
to Boston & I knew for a fact I was going to get my hair cut since my mom
wasn't with me! When the day finally came I decided I was going to cut my hair
myself because like I said before, I spent half the year with my hair looking
like "who did it & why?" & this was my hair journey!
When I had those scissors in my hand I had no
hesitation whatsoever. I was cutting chunks of hair at a time. When all the
hair was finally cut off I just had the biggest smile on my face. I never ever
had hair this short. Growing up, my relaxed hair was always boring. I couldn't
do anything with it since it was so lifeless - so seeing my hair short was something
different & I didn't feel like the same boring girl anymore. When most
girls big chop their hair, it's usually very traumatizing for them but gurlllll
for me I was ready to go to a party & get downnnn with my new hair. The
amount of happiness I had was indescribable! After my hair dried it felt like a
straight up carpet! Like no lie, if you would've touched it you could've got
rug burn!
I know this sounds crazy, but sometimes after I
washed my hands I would wipe them in my hair since my hair soaked up the water
like a dry sponge, but I was still in love with my hair even though I didn't
get the curl pattern/texture I desired - I was just happy to be nappy!!! After
some love & patience I was able to work with it. I'm not going to front,
this hair put me through hell & all across the 7 seas & back but my
hair was my baby & you're suppose to love your baby! I always thought
having short hair was easy, but man oh man when I tried to do a twist-out on 3
inches of hair I was sitting there for HOURS! I started reevaluating life as if
doing a twist-out was worth it (I even gained some biceps).
Now I'm learning more about my hair & I
just stick with Wash n Go's (even though it's not really a "wash n
go" it's more like a "wash, put gel for 2 hours, let it dry 10 hours,
THEN GO). When I flew back home from Boston on August 1st my parents weren't
really big fans of my hair, they didn't know it was going to be that short! My
mom got a little mad, but she said it's my hair & if I'm happy than that's
okay! My little TWA makes me feel wayyy more confident & I can't wait to see
it turn it to a big afro. I'm in no rush now; I'm so taking advantage of my short
hair! Sorry I wrote a lot - hope I didn't bore you!
Some parts of this story have been omitted due to page space.
