6 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going Natural.
1. Wash Day is an actual day
Yup, it is, in between washing your hair in sections (especially if you have thick hair) ,detangling and styling your hair , you could spend anywhere between 2 to 4 hours on your hair on wash day, on the bright side, if you style your hair properly on wash day , it will require little maintenance throughout the rest of the week. If your still struggling with this, here’s a brief wash day guide.
2. A lot different
Switching to natural hair demands a completely new hair regimen, which can be intimidating at first, it takes time to get every little thing down. From what products to use, to how to detangle your hair and just what techniques to use in general. It is definitely very different from what you were used to, but with a little patience and some research, you’ll get the hang of it.
3. Change of mindset.
One of the things I did not expect to come with this change was the switching of negative mindsets I had about my race. Unfortunately we don’t even notice when we pick these ideas up, maybe as kids who are constantly exposed to Eurocentric standards of beauty. These ideas often depict ‘acceptable hair’ as either being bone straight, or with gentle waves and blonde. This is great if your hair looks like that, but pretty destructive to your self-esteem if it doesn’t. Funny how these things have a domino effect, first you think your hair isn’t ‘pretty hair’, and then you think your skin is too dark, and then how different your features are from the people you see on TV, and so on and so forth.
I originally went natural simply because I wanted my hair to be healthy again, but wearing my hair in its natural state allowed me to love it as is, and once again, the domino effect at work, love every distinct feature that comes with being black. (I mean, who else has hair that defies gravity ?)
4. Community
There is a huuuuggee community of naturals all over the world ready and willing to share their tips and hacks with you, There are also tons of blogs,websites and youtubers that provide much needed info on everything to do with natural hair, I unfortunately didn’t take advantage of this when I started my natural hair journey and ended up having a bad hair year (yup, a whole year). Some of the online sources that helped me out of that (that I still constantly look up are ) NaturallyCurly.com and natural hair YouTubers : Frogirlginny,(type 3) Roothie Patotie, (type 4) Sun Kiss Alba (type 3 ) and Naturally Temi (type 4)
5. Exploit your resources
As I mentioned , I did not do enough research before going natural, which consequently led to dry hair 24/7 , barely any growth and my hair being frizz central for a year. Before you make the switch, please do as much research as possible , on methods and on what products to use. I found the perfect products for my hair by watching youtube tutorials and reviews. Youtube tutorials are also great if you’re looking to learn techniques for styling natural/curly hair.
6. Hair growth.
If you adopt a healthy hair regimen (use the right products ,LOC, trim, e.t.c) Not only will your hair grow longer, it shall grow thicker, One of the notions I was able to dispel was that black peoples hair doesn’t grow, After my “big chop” I managed to grow my hair 6 inches in one year (2016 – 2017, this was after the bad hair year lol, when I finally got my routine right) so yeah, believe the hype, consider joining the natural hair club, find a regimen that works for you and watch your hair flourish !
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Xo - Alex
