I Am Not My Hair
If anybody is keeping up with me elsewhere on the web, y'all already know the drill
For those that don't; The end of my Locs is coming soon.
Did you blink? Yes you read that right.
It's been 7 years. A lotta living. A slew of bullshit. A lifetime of growth.
I cut a few inches off last week. I've been threatening to do this for the past few years. But in the past few months, I've grown tired of keeping my hair going. The issue with getting the big money promotions has also played a factor. I've started buying wigs to help.
In the end, I'm really just ready to let go of my locs. I think it's time. I feel like I need to let them go for a little while, have my hair & then decide which way I wanna go next.
Chemical relaxers are not an option.
KN always says, "You wanna cut it off, do it. It's just hair, it can grow back." He's on his 3rd rotation of locs mind you. I still can't explain to him the mental stigma attached to a Black Woman concerning her hair. Throw in that I've had 2 major hair losses before the age of 25. I lost the vast majority of my hair in 6th grade due to a combination of stress & a kiddie relaxer. In 2000 the same combination cost me months of trying to grow my hair out. I mean I put MONTHS between my relaxers but the treated hair would keep breaking off. I was truamatized.
I think Black Women in general are trained to have an unhealthy attachment to long straight hair. Black Men too for that matter. We are brainwashed into believing that our kinky roots are a fate worse than death & to have to actually deal with that shit? Chile please. I grew up natural but did beg my momma for that relaxer & she gave in. Of course upon most of my hair falling out, she vowed no more. It was understandable & by my sophmore year of high school, I had shoulder length NATURAL hair. My mother always said my hair was wonderful when I was growing up, but I also understood it took a great deal of effort to keep it going. To illustrate that point; my mother never knew how to braid hair. She raised her own siblings, sisters included & even cared for other's children but to this day doesn't know how to french braid or cornrow a strand of nothing! I would get my hair braided by my babysitter for most of my childhood. I learned how to plait thanks to friends & dolls. I taught myself how to cornrow/french braid thanks to Tigger. In case you haven't seen images, I kept his hair braided for years.
Having hair is part of the beauty of women, or so we are taught. I know I'm going to miss my locs immensely. I am proud of them, the work & time I've put into them. I've appreciated showing the world that it's not a negative! Felt blessed that little girls told me my hair was pretty. I feel like I've been on a mission to prove a huge point.
I believe I've made it. Locs are not a hair style to be 'dred'ful of. While in recent years it has become popular, more people prefer the socially acceptable version versus the stereotypical Rasta history kind.
The days have been tryiing. I took a lotta negative energy regarding my hair from too many people. However I think I've gotten more love than not. I started a Loc'd & Lovely© graphic tee to spread the word. But for now, my time of locs is due for a break. How do I know I'll be back? Because even I can't take the thickness of my hair natural for too long & I don't enjoy having short hair for long.
Many of my friends are seriously attached to my locs. Damn you enablers! Locs will be better the 2nd time around, LOL I've proposed to snip away a few inches once a month till they are no more. Of course I can't do the big chop, I'd have a mental breakdown.
This is all part of the Evolutionary Whirlwind
~ La Shon
For those that don't; The end of my Locs is coming soon.
Did you blink? Yes you read that right.
It's been 7 years. A lotta living. A slew of bullshit. A lifetime of growth.
I cut a few inches off last week. I've been threatening to do this for the past few years. But in the past few months, I've grown tired of keeping my hair going. The issue with getting the big money promotions has also played a factor. I've started buying wigs to help.
In the end, I'm really just ready to let go of my locs. I think it's time. I feel like I need to let them go for a little while, have my hair & then decide which way I wanna go next.
Chemical relaxers are not an option.
KN always says, "You wanna cut it off, do it. It's just hair, it can grow back." He's on his 3rd rotation of locs mind you. I still can't explain to him the mental stigma attached to a Black Woman concerning her hair. Throw in that I've had 2 major hair losses before the age of 25. I lost the vast majority of my hair in 6th grade due to a combination of stress & a kiddie relaxer. In 2000 the same combination cost me months of trying to grow my hair out. I mean I put MONTHS between my relaxers but the treated hair would keep breaking off. I was truamatized.
I think Black Women in general are trained to have an unhealthy attachment to long straight hair. Black Men too for that matter. We are brainwashed into believing that our kinky roots are a fate worse than death & to have to actually deal with that shit? Chile please. I grew up natural but did beg my momma for that relaxer & she gave in. Of course upon most of my hair falling out, she vowed no more. It was understandable & by my sophmore year of high school, I had shoulder length NATURAL hair. My mother always said my hair was wonderful when I was growing up, but I also understood it took a great deal of effort to keep it going. To illustrate that point; my mother never knew how to braid hair. She raised her own siblings, sisters included & even cared for other's children but to this day doesn't know how to french braid or cornrow a strand of nothing! I would get my hair braided by my babysitter for most of my childhood. I learned how to plait thanks to friends & dolls. I taught myself how to cornrow/french braid thanks to Tigger. In case you haven't seen images, I kept his hair braided for years.
Having hair is part of the beauty of women, or so we are taught. I know I'm going to miss my locs immensely. I am proud of them, the work & time I've put into them. I've appreciated showing the world that it's not a negative! Felt blessed that little girls told me my hair was pretty. I feel like I've been on a mission to prove a huge point.
I believe I've made it. Locs are not a hair style to be 'dred'ful of. While in recent years it has become popular, more people prefer the socially acceptable version versus the stereotypical Rasta history kind.
The days have been tryiing. I took a lotta negative energy regarding my hair from too many people. However I think I've gotten more love than not. I started a Loc'd & Lovely© graphic tee to spread the word. But for now, my time of locs is due for a break. How do I know I'll be back? Because even I can't take the thickness of my hair natural for too long & I don't enjoy having short hair for long.
Many of my friends are seriously attached to my locs. Damn you enablers! Locs will be better the 2nd time around, LOL I've proposed to snip away a few inches once a month till they are no more. Of course I can't do the big chop, I'd have a mental breakdown.
This is all part of the Evolutionary Whirlwind
~ La Shon