Living Outside the Stacks

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been over a month since my last natural hair post!  What is wrong with me?  I really haven’t been that busy.  Hmmmm, I’m just gonna chalk it up to laziness and move on.

A lot has happened since my last post ~ I’ve dyed my hair twice, discovered new hair products and found an incredible community of natural haired people on Twitter.  Who knew there were so many natural haired beauties out there?  I didn’t.  And lemme tell you, these ladies know what they’re talking about.  They’re quick to offer love, support and helpful suggestions (use the hashtag #NaturalHair if you want to check them out).

I’ve been natural for 11 months now.  Yay!  I’m not going to lie and say it’s been an easy road, there have been times that I’ve wanted to go back to the “creamy crack.”  Dealing with natural hair, as beautiful as it is, is a learning experience.  There are days when I think I’ve figured my hair out and then my hair does a flip on me and I have to start all over.  When I first started this journey I was using the Mixed Chicks product line and I loved it because it defined my curls but I hated it because my defined curls were incredibly hard. I’ve also tried products by Carol’s Daughter but I felt like I could taste the hair cremes so I stopped using them, now I only use the shampoo.  A few people have suggested that I try products by Garnier so that’s next on the list.

I’ve been experimenting with different hairstyles ~ I think that’s one of the pluses of natural hair, the versatility.  I’ve worn curls, puffs and two~strand twist outs.  I’ve even flat~ironed it.  I don’t really like straightening it but my husband prefers it that way, so…  For the most part though I wear it curly.  My girl, Kendra, posted a video of herself brushing her hair out and I love it, so I decided to post pictures of myself with my hair brushed out.  I don’t have a lot of hair but it’s thick so brushing it out is a chore.  I do love it though, it’s so funky and you can really see the burgundy color.

Since going natural, one of the things I’m started to pay a lot of attention to is natural sistas in the media.  There are commercials (the Ford Fiesta and Mirena commercials come to mind) where sisters are totally rocking their natural ‘dos and I’m loving it.  I’ve also noticed natural haired sisters on television shows ~ Jasika Nicole, I’m looking at you, girl.  And did y’all see the BET Awards?  I have serious hair envy.  Esperanza Spalding, lady, your ears should be burning.  Seeing natural haired women who are beautiful and successful is so inspirational.

Now if we could just get Essence to get it right ~ why do y’all advertise hair relaxers on the same page that you offer tips and tricks for natural hair?  Doh!

I have the research skills of a librarian, the preservation skills of an archivist, the organizational skills of a mother and the domestic skills of a Stepford wife. I have the research skills of a librarian, the preservation skills of an archivist, the organizational skills of a mother and the domestic skills of a Stepford wife. Read more from this author