Monday 13 July 2015

MOTHEROFCURLS: MY NATURAL HAIR JOURNEY

Hi, my name is Tyra Chuck, and just about all of my life, I have been told at some point or another, that I have 'good hair.' To the black community this typically meant that you had 'nice hair for a black girl.' Those two phrases went hand in hand. I mean, they were right wasn't they? I fit all the characteristics...the qualifying traits. I was mixed (Jamaican & Chinese) & had long hair. Growing up people, especially in school, made it seem preposterous, impossible even that there was no way you could be black, have long healthy hair & not have a relaxer! Wrong!

My 'Pre Relaxer Childhood'
Up until the age of 12, I lived a relaxer free childhood. My hair was thick, unruly & big... i'm talking Dianna Ross/ Mel B Scary Spice big. From looking at pictures, I observed my hair started off quite curly, but got thicker and more afro textured as I got older.

Like younger naturals, I dreaded wash day and my mum combing out my hair. I normally had to have my hair in plaits or cornrows, just to keep it neat and avoid my mum having to redo it so frequently. Back then there wasn't a lot of natural hair products that we have today, so rocking my hair in my 'natural state' out, wasn't even an option.

My mum was a working mum, so after some years she didn't have time nor effort to do my hair. That's when she gave me the choice to either get my hair pressed or relax it... 

My Relaxed Days


I chose relaxer. At the age of 12, I chose relaxer. Of course I didn't have the knowledge of what it did, but at the time it sounded promising. I was sick and tired of braids.

Straight hair all the time &no more painful wash days. Who wouldn't say yes! My mum's friend & hairdresser, who had been doing her hair and occasionally mine too, since my mum was pregnant with me, gave me my very first relaxer.

She used two boxes of no-lye texturiser from what I could remember. Yup, that's how much hair I had! My first relaxer experience was good, if I'm going to be honest. Apart from the almost tingling/burning sensation on my scalp and long hours in the chair, it was fine. She washed it, deep conditioned it, blow-dried it, trimmed it, and straightened it, the whole works! The change took some getting used to, but I got a lot of compliments. I got my hair relaxed every 2+ months up until the age of around 16. 

At first, I didn't have much knowledge on maintaining and caring for my relaxed hair-other than tying it at night and moisturising my ends. Within that same year, I thankfully discovered YouTube. People were actually posting videos on how they took care & styled their hair. It wasn't until I discovered Ulovemegz  (a beautifully relaxed & healthy youtuber) that I really started taking care of my relaxed hair. She was literally my relaxed hair goals.
 
From her I learnt about growing relaxed hair, deep conditioning it, stretching your relaxers and so much more. I could then maintain my hair easier in-between touch ups & experiment with different hairstyles. At one point I even had a full fringe.

The Good, Bad & The Ugly- Transitioning
 
One thing I didn't like about my relaxed hair, was the regrowth. It felt uncomfortable. It looked weird, and a part of me would always wonder how the little curls at the root, would look on my whole head.
Having relaxed hair, I discovered how fast my hair actually grew. And let me tell you... it was quick. There was a few other downsides too:

1. New Growth
2. The expense
3. The whole relaxer process/upkeep
4. How my hair looked wet
5. Breakage (which didn't occur so much until the end)
My last relaxer was around July 2013 (Prom). After that I was to say enough is enough, and call it quits with my bra strapped relaxed hair. That same year, in September I rocked a u-part wig while transitioning (see pic on right).

I found out what 'transitioning' was (growing out your relaxer) from my research on stretching out your relaxer, on YouTube. I looked at other people's 'Hair Journey' & 'Transitioning from Relaxed to Natural' videos for tips, advice, motivation and inspiration.

Back to Basics- 'My Natural Hair'
Going back natural was not easy. It was frustrating, unexpected and surprising all at the same time. The hard part was finding a style to which I used minimal heat. At first I tried a lot of braid outs and twist outs on my transitioning hair, but I just didn't feel comfortable. I hated having to deal with the two battling textures. Instead, I decided to opt for a easier protective style that required less maintenance- weave, wigs & box braids. I did this until I got to a comfortable length to do a 'mini big chop' around Feb/March 2014.



YouTube in general, but mostly the above YouTubers have been really helpful while on both my transitioning & natural hair journey now. Check them out!

Natural Hair Freedom- What next?

Like I said on my previous blog post ,since being natural I have experimented with protective styles, length and even got a side cut. One thing I have learnt about my natural hair journey hair is 1) Have fun with it 2)Healthy hair over length. Recently I have been having some heat damage issue, which is not so sever I have to big chop, but guess what...I kind of feel like it anyways. I've never had a 'twa', so...maybe soon I will.

I know this post was long, but thank you for reading & hopefully you found it useful. Feel free to ask me any questions. All social media links below!

Twitter @Tyrachuck12
Instagram @Tyrachuck12
Pintrest @Tyrachuck12
Tumblr: allthingstheculture.tumblr.com


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