Me 'n My 'Fro: On Being Natural - How it began

I mentioned the first article I wrote  about my hair that I would share with you my hair journey curvy divas. For the next couple of Wednesdays, that is what I will do on this blog.  If you are black aka African American as we say here in the United States (technically, I'm Caribbean-American), you know the ins and outs of our hair journeys. The success, when you rock your hair and look fierce; the woes, when you just give up and put on a hat!lol! And even wear a hat, just because you wanna rock that new hat!

 

I have always had what some called "a head full of hair", so much that the authenticity of my hair came into question quite a couple of times.  My mom loved to style our hair (my sisters and me) and would always have her girls looking beautiful in ribbons and hair clips where ever we went!  

There are two incidents I remember distinctly, as a child, and as an adult.  Once in Primary school (that is Elementary here in the USA), a teacher (male of mixed heritage) questioned the naturalness of my hair, because it was longer than most, thick and wavy.  It's not that other children in my birth country didn't have great hair, our Jamaican people are from so many ethnicity and culture rolled into one; plus, for me, and many others, any hair is good hair (but there are just those folks who refuse to give up that lame cause of the need to prove that if you're black you don't have good hair)...so lame!

And again, when as a young adult walking the streets of New York City, in Manhattan, there I was newly arrived to the scene, walking down the street with my relaxed hair flowing on my back, past my shoulders, minding my own business when the gentleman walking pass me yanked at my hair! When I turned around in surprise and a state of distress, he flippantly told me, "Just checking to see if it's all yours"! !@#$%^&* That was a shocking introduction for me to the love-hate relationship of hair in America.

This is me after a cut when I had relaxed hair.

Today, in 2014, everyone now knows that most women, no matter their ethnicity or race, sometimes wears hair extensions aka hair weave.  The usual stigma that followed black women who uses extensions,  is not the same for other races.  However, in today's world, I love that as black women we proudly carry ourselves and our choice of hairstyles with dignity and grace and will proudly tell a person who comes at us with that lameness that "I own it".  If I buy hair extension and wore it, there is no shame in that, plus, it is nobody's business! ~enough said~

I wore a lot of different hair looks 'back in the day' (as I continue to do today) because I could, and loved it. Many of those styles in the past were with hair weaves!  It has been a while since I have worn hair extensions, however, I am the proud wearer of a wig that I don from time to time.  Hey, there are just those times when I want to, plus it is wonderful having options!