Stella Mwangi – STL
I’m sure you’ve all seen them, the dreadlocked, curly-haired, braided, kinky-tressed (or Afro-kinky-tressed) ladies all over town. These days when I walk around the city centre, or go to any event that has several ladies in attendance, I notice it. More than half of the ladies have some form of natural hair style. Is it a trend? Yes. Is it more than a trend? I think so. I think the natural hair phenomenon is more than a sensation and it is here to stay.
I am one of the natural-hair sporting ladies I’m talking about. After several misadventures with a certain hairdresser, my colored and permed hair started to fall off (or rather, I had large short-hair patches all over my head). It was disastrous! My once pride-and-joy locks were no more!
I must confess I am a perfectionist. I can’t stand half-finished or shoddy jobs. So there was no way I was going to walk around with half-long, half-short hair. And that’s when it hit me. I was going to cut my hair and go natural!!
After a few months of deliberating, while braiding my hair, I decided I was going to grow it out and then cut off the perm when my hair got to a considerable length. For six months, I plaited, undid the braids, plaited, undid the braids… then one day when I was washing my hair and trying to detangle the permed ends, I got fed up. What was I doing? The permed hair needed to go! So I grabbed a pair of scissors and promptly chopped off all the permed hair. The shock! I had short hair the length of my pinkie finger!I have never had hair that short since I was a child. Funny enough, I was so thrilled! I had taken the plunge! Self-actualization!
I’m still growing it and braiding it. It’s like double that length now. Let me tell you, you will never know the true meaning of bad hair days until you sport the true afro kinky hair. Mine is not the delightfully soft ones either, no. It’s the real deal. It looks great as an afro though. I love it. I just need the guts to sport that afro when going to work and not always cover it up in braids.
So, what I love about natural hair is the do-it-yourself aspect of it. I’ve always loved to do hair. I love washing and styling it myself. I’m glad I don’t have to rely on a hairdresser who will have their way with my hair to do harm (clearly still traumatized).
My natural hair is here to stay (at least for a year or two anyway :)).
Update
For those like Winnie below interested in interacting with other ladies into natural hair check out Tricia’s naturals facebook group.