Going Natural: The Final Push

Pregnancy hormones are touted for making women's hair wonderfully thick. 

I wouldn't know though because for the entirety of my pregnancy, I had my hair in a variety of braided styles. I consulted with my OB and she advised that although there was no conclusive evidence that relaxing hair would affect my baby, if I didn't have to I should avoid it. Seeing as I had already been in braids for over a year, it wasn't a stretch to carry on. 

Besides M.I.A hairdresser was still away so I couldn't even if I had wanted to. 

And then, would you believe, she returned a month before my due date. Why, cruel world?! I PRAYED she would still be around when I delivered; get-down-on-your-knees-and-promise-never-to-ask-for-anything-else-ever-again type of praying. But the universe had other plans for me and she left shortly before I delivered, never to return again. I was gutted! She'd gone off and got married and was making a killing braiding hair in the US. Brain drain is real! 

Then baby arrived and I was walking around in a sleep-deprived haze for months before I even began to consider what to do with my hair again. I was TIRED of braids and I didn't have the time or energy to spend hours in the salon getting my braids installed. And quite frankly my hairline had taken a huge hit. 

So I took them off  and, I'm ashamed to say, walked around for months with the driest, most unloved and uncared for matutas you have ever seen. I was at my wits end and on the verge of going to any old hairdresser and getting my creamy crack on. 

And that's when I saw it. A post on a Facebook group talking about a new group starting up for naturals. That was my big 'aha!' moment. I joined immediately and had a million questions. For the first few months I was overwhelmed and confused 95% of the time. I bought everything in sight and my bewildered husband kept asking when my hair would be straight again. 

But I soldiered on and started getting better at it. I started seeing results and when I got my first compliment from a crackette, I was over the moon. 

I started liking my hair more and more but I wasn't 100% convinced until I had a nightmare that I had put a relaxer in. I woke up in a cold sweat and the relief I felt that I hadn't sealed the deal. 

My natural hair was here to stay!