My Natural Hair Journey

As much as I will enjoy (note the sarcasm) posting pictures of myself without extensions (weave), I'm gonna do it. Call this a photo blog or whatever you want. I did the big chop about a year later than the rest of the women in the world who decided to go natural. And that still didn't stop me from weaving or putting extensions in. I am half african american and half white. I've always been self conscious of my curly hair. Others love it so they say. Mostly women. Never men. But it is who I am right? And what made me weave in the first place? Back in 2008 I got a horrible haircut. I remembered seeing those ponytail extensions at the beauty supply store and that's where it all started. I purchased a pony tail to wear for a few months until my hair grew. But each time I went back, I discovered countless ways to cover my natural hair and get the straight, (what I thought was beautiful), multi colored hair I've always wanted. I watched hours of Youtube videos about weaving and installing extensions. Everything I know, I taught myself. But it really didn't start with the bad hair cut. I have been experimenting with different cuts, styles and colors since I was 8. Yes 8. As much as I believe in giving children an identity early on, I think I may have needed to be put on lock at that early of an age. So my hair hasn't been in a virgin state for almost 20 years. I have also been flat ironing it for almost that amount of time as well. As I got older I discovered that if I kept up with my hair and used quality products, I could change the color frequently. For almost 10 years my hair was a different color every few weeks. I somehow got away with bleaching and coloring and stripping without much damage or loss at all. I moisturized frequently and also did protein treatments. I was getting away with murder on my hair! Up until December of 2010 when I decided to put in a relaxer. My hair was in great shape and was growing like a weed under the weaves. I was tired of straightening the hair I had to leave out. Well that fried all but 2 inches of my hair off. It was back to full weaves for a year. So August of 2011, I decided to cut out all the damaged hair but I still couldn't knock off the weaving. I wasn't adjusting to my short hair very well and have been wearing extensions to make everything look better until it grows out. But one problem. My hair isn't exactly growing very well with the extensions in. I haven't fallen into a very good hair care regimen yet. Though I found that weekly applications of henna really strengthens my hair and makes it appear thicker. I also like henna because it has natural tannins in it. Which works like the protein treatments you can purchase at the store. Those never seemed to do anything for my hair. In no particular order, these are the products I have found to help my hair: Castor oil applied to soaking wet hair or as a co-wash, Coconut oil same as castor oil, Shea Moisture products, rosemary and peppermint essential oil, Aphogee products, and henna. I have tried pretty much every big brand and some small brand products out there. Salon quality and grocery store. I've tried organic products and other "miracle" workers from the health food store. Nothing seems to make a huge difference other than the products I listed that do. I have also started taking biotin and MSM along with my regular milti-vitamins. We shall see how all this goes! In the mean time, I will have low self esteem until this mess grows. There are a few photos of me at the very bottom with my natural hair. One of me when I was little, before I started straightening it. And then the photos progress and you can see my transitions to different styles and colors. I will be adding photos of me and my natural hair's progress as well.