i thought that maybe i should start here and let you know how i became a natural and how i’ve gotten this far before i just start blabbing on about natural hair care, wash day routines and what not… lol so here’s my story.
Now i know normally most ladies that go natural make a choice to go natural but i didn’t really have much of a choice, now don’t get me wrong the thought did cross my mind plenty of times but even just the thought of the “big chop” frightened the heck out of me!
Well…I’m a firm believer in the saying “black hair = healthy hair’ (is that even a real quote?) when i was a member of #TeamRelaxed i would spruce up my black color from time to time…so i’ve had my share of dyes & chemicals throughout my life (i even bleached my hair senior year!) but for some reason this time was different….
Now the actual process of dyeing my hair & styling went as normal as possible & i went about my day as usual. the symptoms didnt hit until maybe like the next day. i wont bore you or gross you out with all the details of my leaky scalp & ears but i literally went through hell for almost 3 weeks…
i even went to the ER on two separate occasions because at times it was unbearable. one day searching through google looking for a remedy i stumbled across a comment about trying a hot oil treatment so i thought what the hell lets give it a shot…..RELIEF!!! after rinsing i could actually feel my scalp and there were no scabs…too bad that didnt last very long, i had to constantly apply the oil in order for the scabs to slip out because even though the scabs were leaving for some reason my scalp was still leaking causing the scabs to just reappear. i began to just try to find ways to cover my hair, hats, scarves, wigs anything so i didnt have to deal with it.
my cousin came up with the idea to braid my hair (see above pic) it seemed like a good idea because she was actually able to get them in my head without irritating my scalp…or so we thought…after having them in for a few days one of the braids fell out of my head IN THE FRONT!! i was devastated, now my cousin was miraculously able to grip the hair and replace the braid, but what was i gonna do once it was time to take all of the braids out & i just have this random fro patch thingy in the front of my head. OMG! NO lol so i kept them in for about two more weeks (didn’t have time due to work) & when i took the braids out everything seemed okay BUT once i washed it, my hair was a wet, matted mess (yes, i cried lol) after trying with no results to detangle the catastrophe that had become my hair i knew what i had to do….
it took a lot of adjusting for me to be comfortable with a TWA so i was always throwing on a wig or trying a protective style….
doing the protective styles, not applying heat to my hair & my obsession with keeping my little fro moisturized did help my hair to grow a lot faster than i expected…
After my one year big chop anniversary i kinda turned into a lazy natural partly because i was pregnant ALL(lol) of 2016 and i literally slept my pregnancy away and didnt feel like dealing with it as often. it just wasnt as moisturized as i would have liked but i did keep up with my trims and had a few protective styles throughout the year.
the two pics above are me after my two year big chop anniversary [October 2016]. a regular twist-out (left) my first time applying any type 0f heat to my hair since my chop (right) i plan to do better on maintaining a healthy natural hair journey plus i have some new products i wanna try out 😉
see you on wash day Queens 👋🏽
Peace. Love. & Coconut Oil. 💆🏾✨
simplyshanyce.wordpress.com 
Beautiful!
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