Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Where I Am, Where I'm Going, and Where I've Been


Currently, I'm sitting pretty in a set of fresh cornrows with extensions. I had them done last week, shortly following my decision to renew my commitment to going natural.

Cornrows.

Well, they're nice for a month all right, but I have to say, putting those things in when you haven't had them in awhile is just downright painful. By the time my braider gets to the last few braids, I usually am in the midst of doing three things:

1. Deep breathing and meditation.
2. Experiencing the heightened sensation of every single nerve ending on my scalp.
3. Wondering why I decided to do this again (easy answer in retrospect: its relatively fast and there was no way I myself could have tamed the 1/6th natural - 5/6th relaxed/knotted beast on my head--see picture--this is right after I took my singles out, decided not to get a relaxer and go for the cornrows again)



I've been in braids of some sort (cornrows or singles) since late January. I did some searching on my google calendar and found out that I haven't had a relaxer since November, so my hair has been growing for about seven months now. However, I feel as though my natural hair is too short at the moment to just chop it all off and rock it. I know that many women take that route, but I know myself and I'm not ready for that quite yet. I would like to have some length to work with; plus I want to learn more about natural hair care before I do The Big Chop.

I've decided that November 2009 will when I'll stop braiding and start letting my strands fly free! Until then, I'll be talking with other natural women and stylists about my options, how-to's, etc, (and sharing them here).