I relaxed my hair for years but for some reason in 2008 I decided to let it do its own thing. I don’t think I ever disliked my hair but rediscovering my natural texture made me the happiest woman as I kept playing with its versatility, experimenting with haircuts and hairstyles.
Now having short hair means that I miss switching things up, but on the plus side, I can ride a bicycle without struggling to find a helmet adapted to my hair type, as an actress I secure more jobs than I ever did before, and I also feel extremely feminine. My journey inspired by mother and my godmother to respectively go natural and do the big chop, interesting when you think that we would generally expect parents to help their children shift their mindsets not the other way around.
My mother has always been a strong figure in the house. She raised us by herself, worked hard to make sure we wouldn’t lack of anything and always highlighted that the only person we could count on would always be ourselves. This mindset really helped me build a strong level of confidence and pushed me to embrace all of me, from head to toe.
The reasons why so many women don’t want to leave their hair natural are diverse and I believe this is strongly linked to the lack of representation we have to face, the harsh words used to define our hair, and the inability of many hairdressers to take care of our natural hair.
Going natural is not easy, it takes time but like any other new thing you would try in life really. Do it girl! Your hair, self-confidence and femininity will thank you later.