Love and Serenity are the only words I can possibly use to describe the relationship I have with my hair.
I love my hair the way it is, a bit like you would love someone or love yourself, it’s just unconditional. I love it when it’s not detangled, when it’s not shiny, even when it shrinks!
This feeling emerged when I started to get interested in it, when I understood that this was more than a texture growing out of my head, more than something needing to be chemically relaxed.
By understanding this part of my identity I had to question what I was making my hair go through, and why I was making such decisions.
I believe loving your hair helps you to deal with micro-aggressions you can experience because of your natural hair.
I am glad nothing touches me anymore. I love myself, I love my hair and no one has the capacity to destroy this.
When relaxing your hair, it’s very important to figure out why you are doing this.
Very often, we alter our hair nature because we unconsciously think that it’s the only available option.
The lack of representation is clearly one of the biggest cause, a very violent one!
Not seeing yourself anywhere leads you to leave your own self to the sidelines, because it has actually been placed to the sidelines by society and the media.
That’s why intergenerational communication is essential to combat this.
I relaxed my hair because I saw my mother and grandmother doing so. Now aware of the impact it had on us, I am the one who helps them start their own natural hair journey.
I am simply giving back to the women who helped me nurture my knowledge regarding my cultural background and ancestry. The same women who encouraged me to think about the place I choose to have in society.