Since I was a child I wore braids, weaves, and extensions. This was because my hair was extremely short. I did not wear my own hair until my junior year of high school. By this time my hair had grown out significantly, and I finially had the long and healthy hair I always dreamed of. During college I tried to maintain the health and length of my hair which was difficult. I began to perm, color, and cut my hair unneccessarily. My hair became damaged so I went back to what I knew best...weave. This only made my hair, skin and self-esteem much worse.
Weave became my addiction. It gave me a confidence I never knew I had. I felt beautiful, sexy, and powerful. However, I began to not like how I looked when I took it off. The weave actually damaged my hair more. I started to get bald spots and my hair began to break off. I stopped perming my hair because I knew something had to change. The weave also made my face break out. It was absolutley horrible....my hair was falling out and my face was breaking out because off the one thing I didn't think I could live without.
I transitioned for four months. I took out my weave and big chopped on September 16, 2009. Going natural was not an easy process. I learned so much about myself. I honestly lost friends and gained soooo many. Some people actually did not accept my natural hair, and tried to make me feel like I was not feminine and beautiful. Despite it all I could never be happier. I am no longer hiding damaged hair and acne skin behind weave. Instead of investing in my hair and now am investing me as a person. I have a healthy lifestyle now. I eat healthy foods, I've lost weight, my skin is clear. I can truely say that I feel beautiful and no one's comment about my hair can alter my feelings about myself.
