When Going Natural Part 1: Are You Ready

One of my most "peculiar" traits is that I do not do things until I am ready.  If I do, the whole ride will be full of anxiety, stress, and will become quite chaotic. It annoys some people in my life but it's really who I am. I've been fully aware of this for as long as I can remember; my own mother notes that when the doctors gave her a due date, I came two weeks later. For the most part, I take my time with anything I am interested in, researching, testing, pondering. Of course there are circumstances where decisions need to be made right then and there are even times where I can be pretty impulsive; but going natural isn't one of those things. There's no pressure, not from this blog or anyone in your life, to transition or "big chop" until you're absolutely ready.

I have a bias to natural hair. I think textured hair in general is amazing and so expressive. Straight hair can't do what our hair can do, but we can get straight hair when we want. Some say it's hard to manage, but if you are used to wearing your hair one kind of way, of course it'll be difficult to manage at first. That being said, if you aren't ready to take the time to learn your hair, you probably shouldn't go natural yet. It doesn't make you any "less" of who ever you are. For me, not relaxing was the best decision because I was doing it for what I feel were the wrong reasons - after being told all my life that I have too much hair, that I have "good hair" that would look so much better straightened, that I'd rep my heritage more if my hair was different, that I wouldn't be taken seriously with braids and twists I thought relaxing would solve all my problems. It was not a desire for a new style, it was a desire to change myself for something better because I had low self-esteem, and had I not seen it in my then eleven year-old sister I would have relaxed (and probably would be transitioning right now).

If you are transitioning right now or considering embracing your hair honestly ask yourself: What are your reasons?