Brown Paper Bag + Locs = Cute Curls!!!

Yeah, I did it! So what! Lol Last night, I reached back into my goodie bag, took all the goodies out and ripped the bag into little pieces to roll my hair. LOL something I had seen my mom do on many occasions as a little girl. I thought it was hilarious, didn’t think it would actually work. So I tried it, mainly because my locs aren’t long enough for the kinds of curls I want right now soooooooooo….paper bag was the next best thing. It worked!! A few in the back fell out already because I used my water & evo spritzer this morning, but overall it turned out pretty cute. You should try it! :-)

my fav lil bra strap! lol

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

“Uhhh, Why Did You Do THAT To Your Hair????”

(Before w/weave) (1st month natural) (4-5months into loc journey)

I’ve heard this question so many times already, in many different variations. Sometimes it can be irritating and other times I welcome the inquisitiveness of others. Mainly, when older people…family, friends, foes, whomever….. ask with disapproval “What made you wanna do that?”. As if there is something wrong with not putting chemicals in your hair, not straightening your hair, not putting artificial hair in your head. My response is to smile and say “because this is who I REALLY am”. Eventually it grew on them and they now love it too, or decide not to share their disapproval. Other times sistahs who aren’t ready for the natural hair change or who already are, ask with genuine sincerity. Again my answer is because I wanted to see me when I looked in the mirror and learn to find beauty in it.
Their questions led me to dig a little deeper to find out “who dropped the ball”! Which generation told us that our hair was unacceptable and how did it perpetuate for years throughout black culture. How did it all start?? Why did our grandparents buy into it and teach us to think the same way?
I know these questions are generalizations and I’m sure that there were plenty of families that have taught their little colored kids to love/appreciate/respect their hair and themselves, but the vast majority of us were told that we needed to straighten our hair. I remember my first perm…it was HORROR!!! My grandfather’s ex wife looked at my full head of natural hair with disgust and at the age of 12, sat me down and put a perm in my hair WITHOUT my mother’s approval. It was pure Hell. It burned, it stung, she was abusing every follicle on my head each time she combed it. My hair was just past my ear and super thick, so all my tender-headed folks can understand my nightmare. When I got home, my momma was pissed! She did not intend on perming my hair…at least not that soon. It didn’t take long for my hair to start breaking off and coming out, from that point on my hair was never ever what it was before that woman killed it.
Our generation has just about anything & everything to get that hair “right”, we have pressin’combs, perms (no-lye), ceramic irons, hair weaves, synthetic braids, texturizers….the list goes on and on. Now, this is in no offensive to the trailblazers like Madame CJ Walker who opened the door for us in the beauty/hair care industry but it is a bit disheartening that we couldn’t have found ways back then to manage our hair in its natural state without altering it to appear to the masses.
So now we have to face those folks who are still living in the era of Madame CJ, our grandparents, aunties, uncles, mommas, papas and people of both previous and current generations who still believe that our hair is unacceptable. I don’t think it should be taken as personally as we take it and I don’t believe they are intentionally being offensive. Its just like rude children, it’s not their fault that they were taught to believe/behave in such a way. As we educate ourselves, it is our responsibility to educate others and not condemn them for their hair decisions. Especially those, like I was just a year ago, at a crossroad trying to determine if the natural route was for me or not. All I needed was little encouragement and a little knowledge on how to maintain a cute natural style while keeping my hair healthy! :-)
“Why did you decide to go natural?” It was not a revolutionary movement, I am not making a statement against society, I didn’t intend on starting a follicle frenzy at work, The earth didn’t shake and God himself didn’t part the heavens to send me on a journey to loc’dom…It was merely a introverted decision for self-acceptance.

My Son Wants Locs!!! YAYYYYY :-)

A little bit of background: My oldest son is 8 years old. He has known mommy as a weave wearing woman for 95% of his life, just last year I laid the weaves to rest. I realized that my son actually believed that all women with long hair bought it from a store! L Sad, I know. So when I sat one night and took my weave out, he woke up the next morning and asked what happened to my hair. “Where is your hair mommy? Are you gonna wear it like that? I don’t like that! I like the straight hair better.” After that, I convinced myself that I was gonna keep wearing it natural! My child did not understand, like, or see beauty in kinky hair! I was disappointed and upset with myself. So my journey was not just for me, it was for my children as well. I wanted them to understand that there was nothing wrong with being black….esp after hearing him say that he wished he was white like Zack & Cody!!! At 7 years old, whatever was portrayed by media (mainly Nickelodeon and WETA) led him to believe that white was right and black was wrong. I looked at him and explained that this is mommy’s real hair. This is what most black people’s hair looks like when its not permed or bought from the nearest beauty shop. He looked at me with disgust and it definitely did hurt…. A lot! Natural black hair was not the perception of beauty that neither tv, society, nor his own mother gave him.
Now, almost a year later….my son looks at me and says, “Mommy I don’t want my hair cut anymore. I want locs like you and my daddy!” I melted inside! Not only does my little prince think my hair is beautiful, but he wants to have his the same way! Kids are a product of what they are taught through seeing and listening. If they constantly see weaves/permed hair and hear us demean our hair, this is what they will believe.
His dad has had loc’s for a few years now but it wasn’t official until mommy joined the team! :-)(had to brag a little) LOL
But here mommy goes again demeaning my babies natural hair as it grows...its still short, his last haircut was about 3 weeks ago, and his hair is extremely kinky and thick! Every time I brush it, it just curls right back up and looks very unkept by the time he gets home. He’s an 8 year old boy, rolling around on the carpet, doing flips and playing in the grass does not sit well with his current phase of hair. I am really fighting the urge to rush him to the barbershop! I love that my baby wants locs and now I have to again, retrain my mind that boys do not need a tight shape up and close-cut in order to look well-groomed. I do love men with locs, I think they are gorgeous. I guess I never thought about what it looked like in the beginning, when they stopped getting haircuts. Can I use the same products in his hair as I do mine?? Has anyone gone through this process??