My natural hair journey started in 2012, that’s when I became really fascinated with natural hair. Prior to that, I had a relaxer for most of my life because that was what I grew up with as “the norm”. I had always loved the look of natural hair and afrocentric hairstyles and I loved wearing big kinky-curly wigs. One day I thought to myself, why do I keep spending money on curly wigs when I could just grow my own hair from my head? I had spent so much time on hair blogs and forums like Black Girl Long Hair, and even on Youtube, seeing how beautiful black hair is and I fell in love with natural hair even more. I knew I wanted that for myself. My last relaxer was in July 2012 and I did my big chop myself in March 2013.
I always knew I had thick stranded 4c hair. At the time I went natural, there weren’t that many visible youtubers with my hair type. Joulezy was my go-to. I watched a few other type 4 girls too, like Fusion Of Cultures. I did a lot of research on natural hair, took tips from youtubers, went through trial and error and I eventually built a routine that worked for me. After I got a good grip on things, I started creating 4c hair content to provide the visibility and information that I wish I had I was a new natural.
My routine is quite simple, I have learned over the years that simplicity is key. I wash my hair every 2 weeks with UFD Squeaky or Rich & Funky depending on if I need a deep cleanse or a nice moisturizing cleanse. After that, I deep condition with my fave, Heal & Renew, my hair and scalp love this mask. Then, I hydrate and moisturize my hair. On damp hair, I apply Thirsty Curls and Super Curl or Extra butter, depending on how my hair is feeling, to seal in all the moisture and soften my hair. Finally, I twist my hair up and leave it alone. Twists are my go-to hairstyle, they help me retain a lot of length.
Although I have managed to grow a considerable amount of healthy hair in the last 8-9 years, I have had quite a few setbacks along the way and learned valuable lessons. I have suffered from breakage due to constant over styling within my first 3 years of being natural. I have suffered from severe split ends from not keeping up with moisturizing and deep conditioning. I have also experienced hair damage from letting other less experienced people do my hair.
The main lesson I have learned is to genuinely accept my hair and not force it to do what it doesn’t want to do. I’ve also learned to be gentle and patient with it because it is delicate and should be handled with care. I love everything about my hair, I have never looked back since the day I did my big chop. I am proud of what grows from my head and I consider it a blessing.
xoxo
Aboyowa Wood @westafricanbaby
