I never really thought much about hair, when I was 10 my mum allowed me and my sister to have our first texturiser, before that it was hot combs from the stove (remember those) and thread braids, and not forgetting Dax on the scalp!
When I was in high school my hair blossomed (compared to those around me) everyone envied my hair, it was long (APL) and silky. I used to wash my hair weekly and use dark and lovely deep conditioner, but it was always Blue Magic on the scalp!!! But I used to stretch my hair not because I knew it, but because I was in boarding school and braids where low maintenance. I had owned a flat iron or curling irons, so I never used direct heat, and I always roller set my hair.
There were two girls that had longer hair than me in school and never really understood why, just put it down to genetics.
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| This was in 2002, I had gelled my hair to give it a 'wet' look, Gosh the crimes that were committed - APL and not even trying!! |
I then moved from sunny Malawi to wintery England and my poor hair regimen really showed up! I did not understand why my hair was breaking, I put it out to the weather, so to stop dry hair I would ‘moisturise’ with my Blue Magic often, then washing my hair was with any product I could get my hairs on, my hair broke off, it was dry and it was continuing to break and get short and shorter. I have lived in the UK for 10 years, and I just came to accept black hair just doesn’t grow long; my neck length/shoulder length hair was all I could hope for. I still wondered how I had reached APL as a teenager.
Then one day I came across a YouTube video of hair journeys, then more and more, a whole world of black women with long hair opened up to me, I had no idea this was attainable, and even though I humoured myself and said let me try, I didn’t believe it was possible, until wow, the girl with neck length/shoulder length got to APL length in 5 months of starting her journey, this was when I realised this is REAL.
Follow my journey to rediscovering the hair that was never quite discovered!
'Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead' - Charles Bukowski
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| 2012 my hair was neck length/shoulder length |
It's funny how you were APL and later in life you were stuck at SL, because you were doing healthy hair practices by stretching your relaxer and didn't even know it and your hair thrived. Knowledge is Power and you are well on your way to longer, thicker and healthier hair. Nice smile btw.
ReplyDeleteThe power of knowledge indeed.
DeleteThanks about my smile :)
I love posts like this!
ReplyDeleteI'm from England too, and the water is supper hard here. Maybe it was that? but who knows!
Good luck with your journey
I totally agree with you on that! the water is really hard and I think it definitely played a part to my break hair. :(
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