When I became natural it was not out of following a trend or because I needed something else "to do" with my hair. I became natural out of a necessity stemming from my scalp condition and hair loss. I remember my stylist saying that I had a scab and small bald spot in the top of my hair and that I needed to go to the dermatologist. Yet even after the discovery of the bald spot, I still wanted to continue to get the chemical processing done to my hair. I felt I needed the relaxer, because I felt my hair was not the "right type" to go without chemicals. As I sat in the dermatologist's office, I felt despair and confusion come over me. My dermatologist told me I had a condition called "seborrhea dermatitis". I asked him if I could still get relaxers and his exact words were "Not if you want hair". He then encouraged me to go natural.
My first exploration into natural hair started with a small natural hair salon that specialized in using natural products to achieve various styles. I remember going to the natural stylist and having her recoil from me as she looked at my scalp. "Ewww.. what is that? I can't touch that can I?" I felt tears gather in my eyes, as I told her that I had seborrhea dermatitis. She asked me what it was and then told me to go to the doctor's and get a note because she didn't want to catch anything. At that point, desperate to get my hair done, I complied with her request and the doctor did produce a note and pamphlet about my condition. After I returned with the note, still not convinced she made excuses about doing my hair, so the owner agreed to do my hair.
I went to the natural hair stylist for several months until one day she decided to allow a novice stylist to do my hair. My two strand twists that she did ended up unraveling and the cheap products that she used made my scalp condition flare up. The little bit of progress that my hair made was lost and so, I lost more hair. I felt so discourage and then, proceeded to begin doing my hair myself.
During my first year of transitioning to natural I was miserable. I wish I had the wonderful big chop experience that many of the YouTube gurus talk about. I wish my TWA hadn't been affected by my scalp condition and hair loss. When I began watching YouTube and visiting the hair forums, I gained inspiration but I also felt discouraged. My hair wasn't growing the average 1/2 inch per month and the styles that they could do, I never even came close to.
To be continued... Part 2- How the Bald Spots Disappeared & My Self Esteem Soared.
How have you overcome hair set backs and challenges?
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