Tanya's Natural Hair Journey

My natural hair journey began when I was in my mid-30s. It was a time in my life when I became more in tune with my health and growing older. One thing that was glaringly obvious to me was the use of chemicals in my hair. I had worn my hair in a ‘relaxed’ state for over 20 years, nonstop.
I thought about how my hair had changed over the years. It was still thick, but nothing like the fullness I remembered as a teen. I also thought about the pain associated with getting my hair relaxed…you know, when you 'scratched' before the relaxer and that chemical oozed its way into that tiny scratch your fingernail made. And let’s not forget the sores around edges that took a week to heal after the application of the relaxer!
And finally, I was convinced that I was no longer remembering information the way I once had. I thought about the chemical seeping into my scalp…we all know that our skin absorbs everything we put on it. Well, I made a decision to stop – once and for all!
I took a year to grow out my hair, wearing kinky twists as my preferred style. I spent that year thoroughly researching natural hair options. When my natural hair was 5 inches long, I chopped off the remaining 5 inches of ‘relaxed’ hair and had my Sisterlocks installed…and I have NEVER looked back!