I’m not a person to make New Year’s resolutions.
But last year I had a chance to make a decision about my hair. I always straightened my hair every 4-6 weeks. I HAD to have my hair straight, you know. But I finally started to see what it was doing to my hair. My hair never grew past a certain point because of which I had to use keratherapy daily smoothing cream. I could never grow it long. And of course, that upset me. I mean I don’t mind short natural hair but I’d love to see how long I could grow it you know?
A friend of mine talked to me every once in a while about going natural. I listened and was interested but the last time I thought about it, I was halfway through my pregnancy and my hair is so hard to work with. I couldn’t possibly make a decision to go natural while pregnant. So I put it off again. But I happened to be out of town the weekend I was supposed to straighten my hair in October of 2011. This was the start of my natural hair journey.
This above is the way my hair looks now… after I wash it of course. The hair that is straight is what was chemically straight before going natural. I can’t wait to completely cut that off. I have been working on my hair care routine & this article has really broaden up my views & options about treating my hair.It is really not that hard to figure out what works for you and your hair.
So, here’s what I do:
- Wash hair with a natural shampoo
- use a deep conditioner for the amount of time on the bottle
- put on a leave in conditioner and heat protector
- Blow dry then flat iron my hair
Here is my hair after it’s done. I still have the horrible ends because of the chemically straightening but hopefully, within the next year, most of it will be gone. I’ve already been able to trim off about an inch or 2 of the old hair since the decision. Can’t wait to be totally natural!




It looks great! I haven’t used any chemicals on my hair in a long time, but since it’s always been long you can see where I’ve colored it before, and when I stopped. As long as my hair is, it’s going to take forever for it to all be gone! LOL!
Good for you for taking this step and going natural! It looks great already and I’m sure you’ll love it when you get to your goal! 🙂
I think this is awesome & I don’t think you will regret it at all!! I can’t wait to hear/see more progress!
Wise decision! I can’t wait to see the progress! It is looking great so far!
Good for you for going natural. I had perms for 20+ years because, opposite of you, my hair is fine and thin. The day I cut it off all the curls was so liberating. I love the ease and convenience for me. Good luck finding the way that works best for your hair. I don’t know if I will ever grow mine back but getting rid of the chemicals was the best thing I could ever do for my hair.
Looks like you’re really on your way to healthy hair!! Good for you. I did nothing with my hair for years and started blow drying it and curling it a couple years ago and I can definitely see the damage it does to my hair. Need to let it be natural more often!
I want to go a natural route with my hair, too! I’ve never dyed it or anything like that so it’s chemical free in that sense – but I’d love to find a more natural way to shampoo/condition it.
Your hair looks great now. I had serious scalp issues due to all the perming, and it used to be so sore and tender. I haven’t looked back since I chopped all my hair off and started over. I love it. You should check out Longhairdontcare on Youtube. She’s a heat trained natural with gorgeous hair!