A Ladi's Tresses...My Hair Story, in Pictures

Like most young African American girls, I got a relaxer during early childhood and spent most of my life with chemically straightened hair.  I went from pigtails, to curls, to finally a sleek wrap.













After going off to college, I figured I needed a more grown up look and decided to cut my hair into a shoulder length bob.

From there, I guess I got a little scissor happy and decided to get bangs.











I actually did it myself and didn't do a horrible job, but instead of risking ruining the look myself, I started letting my roommate maintain the bangs for me every few weeks.

Somewhere along the line I started getting interested in healthy hair care. I read a ton of hair blogs, researched hair products, and started doing D.I.Y mixes in my kitchen.  From 2008 to 2009 I focused on growing my hair out, hoping to go from hair that was perpetually stuck at neck/shoulder length to mid back length.  This is as far as  I got:

My Last Relaxer 7/09

At the beginning of 2009, I somehow shifted focus from just wanting healthy, relaxed hair to just wanting healthy hair in general.  I read about how damaging relaxers could be, and became curious of how my hair would look without one.  I found examples online of how beautiful and versatile natural hair could be, and wondered if my hair could achieve the variety of styles that  I saw.  I started stretching my relaxers out for 12-16 weeks, experimenting with natural-looking styles (braid outs, rod/roller sets), and finally just decided to transition. I got my last relaxer on July 8, 2009  and transitioned until June 2010. I planned to transition for a whole year, but one day while sitting by myself in my boyfriend’s apartment I pulled out my scissors and just went to work cutting off my relaxed ends! 

I've been natural and loving it ever since!  I'm always trying a new style, playing around with different styling methods (braids, twists, etc) to achieve different textures, and marveling at all the things my hair can do.  

I will share you guys some of the styles I come up with (well those that turn out well lol) and let you know about some of the product's I'm loving!