Why I Went Natural

I've been excited to do this post for a while. So here it is: why I decided to go natural. It all started at the hair salon. I was flipping through a magazine and there was a picture of Solange after her big chop. (That's the term for cutting off all of your hair to get rid of the chemicals and have it grow in its natural texture.) Solange looked fierce with her cut and my hairstylist told me I had a similar texture to hers.

[caption id="attachment_291" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Solange, Beyoncé's equally fierce sister.
Photo from curllove.blogspot.com[/caption]

The seed was planted. I watered it by watching Chris Rock's documentary, Good Hair. I also did my research by talking to people in my life who decided to go natural. Finally, I did some self-evaluation. For most of my life, I had a perm. (That means my hair was chemically straightened.) I was super self-conscious about how short it was and about how differently it looked from my white friends. (I went to a primarily white school.) I realized how I'd let that societal ideal define my self-perception for a long time. I figured college was as good a time as any to go for it. I cut my hair to quite literally return to my roots,to see myself as beautiful, and to rebel from what I felt like society was telling me to be.

[caption id="attachment_292" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The day of the big chop. It was so short![/caption]

I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It was really scary not knowing how I would look or how people I cared about would react. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. Having natural hair has made me feel more "me" than I ever have. I guess God knew what He was doing when He gave me this hair. I'd love to hear your thoughts on societal pressures, on your insecurities, and what you did to overcome them.

Share the love y'all,

Taylor