Read and see last year’s challenge. 2006 A year of protective hairstyles.
My challenge of 06: one year of protective hairstyles
The greatest thing about hair is to wear it out. It doesn’t matter if it’s nappy, kinky or curly, an Afro, Puff or Twistout always make us feel a little extra special. So why would one deliberately choose to wear protective hairstyles for a whole year?
The main goal was to encourage the ones who are on the verge of going natural. The beginning is the hardest part of a natural journey and the easiest way to go through this stage is by wearing protective styles. They are called protective because the ends are not out and you don’t have to comb your hair every day. Especially in this stage, less combing is less breakage. (more in Going Natural How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair Book)
It was also a personal test to see if I could really wear protective styles for a whole year and I was wondering whether I would be creative enough to keep it interesting. Like the book I started with a plan and asked myself what styles I would wear if I was at the beginning of a natural journey.
I think I would start off with extensions so I did. They give the hair a chance to rest and to grow and are very easy to care for. Taking the extensions out is quite a challenge, especially if you are not used to this but it is also an excellent chance to learn to know and get familiar with your own unique natural texture.
This one year challenge gave me the opportunity to experiment with wraps. They are a part of Suriname culture where wraps have names and are even used as a sign language. “Let them talk” and “Meet me on the corner” are the most famous ones.
Inspired by the beautiful colorful women of Brooklyn, I used different kinds of fabrics to create wraps. It is truly an art that is always useful. Whether it’s to hide a hair experiment gone bad or to create a crown to go with a gown. I am not sure if I will ever master the art of creating wraps but I certainly had fun doing my own creations.
For the Happy Natural Hair Day in Virginia I wanted something different and something a little more special. After all I had to represent Going Natural and Nappturality. I hadn’t worn them since 2003 but for some reason I chose to wear Flat-twists. I am glad I did. I think I may have been the only one with Flat-Twists that weekend and I am sure the accessories I added set the style apart. I got many compliments wearing these twists. They even became my signature style of 2006.
Since I am getting many questions about weaves, 
I just had to try this style as well. Of course it had to be a kinky weave. Since I wanted to try color, I combined both in one style. Too bad we, me and Tameeka, couldn’t get the right kinky hair type to make an afro but the result was a colorful cheerful nappy style.
Unfortunately the weave didn’t last long for reasons I will explain in a next episode so I decided to do Senegalese Twists as my last style. Without extensions this time so I could get used to wearing my own hair again. Regrettably I was too busy and don’t have a decent picture of this style. Still I hope you enjoy the picture show for now. Next month I tell you more about my one year challenge.
Stay beautiful.
