At a very young age I learned what the true cost of “beauty” involved, or at least what most young girls and their mothers thought was the price of beauty.

A Lesson Learned: “Mama, mama,…..it burns!” I say on relaxer day.  “I think it’s ready now I exclaim!!!!!””Ok Chass, can you hold on a few more seconds?”, my mother says back to me.”Ohhhhkaaaay .” I reply.    At a very young age I learned what the true cost of “beauty” involved, or at least what most young girls and their mothers thought was the price of beauty. Relaxing my hair was just a means to an end in order to control the naps! I endured many relaxers and carried around the battle scars of leaving the creamy crack on too long or from sneaking a scratch here and there the day before the relaxer was applied.

At a very young age I learned what the true cost of “beauty” involved, or at least what most young girls and their mothers thought was the price of beauty. 

I endured many relaxers and carried around the battle scars of leaving the creamy crack on too long or from sneaking a scratch here and there the day before the relaxer was applied.

In 1996 I began to embark on my natural hair journey. I began a process that at the time was just called “crazy” but come to find out I was “transitioning”.

 

Embracing my own beauty has allowed me to experience what I thought was the unthinkable, the unattainable,….healthy hair.

 

I couldn’t figure out why my hair was always the same length and thin. It remained a consistent length that fell somewhere between my chin and my neck and was accented with thinning edges and topped with low self esteem. How could so much “new growth” look so drab and lifeless? The result of stunted hair growth and thinning edges was what the cost of beauty left me with over the years.

In 1996 I began to embark on my natural hair journey. I began a process that at the time was just called “crazy” but come to find out I was “transitioning”. People wondered why I would cut all that “pretty” hair off. I was good at hiding the chemical burns and always kept a cute style and the naps in check. My first attempt at being natural allowed me to see my own beauty, my natural self with no fillers. I loved it, it was the period of The Fugees and everyone called me Lauren Hill! Unfortunately, college is a time of self exploration and I did go back to the “creamy crack” throughout my college career as I was still trying to find myself.

By 2002 I was in a different place all together. I was into natural food, working out and was determined to be natural once again. I was about to get married and was working in the beauty industry as a makeup artist. I loved my natural hair and it became a part of who I was. I had never seen my hair grow so fast. After rocking all sorts of styles I was ready to loc my hair. My hair was in locs (a great long term protective style) for five years and I recently combed them out.

Much to my surprise they uncovered natural hair to a length I thought I would never witness, just above bra strap length! I did get it cut to shoulder length as to train my hair to be loose again and to rid myself of any lingering dead ends. My current hair regimen is to moisturize daily and to wash and condition biweekly.Embracing my own beauty has allowed me to experience what I thought was the unthinkable, the unattainable,….healthy hair. I try to encourage natural sisters as well as transitioners alike to explore the options and creativity that having natural hair can provide!