Going natural is proving to be a real challenge. I’m a college student who is strapped for cash and doesn’t have a car to make it to hair appointments, so I’ve decided to go natural, just for the heck of it. That, and I’ve been wearing twists for the past few months, and my last perm was two months ago.

I refuse, REFUSE to do the big chop. I like my length and I don’t wanna let go of it, no! But I admire the women who do cut it all off; that takes some bravery, and I am not there yet.

The title of this post refers to the fact that I am 5’10, dark-skinned Black woman living in an all-girls’ dorm full of skinny White girls. Needless to say, I’ve had some problems. Most of the girls are cool and really nice, but you always get THAT GIRL or THOSE GIRLS who are vehemently opposed to your presence and make sure that you know that. So, I feel like going natural will help me to–as my brothers say–“darken up” and get some backbone, because it takes A LOT of cajones to go natural and stick with it.

I just learned about three years ago that you didn’t HAVE to get a perm. I’ve been getting them all my life, and I thought that was something that everybody did. Then, I saw Good Hair. Yeah, that did it.

So, I’m two months into this, and I’m in great need of help. I just took out my two-strand twists, and tried to do a twist-out, and of course it turned out terrible. I’m wearing it in a ponytail right now, and, like a genius, I forgot to bring my comb, shampoo, and conditioner with me after visiting home this past weekend. I placed an emergency call to the braiding salon up here and they said they could help me out, thank God!

Anyways…any tips for this struggling dreamer? I’d appreciate it 🙂

Need products to go Natural? Shop at whatnaturalslove.com/