HAIR STORY NO. 1 (1982 - 1995)

Alright, I have some very upset close friends and family waiting to read a hair story or two as promised days ago, so I must deliver. I'll never leave you hanging like that again...things come up and well this unemployed girl is just so damn busy now a days. As promised here is the history of my hair struggles...


Years 1982 - 1995
Very similar to what we've seen, if you checked out "Good Hair", I remember my first relaxer at a young tender age. I can't remember the exact year, but I believe I was less than ten years old, but no younger than eight. My mom and my eldest sister, Joyce, applied that crack cream to my hair  in my grandmother's basement where my uncle, who was a cosmetologist, worked on his clients. (Ughh, I can still feel the slick from his Gerry Curl juice on my hands.) I had been told not to scratch my hair days prior - but did I listen? No. Vaseline was applied to my forehead, ears, temples, and neck. My hair was parted in four sections, and the then the application "process" began. My hair was so course that my sister said that my hair soaked up the relaxer - meaning that after a few minutes it looked like they applied nothing to my hair - it literally looked dry causing them to apply more to my hair. 

It was a huge day for all of us and I think that maybe I should express the years from 1982 - 1995 as my mom's hair struggles, and not mine. (Why just check out the pictures below.) That day was probably a dream come true for my mom. I really don't blame her for throwing that cream in our hair. She did have five young girls and who has time to do five heads of thick kinky hair on a daily basis. Luckily my mom was responsible and so she didn't apply relaxers to our hair often. In fact, she kept it cornrowed in very cute designs in between relaxers which made my hair grow down my back in the 4th grade. Ironically, my hair was so thick, that the relaxer didn't do too much damage. It actually helped it grow because it was less stress from snatching and combing through tangles.


The point to this story is that that although I currently may be an ambassador for natural hair, I think that healthy hair can be maintained with a relaxer as long as your keep it conditioned, trimmed, washed, minimize the heat, and keep your relaxer fresh - only relaxing the new growth (virgin hair). Once you relax, for some, you must continue to touch up on new growth on a regular basis, because at the point where your relaxed and natural hair meet it can become very weak and lead to breakage. And, by all means, I'm not saying that once you relax you can never go back - you can wing yourself off of the "stuff". 

Well what do you think? 1982 - 1995, so far so good, right? Besides the bad hair styling, my hair was pretty thick and healthy. It wasn't until I began high school in 1996 that I became addicted to relaxers...to be continued.