Natural Pixie

Hey - sorry for the delay! I’m happy to help you figure out if you want to go natural and share some tips. I’ve been natural since 2000 and i love it. i started b/c my scalp is super sensitive and it got to the point i couldn’t have a relaxer in my hair for more than literally 5 mins and I’d get burns…

I started by braiding my hair for a solid 18 months with only a week or two of resting b/t switching out the braids. I didn’t really realize I was transitioning :) I just liked braids! Then when i finally took the braids out after a year and a half i had like 5” new growth and figured i’d leave it out and see what happens… well, i never looked back. i had it mixed texture for a year but it kept breaking so i bit the bullet and did a big chop - my hair was about 2” at the longest point… scary but kinda liberating!

I tried to get my lil sis to go natural for years, she has ‘good hair’ and is very open minded 23 year old… finally last year she wanted to try it on her own and i ‘coached’ her, but after a month of being natural she decided it was too much work :)

so! all that is to say, you have to really really want to go natural b/c between the change you’ll have to make to your lifestyle, your outlook on yourself and the way others react to you, it’ll be a challenge. It won’t be hard, and def not impossible, but just be ready for it.

some basic tips from my personal experience:

realize and come to terms with the fact that there will be A LOT of days where you feel ugly with your natural hair. if you’ve been wearing your hair long/ straight most of your life, it will be a big shock physically and emotionally to have shorter curlier textured hair. ESPECIALLY when you first wake up in the morning, yikes.

find one or two people to be your natural hair cheerleaders. not people who will smile to your face and say ‘oh your hair looks amazing’ all the time, but people who TRULY like natural hair and tell you the polite truth on the days your hair really does look extra funky. my hubby loves my kinks even though he doesn’t know the first thing about natural hair. he actually dislikes when i hot comb or put extensions in.

be willing to experiment with hair care but DON’T spend aton of money or too much time on your hair. it’s hair, not a new hobby. i mean read blogs and try to co-washing, protective styling, home mixes, etc when you first start but everyone’s routine is unique so don’t think there is a miracle product (or combo of products) that will work for you just like it worked for someone else…

ok… now that i’ve written this novel (damn, guess i kinda am passionate about being natural) let me know what specific questions you have. i used to have a natural hair blog but it got kinda intense for me; i’m happy to podcast about crafting but i try to be relatively low key about my hair. my tumblr blog is still up bc even i need inspiration and reminders (and down right brainwashing) sometimes to keep learning to love my real natural hair. i’d been texturizing/ tex-laxing my hair for the past 5 years to get a softer easier to maintain texture, but after my wedding in 2010 i decided to totally not mess with the color or texture with any relaxers/ dyes. my hair is ridiculously kinky, i never knew, but i LOVE it now, especially since i started spinning :)

ok lady, talk soon! ps i think its AMAZING to want to do this for your daughters, but at the end of the day, you really have to want to do it yourself :)

http://naturalpixie.tumblr.com/

kim