Naturalista Craze

     My Crazy Journey
I’ve been a naturalista all my life and I recall it being at least 8 inches long before I had to chop it to go into a boarding school in 2012. And I attained this length after over 15 years so it was a really big deal to me. My mom had long flowing hair that was about 14 inches so I was crazy jealous. When I looked into the mirror after my cut, I was terrified. I felt the tears at the corners of my eyes.

I was so downcast after the compulsory big chop that I became an introvert. I must confess… that was definitely not my year. I however admit that having no hair to worry about did do me some good and gave me a load of free time I dedicated to reading. That paid off tremendously. If asked if I would do that all over again, it would be a capital NO!!!!!

I missed my hair. I twirled the tips of my hair very often so you can imagine my horror when I occasionally absent mindedly reached out for a tip to twirl and there was nothing there. In the year 2013, my hair became very bushy and untamable. I had entered the university and had no intentions of weaving the regular cornrows like I did back in high school. So I had to subdue my hair to fixing and braids.

After repeated styling, i’ve come to realize that braids, no matter how loosely made, cut the fuck out of my hair. if its not my impatient friend cutting the excess with my hair, its either falling out of my scalp or mysteriously shredding when loosening. Then as for fixing, I began to notice that my front hair and edges were retreating to the centre of my head. I was horrified. 2014 was my experimental year.

2015 was the year I really didn’t care about the hair. I no longer checked it every day to see how many imaginary inches had been added to its length. I broke on so many occasions, the number one rule of being a naturalista: never leave your mane untamed overnight. This practically means, twist out or braid your hair before you sleep else it becomes a lump of hard sponge. And trust me, when it becomes a sponge, there’s almost no going back. Its advisable to get out your painkillers before you begin combing the hair. its gonna leave your scalp sore with a headache.

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My very unlikely roommate turned friend, shout out to my naturalista sister IMABONG APAN- ITA taught me the “twist out” and I patronized it almost every three weeks. I was daydreaming when someone behind me exclaimed at how long my locks had grown. That’s when I discovered my inner diva. I became dedicated to my natural hair journey. I lurked in the attention cast on my hair. people I didn’t even talk to were asking me here and there what I was doing to my hair and why it had gotten so long. By the way, I can now boldly say that my hair is 10 inches long.
This year, I discovered that I could actually use oils on my hair. the ones I have tried are basically olive oil and coconut oil for an overnight deep condition and I must say, they sure do work. I can’t boast for its length addition but I can advocate for its length retention and the wonders it worked for my hair texture. It left my hair unbelievably soft for days. You would be blown away at how smooth and silky my hair was.

Now, i’ve put 2016 as the year I mom my hair. yes I said MOM. Please endeavor to read my next blog post. “Ten Things You Should Know About Natural Hair” I’d try to put up the post by tomorrow. In three weeks, I’d try to get an exclusive interview from two known naturalistias to get their styles and routines.

Hope you find all of the tips useful.
With Love,
Shy Gulliver