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Love your coily kinks!

Well, here we go.

This year, 2019 makes it four years since I returned to my natural hair. I have no idea why, but I started the journey with a very unrealistic view of what my hair was going to be like. In my mind, my hair was going to be like all the naturalistas I kept seeing on YouTube. Might I add, at the period in time where I was deciding to big chop and binge-watching YouTube videos to mentally prepare myself, the 4C hair community was grossly under-represented. 

I knew I had long, thick natural hair before the creamy crack because I remembered all too well the detangling and braiding sessions with my mom (my relaxed hair was also thick and long) but I had no experience dealing with it on my own. I was 11 when I straightened my hair.

Anyway, I made the big chop In May of 2015. I did not transition for very long, so when I cut the straightened ends off, I BARELY had any growth. When I saw myself in the mirror after the chop, I just felt I made a mistake! I DID NOT WANT TO BE SEEN! BY ANYONE! 

Allena’s kinky coils

It took me a while to get accustomed to the new me but hearing comments such as “I like natural hair, but I don’t know what I would do with a texture like yours” or “your hair must be difficult to deal with” did not help. Mind you, it was. It was difficult to deal with. Mainly because I did not know what products to use, I did not know how to style it, and there’s a bunch of other things I did not know how to do. So there I was with a little struggling afro re-evaluating my decision every time I looked in the mirror or passed a shiny object that I could see myself in.

Nevertheless, a few months in I had an “aha” moment where I figured out a regimen that worked for me. My hair started blossoming, and I became more comfortable handling my hair. My crown and I still had a love-hate relationship, though, because I felt like it wasn’t growing. However, anyone with tight coils like that of the 4c texture knows that shrinkage is the devil reincarnate. 

Also, I was still receiving comments by a select few that boreholes in the wall of confidence I was building when it comes to my hair.  Idiotic comments such as “you don’t have good hair” because my hair wasn’t loose or curly or wavy enough in their opinion. 

I am still learning, and there are weeks and months where I am the definition of a “consistent natural.”  Other times, I don’t feel like seeing, touching or combing my hair and there are those moments when I have to talk myself out of going back to the creamy crack because I feel it would be “faster and easier.” If you feel that way too know you’re not alone, trust me.   Life happens and sometimes a bad hair day can turn into a bad hair week, and it’s natural to feel defeated but don’t give up.  

Allena’s kinky coils

Friends, 4c hair is so versatile. Listen, now that I know how to style my hair, I do and have done so much to it!

• I once bleached the ends (never again, you live, and you learn, haha.)
• I’ve dyed it twice
• I occasionally flat iron it when I feel like measuring my growth, or I feel like having the sleek and straight look
• I wear my big fro 
• I do twist outs, flat twists, single strand twists, low buns, high buns, side buns  
• And protective styling

Oh yes! While I wrap up, let me leave you with a tip! TAKE A LOT OF PICTURES. It has been a saving grace for me, especially when I am upset with my hair! (YES, getting angry at your hair is a real thing, and I’m not alone, right? *fingers crossed*).  I created a folder specifically for my hair on my phone and sometimes sit and browse through it, and I can testify to how it helps to lift my mood when I notice how far I’ve come.

Here’s a look at what that folder looks like:

By Allena Osborne

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