“I’ve big chopped three times….”
Washington, DC, Women

“I’ve big chopped three times. The first time, I cut all of my hair off to start dreadlocks. I had my dreads for about two years and then I got tired of them. After that experience, I left my hair natural for two months. I was pregnant and experiencing a lot of emotions, so I cut it all off again. We’re going to skip the second time, however. My current and third big chop happened because my hair was damaged. I relaxed it and mainly kept it in a ponytail.

My family is super Afrocentric and they come from the African culture, so I grew up in that type of environment. One day, I just decided ‘no more’. For what? I love my hair short because it feels free. Initially, when I cut my hair for the third time, I was going to continue to grow it out but I’ve been getting my hair cut for two months now. You don’t see many women getting the designs in their hair,  but I like to keep it simple while showing a little individuality. Not too much though.”

(Featured Post) “Wearing my hair natural is making me more self-confident in my identity and firm in my belief that we can be great in our natural state…”
Washington, DC, Women

“Wearing my hair natural is making me more self-confident in my identity and firm in my belief that we can be great in our natural state. I identify as a black woman, especially attending a predominately white institution (PWI) like American University. It makes me more strong in my identity because my hair shows that I’m proud of my heritage and that I’m not necessarily trying to assimilate even though...

(Featured Post) “If my hair starts a conversation around what it means to better understand the lived experience of other people…”
Washington, DC, Women

Sending this lovely friend of mine lots of love as she travels throughout the Middle East and heads back to live in South Africa! Thank you for your support and for sharing your story. “My evolution to wearing natural hair was very natural in that it was passive. I decided to stop relaxing my hair because I didn’t feel like going to the salon. Over time, I began to notice...

“I’d be at work and people would literally touch my hair throughout the day…”
Washington, DC, Women

“I live in London, but I’ve worked in other European countries where people would ask to randomly touch my hair. I’d be at work and people would literally touch my hair throughout the day, so I know that I would be the talk of the day if I wore my hair out like I’m wearing it now.  

I’ve been natural for two years. One day I was having a hard time and needed a change, so I cut it off myself. It was very liberating. It was the first time I experienced having short hair which took a little while for me to embrace because in our community hair is everything. A lot of women in London have natural hair, but they choose to wear protective styles because it appears more acceptable on the job. I often wear protective styles myself when I’m back home. Things are slowly changing, however. Our main pharmacy chain which is similar to CVS started selling more products for Afro-textured hair about three years ago. A lot of people get their natural hair products from the US, so that’s important.”

 

 

“Both of my parents are health nuts, so I’ve been natural all my life…”
Washington, DC, Women

“You caught me while I was sitting here with my eyes closed in the park enjoying the warmth of the sun before the weather gets too cold.

Both of my parents are health nuts, so I’ve been natural all my life. Being natural hasn’t really impacted the way that I live because it’s really the only lifestyle that I know. If having natural hair inspires more women of color to live a healthy and organic lifestyle then that’s definitely a good thing.”

 

“I recognized that I needed a change, so I started snipping my hair and combing it out..”
Washington, DC, Women

“I cut my locs because my birthday was a little over a week ago and I just turned 34. I’m going through a time of transition with a lot of different things, including my personal and professional life. I’m a clinical social worker and a therapist working primarily in healthcare with a network that focuses on undocumented  black immigrants. I had my locs for about two years. I recognized that...

“Going natural and cutting my hair was me saying ‘no, I’m taking my power back’…”
Washington, DC, Women

“I decided to take time off before pursuing my undergraduate education. At the time, going natural and cutting my hair was me saying ‘no, I’m taking my power back’ because I was always looking for answers outside of myself. Loc’ing my hair has helped be more patient. I can visually see how strong and healthy my hair is as it grows and I mature. I’m excited to attend Howard University...

“I often choose to do my own hair and makeup…”
Washington, DC, Women

Shanel James will represent the United States at the 2017 Miss International beauty pageant to be held in Japan in November. Let’s show her some love!  “I’ve been involved with the pageant world for about ten years. I went to a high school in Maryland that has a lot of former Miss Maryland USA contestants which exposed me to the pageant process. I’ve done multiple photo shoots which is amazing...

“I’ve been natural for a decade and quite a few of the women in my family have natural hair…”
Washington, DC, Women

“I’ve been natural for a decade and quite a few of the women in my family have natural hair. I’ve cut my hair various lengths throughout the years. The only thing that’s changed is that it’s not as thick as it used to be because I’ve gotten older, but I’m glad! If my hair still had the same thickness then my arms would probably fall off from washing it.”