My natural journey into nappturality didn’t happen over night. Although my decision to never relax again happened in a quick “ah ha” moment, I didn’t immediately embrace my natural hair. I wanted to cover it up until I had enough length to wear a press and curl. You see, that’s the only way I knew to wear natural hair, since it was thermally straightened for the first 23 years of my life. So after I swore off chemicals, wearing my own hair out in all its natural glory never ever occured to me for the three-and-a-half years that I unwittingly transitioned in micro-braids. Getting to where I am now from where I was has been a very long process in the making. So just like you, I’ve got a hair history…my back story…my own story to tell.
I share mine in three parts:
31 responses so far ↓
deborah // January 2, 2007 at 6:17 pm |
My comment is more of a question. My daughter is 4 yrs. old and i don’t plan to use chemicals/heat on her hair. She has a slightly wavy loose kink thing going on right now however her hair is very dry. I’ve found that jherri curl activator is gives it just the right amount of wetness to be easily styled and doesn’t seem to dry out as quickly and as much as other “moisterizers”. Have you experimented with that and what is your opinion on using it?
thanks,
deb.
p.s. love the site!
nappyme // January 2, 2007 at 11:28 pm |
Hi Deborah,
Good for you in your convictions to keep your daughter nappy. That’s so exciting. I hope you’re nappy too or perhaps considering going natural as well.
When I first started caring for my hair out of braids, my hair was extremely dry and brittle. I had absolutely no clue how to care for it. Then for some reason I decided to try Carefree Curl products, and I saw an immediate improvement in the way my hair looked and felt. At first I was using a moisturizer and an activator. Then I tried the moisturizer by itself and found that it worked just fine. In comparing the ingredients in the moisturizer to that in the activator they have very similar ingredients perhaps in different concentrations.
Believe it or not, many nappies use curl products. So if the activator is working fine for your daughters hair I encourage you to stay with what works.
Thanks for visiting Nappturology 101, and I’m delighted that you like the site. Hopefully, you’ll add it to your favorites and visit often.
Good luck with your daughter’s hair.
CarmenNC // January 14, 2007 at 6:14 pm |
Nappyme, this is very nice. I’m speechless. This is like a nappy Bible. I’ll visit often.
nappyme // January 14, 2007 at 6:34 pm |
Hey Carm! Glad you like it. I hope you do come back for frequent visits. And good luck with your sister locs. You’ll have to keep me posted on how it’s all going. Thanks for stopping by.
Criss // May 8, 2007 at 6:44 am |
Hi I am trying to learn more hair style for my natural hair. Right now I have been natural for some time now (6 years or more) and I have tried twist and mostly ponytails. What are some other hair styles that works well with the work place and for church with a hat that has to cover as well.
nappyme // May 8, 2007 at 6:55 am |
Hi Criss,
Welcome to NPP101!
You can also style your hair creatively yet conservatively with flat twists and cornrows. I just complimented a friend of mine that had cornrows going back into a bun. It was so cute. I stopped by her house on Sunday afternoon cause I was in the neighborhood and she was close to running out the door to go to a late day program at church. She was kickin’ it in her white suite. Then she went into the bedroom and came out with one of the big church lady hats. A purple one. Told she needed some purple on so she went and got a scarf to complete the look. Her low bun worked just well with her hat.
Of course she’s been wearing her hair like this to work as well.
I have worn a similar sytle created with flat twists.
If you hair is long enough, you could also just brush your hair back and wear a low puff or create a bun as well.
Hope that helps!
eesha // May 8, 2007 at 2:04 pm |
Hey, Nappyme. Thanks for leaving the tips on my blog. signed up for the CNappymeNow forum and added a link to your website on my blog. I have no idea why you weren’t on there before, since I lurk here all the time. If it wasn’t for your tutorial on banding and washing, I probably wouldn’t have ever washed my hair again after the first time! Sorry if this posts twice.
Bodhideepa // June 12, 2007 at 2:23 pm |
Wow. I really appreciate your sites’ thoroughness, and I also admire your web mastery (as well as that of Deecoily). I pretty sure my hair is cnapp, am extremely gratified to have even more help with same. Thanks.
nappyme // June 12, 2007 at 7:24 pm |
Hi eesha. Glad you like the forum enough to lurk periodically. Thanks for the listing and yes, isn’t that banding technique the bomb!
@Bodhideepa, you’re so welcome. And thanks, I’m glad you like the site. And yeah, Dee and the ladies on NP have been quite my inspiration. I’m just glad my little corner of the world is also assisting folks with their nappy journey as well.
Jane // July 24, 2007 at 10:24 pm |
Hello, I am so eager to grow out my natural hair, you my mother told me I have very thick,coarse hair. She also think I will make a big mistake in going natural, but in my heart I want to go natural. This Fall I will be heading to college, and I feel that going natural is what I really want to do. I have a question, for me to grow my hair out since I am very scared to chop it off, is it a good idea to put it in cornrows??, then take it out for a 1month, then do cornrows again?..I don’t know what to do, but all I know that I am transitioning right now as I type and I am not going back to relaxers no more.
Thank you for your time
-Jane
nappyme // July 29, 2007 at 9:58 pm |
Hi sweetie. Oh I’m so glad you’ve decided to go natural. I’m also sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you with a response too, but here goes.
Cornrows are a very good transition style. But just remember that just because it’s low maintenance, doesn’t mean it’s care free. Make sure to shampoo and condition your hair regularly. Opt for a good protein treatment as well. No matter what you do, once you start to get significant new growth, the point of demarcation (you know, where the permed hair and the relaxed hair meet) will be a stress point and become very weak. You’ll need the protein treatments to try to stave off breakage until you get some good length.
You might also consider microbraids. That’s how I transitioned. If you do be very careful of your hairline cause it’s the most fragil part. I used to leave them in for three months at a time. What I didn’t know at the time though is that I should have had my hairline touched up at about the month-and-a-half mark.
Whatever you decide to do, just know that you need to do styles that cater to your nappy hair and not your relaxed hair cause that’s what you’re ultimately going to be dealing with going forward.
If you need more information on transitioning, Motowngirl.com is an excellent resource!
Good luck on your new natural journey and take care. Stop back by when you get a chance if you have anymore questions.
~Nappyme
thethickmadame // October 4, 2007 at 10:31 pm |
Hi nappyme!
I found your website through Motowngirl.com and fell in love with all your information and humor about natural hair. Also, your blog inspired me to start my own. I like your style!! Keep up the good work!
-Thethickmadame
nappyme // October 5, 2007 at 3:30 am |
Hi thethickmadame,
Glad ya found me and are enjoying my musings about nappy hair. Also glad to have inspired you to start your own blog. I too was inspired by one my favorite nappies to start blogging because of her website on natural hair so I know what you mean. So go for it!
Woman in Transition // October 31, 2007 at 12:00 pm |
I just discovered your blog after clicking through other comments on other blogs (a rabbit hole…. I’m so busy reading others that I can’t get my own launched!) At any rate, I’m in the very first stage of nappiness, i.e., my last perm was about 8 weeks ago. I’m finding my hair to be so coarse and nappy that I’m just about ready to go back to perms because I can’t stand it. I need PRODUCT names that can help me get through this. I live in central Virginia and D.C. is the closest thing to the best nappy hair care that I can get. So to any of you or your readers who can recommend product names and/or natural hair care technicians in the DC metro area, I will bless you for life. You can email me at 1kid2luv@gmail.com.
I will definitely put a link to this site on my blog. Thank you so much for your resources.
nappyme // November 1, 2007 at 7:26 pm |
Hi Woman in Transition!
You can try any water/glycerin-based moisturizers. Sta Sof Fro comes to mind as does any curl moisturizing product like Carefree Curl and Wave Nuveau. I also like clear gel curl activators. Right on makes one that I like. Any Pro Line moisturizing product works well on nappy hair. Try ProLine Lite Cream Moisturizer.
There’s tons of stuff to try so have at it and good luck!
Crystal // November 25, 2007 at 2:52 am |
I love your site!! I’ve gotten some very practical advice from it. I lived my entire life wearing perms, so I really no nothing about taking care of my natural hair. One of the things that’s giving me a headache is washing my hair. My usually shampoo and conditioner leave my hair dry and so matted together I can’t comb it. I’ve even had to cut piece of my hair out because it tangles so bad (Tangles were bad with a perm now their three times as bad). I’m also struggling with the blow drying thing. I’ve read where you write that heat is damaging to hair. I want to stay away from it, so what if I blow dried my hair on the cool/cold setting? Would that have any adverse effects on my hair?
nappyme // November 26, 2007 at 3:59 pm |
Hi Crystal,
Thank you and glad you like my site. Yes shampooing can be a nightmare when you don’t have a good plan or a process in place. Take a look at this link,
http://nappyme.wordpress.com/category/managing-nappy-hair/shampoo-and-detangling-techniques-for-long-nappy-hair/
It will give you some good ideas about how to save yourself lots of grief when you shampo.
With regards to blow drying, I don’t see how a cool setting can hurt, but if you’re like me, you’ll become impatient and the next thing you know that darned thing will be on full blast with high heat. I’d say ditch the blow drier altogether and let your hair air dry. You’ll see more about this in my shampoo tutorial as well.
Good luck!
Rocki // March 8, 2008 at 3:10 pm |
Hi,
Just wanted to say thank you for the beautiful information you share with the world. I really enjoy your site, and I particularly love the way you share the other sites of women who have also impressed you. It shows such beautiful sisterhood on your part. I did the big chop the other day, (3/5/05), I have 3 inches of gorgeous natural hair to start. Looking forward to growing gorgeous chem free hair down my back.
Blessings to you for this amazing, inspirational site. (p.s. Yes, I will also join Nappturality)!! Peace & Blessings.
Rocki // March 8, 2008 at 3:12 pm |
The big chop was: March 5, 2008. Not 2005!!!
Luv Ya!!!!!
nappyme // March 8, 2008 at 7:38 pm |
Hi Rocky. Question… Did you mean you did your big chop the other day on 3/05/08? I think that’s what you meant. So I’m going to congratulate you on recently becoming fully natural. Also, I glad you enjoy my site and look forward to seeing you on NP!
Good luck on your nappy journey.
~Nappy Me
Miki's Mom // April 16, 2008 at 2:55 pm |
WoW!!
What a blessing to come upon this website. My daughter was born with straight, soft hair. I don’t know if I overwashed it (if that’s possible) but it soon started to fall out and new hair started to sprout. Well, it’s been 1.5 years and her hair is still sprouting. I like the natural look, but it has no shape and it is so dry. Her hair swallows the all natural food/grease products I’ve been trying. Miki is 2.1 years old and I need help with this.
As for me, I would like to continue on my natural journey. My last chemical treatment was in June ‘07. I gave in and got some braids 4 weeks ago, but I will not give in to another chemical in my hair. My frustration is much like that with my daughter’s hair, it won’t grow. It’s not dry, but it won’t grow. Please share your wisdom on how to achieve moisture and growth for Miki’s hair and growth for mine.
God bless you,
Alissa
p.s. I am so happy to have come upon your site!
nappyme // April 16, 2008 at 6:34 pm |
Miki’s Mom,
Hi and welcome to Npp 101!
Being natural and maintain it’s health and length is about figuring out what’s best for your hair. We all have soooo many different textures of nappy hair, and many of us have several textures on one head. I do, that’s for sure. That said, it’s very difficult to make specific recommendations because depending on your texture, everyone’s hair responds to products very differently. But there are some basics to consider such as finding the correct moisturizers, not confusing moisture and oil. Moisture = water and oil = lubrication. So look for good water-based moisturizers…read your product labels. Stay away from petroleum and mineral oil-based products that can be drying. Switch to non-sls (sodium laueth [laurel] sulfate) shampoos since they can be drying. Find protective styles that can preserve your length and give you an opportunity to manipulate your hair less.
These are only some high level suggestions. You need to start learning about nappy hair care more in depth. My whole site is devoted toward providing folks with good, solid factual information about caring for, maintaining and styling nappy hair. Please take the time to read these articles…such as
Hair Facts
*Ditch the Hair Grease; Is an Oil-free Routine *Right for You?
*Heat: Nappy Hair’s Worse Enemy
*Help: My Hair Isn’t Growing!
*Moisture: Nappy Hair’s Best Friend
*Top Tips for Nappy Hair
You’ll find links to these articles on the right hand side of my site.
You can also join some hair care boards such as Nappturality.com. Also checkout Motowngirl.com. From there, you’re likely to run into additional resources that can get you going in the right direction.
So, be proactive cause I can’t possibly cover everything you need to know in a single reply to your post. But if you take the time to learn and experiement, you’re likely to find some things that work for you and your daughter.
I hope some of this helps and good luck!
~Nappyme
Jacque // January 4, 2009 at 12:14 pm |
I love this website! You have really helpful resources! Thank you! I added your link to my natural hair directory kinnks.com
Jacque
nappyme // January 4, 2009 at 3:40 pm |
Thanks Jacque!
Keya // May 4, 2009 at 2:44 pm |
Hello, My name is Keya, and I’m a nineteen year old girl, who is seeking to grow out my natural hair.
I love your website. Your posts are extremely well written and I enjoy reading your blog. I have a couple of questions.
Do you believe that relaxers are dangerous to a person’s hair health? Are you completely against relaxers? How, is you nieces hair doing?
I’ve experienced a lot of breakage when I used relaxers, but I have to wonder if that was due to lack of care or the relaxers itself. I think black woman can grow out their hair weather natural or relaxed. It’s just a matter of care.
natural: http://public.fotki.com/lovinglance/natural-hair/so-inspired/chicoro.html
relaxed: http://public.fotki.com/sylver2/
I have another question regarding hair breakage: How much hair should come out when you comb it? I notice when I comb my hair my ends break off, despite the fact that I moisturize them. Is this normal?
Also, have you ever dealt with people that believed that natural (black) hair could not grow past their shoulder?
Sorry, I’m an overly curious person. thanks for sharing your blog with us!
CallaLily // July 17, 2009 at 1:20 pm |
Nappyme: Thanks for much for stopping by my blog and offering your advise. I was so heartbroken and HEATED at my experience. I thought I was off to a “fresh start”. I have definitely learned from this – never again I say!!! I will keep you updated on how things work out.
I been checking out your blog for some time now and I do love it.
nappyme // July 17, 2009 at 2:21 pm |
Bless your heart; you’re so welcome. Sooo many women have been through the heat damage experience, either because they didn’t know it could happen (raises hand) or didn’t think it could happen to them. Bottom line, it comes down to a lesson learned. And, yes it ends up being a heart breaking experience for many of us because us nappy heads just don’t come by length very easily. For now, you’ll just have to figure out ways to style around the damage — that’s what I had to do — and just deal with what you’ve got. Mine is just a distant memory, with pics taken for proof of the pudding.
And thank YOU for stopping back by.
God bless,
~Nappyme
funlover // October 3, 2009 at 11:44 pm |
I’ve had my hair permed for a very long time (since 4th grade currently in 12th) I’ve let it go natural and then perm it again…and so on and so forth…Now it’s natural but not completly.Half of it is Nappy and half of it is straight. I’ve worn it in plats for about 6 months but now I’m redy to let it out and free.
any tips on how to get it half decent looking?
I’m biracial btw if that has anything to do with it
nappyme // October 4, 2009 at 12:09 am |
It’s very simple. Cut the perm off and go fully natural!
Good luck.
Mireille Liong // October 13, 2009 at 1:23 pm |
http://going-natural.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=going-natural-press-release.html&blogger=Mireille&Itemid=474
HGHG (H0meGrownHairGirl) // October 24, 2009 at 10:33 am |
Thanks SO much for the kind words of encouragement! You now have a new follower…I LOVE alll the pretty hairstyles you have come up with for natural hair.
I look forward to completing my transition and being able to experiment with my fully natural hair. Your blog is very inspirational.
Sincerely,
HGHG