Crystal's Experience

Over the course of about 10 years I have been undecided between natural and relaxed hair. I consider self low maintainence but work in an industry where beauty and appearance are judged before character and talent. First, let me say that my mother is a hair styist and owned a salon for much of my life. I have never been married to hair because I've seen it fried, dyed, and weaved...meaning it optional. My journey began as a teen. I was experimenting with my hair(cutting/coloring) and decided I wanted a big fro....but around prom time and graduation time I decided I needed "serious hair". I relaxed my hair without a second thought. Two weeks after graduation I went in my godfather's barber shop and got a ceasar. I wore an afro, cornrows, and even pressed hair through college until I decided to experiment with locking my hair. I locked my hair myself and wore them through graduation and finally decided to cut them because I was tired of being the butt end of rastafarian jokes. The breaking point was freelancing @ Southpark and having a distract manager approach me as if I was ignorant of proper english (complete with him rolling his neck and his eyes). Why is it that the hair we have on our head bothers some people?....I don't know...their issue not mine. I was also going through other life changes as I was assuming my role as a proper adult woman. So once again I went back to my ceasar. I decided to take another approach....grow it and weave it. My hair seemed to grow quickly but I relaxed it again about a year later. After about six months and moving to NY I decided to begin cutting my hair again. I like to say that I have had every hairstyle Rihanna has now...but I had them last year. I ran back to my ceasar and have been growing my hair since...best descision ever! I don't see a relaxer in my future anytime soon..I feel my hair has reflected the changes I've gone through and as I see grays sprouting it will continue to grow and change with me. I don't know what the stigma is about natural hair but I suspect most of it stems from ignorance. Why do I have to change what is natural to me to please someone else's eyes if I am the only me I'll ever be? I must please myself and do what's natural.