I LOVE My Hair

My hair is undergoing a rebirth of sorts.

Every summer since high school, I would sashay into a local barber shop and request a Dark Cesar. All the fellas looked on, some in horror, others in disbelief, as I sat in the chair and made what seemed to them to be an awful decision. There were whispers of "Is she gay?", "Naa, she's too pretty to be gay.", and "Girls without hair are just unattractive." I simply took a deep breath and tuned out the buzzing sound of ignorant chatter and the barber's clippers.

When the cape dropped, and I rose, I looked at my beautiful face in the mirror. My eyes looked brighter, my complexion was glowing and there was no hair to hide the shape of my pretty, round face. Everyone in the shop would have to eat their words. I. Was. Fly.

As I reluctantly creep up on 30, I don't want to chop off my locks anymore. I''m desperate now to cultivate meaningful relationships, both personal and professional, so why not start with my hair. In my younger days, my hair was not pretty. No one loved it- not my mother who hated combing it and was sorry she never learned to cornrow, not older ladies at the Beauty Nest in Brooklyn who hated pressing my hair ( at least three times over), and certainly not me. How could I? All I heard was how hard, ugly,nappy,short,and difficult it was. That I could be pretty if it were long and straight. We've heard it before, you know, that "good" hair. But things are different now. Now, I love my hair.

First things first. Kinky/Curly Magazine is dedicated to the cultivation of healthy, natural Black Girl hair. Healthy Hair 101: Nothing in the Ethnic Hair Care aisle is good for our hair! Natural hair needs love from Mother Nature. Our locks thrive when they are pampered with rich oils like jojoba and coconut, drenched and conditioned with honey, olive oil and avocado hair masks, and twisted and coiled with shea butter and lots of love.

In this magazine you will learn new ways to love your hair-and yourself. Until next time...