Hair Type

Alright........ *sigh*
let me get this off of my chest, once and for all!

Ever since I decided to go natural, I've been trying to figure out my hair type.

Actually, I figured it out the first day.

The problem was that I didn't like what I was reading and what people were telling me. That was only because I was still defining my hair and myself by the world's standards and by Andre Walker's hair classification system.

A quick run down of the hair types:

Type 1: Straight hair
Type 2: Wavy hair
Type 3: Curly hair

Type 4: Kinky hair

For more info, click on this link.

When I first looked at my hair, it appeared to be

• 40% pen spring curls
• 40% tightly coiled hair that, when stretched, has an "S" pattern (4A)
• and 20% tightly coiled hair, which has a "Z" pattern & less defined curl pattern (4B)

I just automatically assumed that pen spring curls went under the Type 3 Curly Hair group. So I was elated! But why? Was it because my hair was "mixed"? Was it because curly hair was much more accepted than kinky hair?

Let's move on...

Several weeks later, after reading sites, like My NHCG & Naturally Curly, I began noticing that I was only considered to have Type 4 hair.

I became irate and started posting on different websites about my disappointment.

"I've posted some pics of my hair
but I noticed that people are saying that I'm not 3c
but I think it's coz they can't see what I see
and I can't get it to translate in a picture."

OH THE HUMANITY! (I'm such a drama-queen smh)

I thought the different posts would help but still I was not receiving the responses that I wanted.

It literally felt like my world came crashing down! (Very much a drama-queen! smh)

I won't get into the specifics, but as I mentioned before I began defining myself by my hair. Before I was washing my hair 3 times a week, giving myself daily hair massages, weekly deep conditions, twisting/braiding it, etc. Just pampering my hair like it my greatest achievement.

But all of this stop once I received my "heart-breaking news". (Drama-queen! smh)

I began washing my hair once a week and that was about it; no twisting, or conditioning, and definitely no pampering! What was the point of taking special care of hard, dry-looking, rough hair anyway, right?

Fast forward to 2 weeks later. I finally realized that I was obsessing over being someone that I wasn't.

My hair is beautiful! Even before I looked into Andre Walker's system, I fell in love with it. So what happened? Why wasn't I feeling the same way now? Why does it have to be 3c?

Image from this link

FIVE THINGS A NATURAL MUST DO

One of the bloggers I follow is having a giveaway, so I entered (of course! who doesn't like free things? lol) and decided to post my answer.

"FIVE THINGS
A NATURAL MUST DO
TO HAVE HEALTHY NATURAL HAIR"

1. A natural must research and learn about taking care of natural hair. If you don't want to read books, you can do like I did and watch youtube vids and join hair care sites, like naturallycurly.com.



2. Once you've learned what to expect, you should start eating healthier, drinking a lot of water, working out, and you can even start taking multivitamins.



3. One word: Moisturize! So many benefits and your hair will love you!



4. Protective Hairstyles. It really helps the hair to grow longer. Especially for ppl who like to touch & play with their hair (like me).



5. Enjoy the ride. Many naturals are obsessed with length, instead of enjoying the hair they have now.