The Taming Of The Mane

I took my birth father's hair and for the longest time, my hair was tagged stubborn and tough to deal with. It didn't help that I had a full head of thick hair. I went through years of relaxing my hair to make it soft, but nothing ever worked. The most that happened was that my scalp would burn and all the hair at the back of my head would break off. Then I decided that I had had enough. I wasn't aiming for long hair. I just wanted to stop using chemicals on my hair.

If I could describe myself as a natural hair enthusiast, I'd say that I'm no nowhere close to being enthusiastic. Between 2013 and 2015, I had no hair care routine. Then from 2015 to date, my hair routine has been basic at best. I just have good hair.

I remember the last time I saw my mother in Italy in 2014. I told her I had gone natural and wanted to grow my hair out and she told me to not hope for too much. "Your hair will grow but it will never become long". She was wrong. I didn't take her hair. Her hair is soft and scattered. It also struggles to grow long. Her mother has the same hair. Using relaxer on that kind of hair would mean killing it. Her hair has never been a struggle for her, so comparing it to mine was quite a silly thing to do. Just like many other things she was fond of saying (we look alike so she would constantly make unflattering comparisons between me and her. But I'm actually a smaller, lighter, and prettier version of her. She has a fuller and curvier body though), I brushed it off and carried on with my natural hair with plenty of hope in my heart. And luckily, my hair did not disappoint.

Yesterday, as my friend ran her fingers through my hair to detangle it, she kept commenting on how soft and healthy it is. The hair that used to give me plenty of headache has been tamed. This is the same hair that I couldn't even comb at the early stage of it growth. But today, it's giving me joy and making me proud.

First picture was taken in January, 2019. I had to cut off a great length of my hair as it was damaged and uneven.

Second picture is from yesterday and that is my hair soaked in deep condotioner.

Third picture, also from yesterday, is my length check. I'm close to 16 inches. I believe I'll hit 18 inches by next year.