CONFESSIONS OF AN AFROLATINA: EMBRACING YOUR NATURAL HAIR

It has taken me a very long time to embrace my coarse natural hair. To be honest, I never even knew I had curly hair, I thought my hair was naturally straight. I have had relaxers in my hair since the age of five, and by my sophomore year of college I had enough with the constant breakage, split ends, and excessive heat damage. So I decided to go natural, or I attempted to do so. The transition to natural hair was not an easy one, I can tell you that. I had people tell me that my hair wasn't pretty enough for me to go natural, and so my self-esteem was lower than it had ever been before. 

I would get really upset because my hair didn't look like the curly community on YouTube. And then I realized, I was watching the wrong channels. I found myself gravitating to what society perceives beautiful natural hair to be. And so at a very low point in my life, I had enough. I chopped my hair and had it relaxed not once, but twice. However, I still wasn't happy with my hair. I knew that this relaxed hair didn't show people who I really was. And it was a battle. At that moment  I knew I was going through an identity crisis. 

So I started again. 

I  stopped trying to tame the afrolatina within me.

And I fell in love. 

I fell in love with my perception of self.

My confidence.

My coarse/ frizzy coils.

Everything. 

I fell in love with what I was made to look like. After so many years not knowing what my natural hair looked and felt like, I can finally say that I can breathe again. My transition to natural hair felt as if a HUGE weight was lifted off of my shoulders. 

Many women do not understand why we afrolatinas struggle so much with self-love. It's because we were never taught how. 

Never taught to love our colored skin and coarse coils. 

We were taught that the pajon on our heads were a symbol of shame, and not of pride. 

And the only way to make a pajon beautiful was to chemically alter its natural form through relaxers.

Today, I am proud to have come this far, and am loving my natural hair. Yes, I do straighten it sometimes, but not excessively. The best part about my hair is its versatility. I can do whatever I want with it, and  style however I please. I just wanted to say that I have finally embraced who and what I am. And I hope that many of you transitioning do as well. 

❤

This is what I thought my natural hair looked like
(2012)

First time I transitioned. Braid outs were my go to style!
(2014)

                                      

                     Experimenting with bantu knots.
                   (2015)

Successful Wash & Go
(2017)