My
friend’s dog has cancer and it’s on very strong pain killers. Someone
just suggested that when she goes he is going to feed the dog’s left
over drugs to the stray cats that hang around. I laughed. Was that mean?
I mean I could picture what would happen. The cats would probably fall
into a three day slumber and the idea of drugged sleeping cats all over
the lawn is not very attractive. Someone on TV – Criminal minds- just
asked whether the son of a serial killer ever has a chance.
No one ever tells you how hard it is to maintain good hair. It’s the first time I am keeping my hair unlocked and working on growing it. This means it has to be moisturized two to three times a day since I have 4Li hair – it’s kinky and with s-curls. It’s been exciting having to make up my own moisturizers and a great realization has been – my hair thrives on honey. I am also learning that a woman’s hair has a lot to do with her than anything else – especially a black woman’s hair. I have this friend who once gave me a three minute lecture on my hair. She wanted us to start blogging and talking online about our hair, even though we saw each other about twice or thrice a week. She said to me, ‘Our hair is beautiful. Its unique it grows upwards and so defies gravity.’ I was sold.
When Paul talks about a woman’s glory being her hair, I think he meant so much more than the length and volume of it. Going completely natural came as an accident. I had given up trying to maintain my kinky s-curls and decided to go all Brazilian Keratin. I did not want any chemical in my hair and the best option at the time was to use no-lye on my hair. Every black woman I talked to about Keratin encouraged me to use it. Keratin is a renowned hair product that has an abundance of protein and keeps the hair straight and smooth easy to comb and style. This I did. It’s expensive but by this time I could do anything for my hair. It’s what Oprah does to her hair. Usually doing a Keratin treatment in Minnesota costs about $350 however just before I went off to Brazil, I met a lady at work who told me a salon in town was doing it for half price and she was going to do it as well. That day I spent over $250 dollars on my hair because I had to buy the keratin shampoo and conditioners. I decided to stock up so that I could have enough for when I moved to Brazil and Egypt. That day I dyed my hair a golden brown color too.
I did wear that colored hair for a few months. I loved it. Never had color in my hair so this was part of feeling liberated until my friend straightened my hair three months later in Cairo and it started to fall out. Within three days my hair went from over 12 inches to 2 inches. People asked me if it hurt me. Some of my friends asked if it affected my self-esteem not to have any hair. For real, it did not affect my esteem nor my feelings. I did wear that short hair with pride. The loss of my hair brought me to a stage where I did not care anymore about my hair. And then I started looking at black hair blogs that a friend had sent me. I admired people’s natural kinky s-curls and I have been hooked since then.
Today it’s exciting to create my own hair moisturizers- am learning that my hair needs as much nourishment as my own body. The lessons are numerous – For so long I have ignored my hair yet I realize everyday how each part of my body is as important as another part and each part needs as much attention as the rest to make me beautiful.
There is something about hair that teaches us about us. For black women its understanding what kind of hair you have to what it needs and what it thrives on. My 4Li type hair is not naturally moist and so I have to provide it with an abundance of moisture, while my friend B’s hair is soft and cushy and does not need as much moisture as mine does we both have kinky black hair. As I spend time moisturizing my hair I am learning that my body needs as much attention as my hair. I need to tone up to look as good as I want. I need to moisturize my skin because it needs the moisture and my mind needs to be refreshed with good reading and laughter… and the list goes on. So my hair is teaching me that my whole body is a garden. Am also learning that my hair thrives on honey as much as my body does love honey in coffee, tea, curries and roasts. My body thrives on olive oil and Shea oil as much as my skin and stomach do. So my hair is telling me that it is everything about me as the rest of me is everything about it.
For the first time in my life I am aware of how attentive I am to my body as a whole. I know what I need to feel good, I know what I need when I feel weak and I know what I need when am bored. My mind is a beautiful thing. I am aware of me and I love me.
