The Hair Issue. 2.0 – From Natural to Getting a Weave

 This post has been a long time coming. I will start by stating the obvious. I have a weave. I love my weave. I think it’s the best accessory I have ever purchased lol. My point is that, I really am enjoying my new hair.

Getting this hair was not an easy call for me. In as much as that might sound silly, after wearing your hair out natural and openly supporting all things ‘team natural’…choosing to wear a weave may seem like a bit of a hypocritical move. Or so I thought. Now, I will always support team natural because (as I have mentioned before) I think we as African women are beautiful beyond measure, just as we are- free of any enhancement. What I did wrong, was to then place less value on those women who chose to make use of those enhancements. As if being natural was somehow better than not being natural. I cannot explain how I even got here because it was not something I ever thought outright and intentionally. in fact, in my first post about hair, I explicitly explained how I was no better than any woman who chooses to wear a weave and that one day I will chose to wear one too and it shouldn’t be a big deal. Boy was I wrong.

I somehow got so lost and confused in my quest to do the right thing that I didn’t even realise that I was being judgmental about something rather silly. I remember knowing that I really wanted to get a weave. I knew which one, how much it was, where I’d get it. Everything. But I couldn’t commit…because weaves were ‘wrong’ and they would go against everything I had been preaching about and the lifestyle I was living. I had basically boxed myself into a box where I was only allowed to either have an afro or braids. Who on earth wants that? Well…not me. I love variety. I love style. I love fun. Above all things, I love freedom. I need it in every sphere of my life. Even my hair. So you know what I did? I got a weave! And in that action I reminded myself that it’s okay to change the way you think, It’s okay to want something different, and above all else. I don’t ever have to explain myself to anyone.

Minor victories. Big impacts. This growth thing is tricky. There are no set rules, and more and more I’m realising that it’s not unlike forging a completely new path. Exhilarating, yet scary. But it promises to be worth it…so I’m gonna stuff my panties with hope and do my best. Join me?

Love,

Noni