Finding the Right Hair Product

As mentioned in my previous post, my hair is natural. Finding the right product for my hair has been one hell of a journey. After trying several products, I fell in love with Mimosa Hair Honey by Carols' Daughter, and Yucca & Plantain Hair Milk by Shea Moisture.

I like the Mimosa Hair Honey because it is a grease base product that doesn't leave my hair with the greasy look. My hair is naturally dry so this product keeps my hair replenished and feeling soft. It also smells really good which I like. I like the Yucca & Plantain Milk because it also makes my hair really soft and smells good. This product is also good for breakage because it makes the hair stronger.
When my hair is not in braids, I put these products in my hair daily. After I wash my hair I will normally put the Mimosa Hair Honey throughout before combing through my hair. A couple days later I will put the Yucca & Plantain milk in my hair. This product is good for two-strand twist outs and flat-twist outs. It is also good for my favorite wash and go style, the afro in a headband!

I am patiently waiting for my hair so grow longer and healthier. My hair goal is an old school Jackson 5 afro. In the meantime, I wear my hair in protective styles such as braids. They are easy to manage, my hair is protected, and it grows a lot.

Natural Hair

The summer of 8th grade going into 9th is when I got my first relaxer. A relaxer is a type of cream that chemically changes the texture of hair. Relaxers are typically used on hair with tight curls or curly hair to make the hair "relaxed" or straight. I wanted a relaxer because I wanted a more mature look for high school. I loved wearing my hair straight and my relaxer allowed me to do such. I played basketball and ran track in high school, so I would often sweat my hair out. Since I had a relaxer, my hair never curled back up when I would sweat, it would just get real frizzy. I would get a touch up every six weeks so my new growth would also be relaxed.

Hair in general takes a lot of maintenance. You have to wash it, comb, it, brush it, and style it. Having my hair relaxed was a lot of maintenance for me because my hair is really fine which makes it more prone to breakage. Braids are more convenient, but I couldn't get my hair braided when it was relaxed because the braids would cause my hair to break off. My hair broke off a lot when it was relaxed causing me to have to continuously get my hair trimmed. My hair was not that healthy anymore and my hairdresser suggested that I do the big chop.

The big chop is when you cut off all your relaxed hair and go back to your natural texture. I did the big chop Spring of 2015 and have been natural since. I love my natural hair because it is so versatile. I am able to wear braids, try different natural styles, put in a weave, and I still have the option of straightening my hair. I have more flexibility with my hair that I didn't realize before. I also love switching up my hairstyles and playing in my curls.

Natural hair is also healthier. Some studies show that the harsh chemicals in a relaxer are linked to fibroids.    


This is a chart of common natural hair textures in black hair. My hair texture is 4a.



This is a picture of what the big chop looks like.

Affection Expression or Racial Slur?

Close your eyes and imagine a nigga.  Now look it up on the internet.  Whether you use Google, Bing, Mozilla Firefox, or Yahoo—I dare you.  What do you see?  Are the images on your screen similar to the ones you pictured in your head?  Most of us will think of a low class African American.  Why is it that we do not think of a high class Caucasian?  Believe it or not, nigga was created in the purpose of negatively describing black people.  Dating back to as early as the seventeenth century, it is rooted from malicious hatred and horrid pain.  However, our modern day generation of the black community has put a debatable spin to nigga.  According to some of the black community, nigga is a term of endearment; it means friend, buddy, or pal.  Boy have things changed!  My grandfather would have never in a million years thought of referring to his dearest friend as a nigga.  Today, it is popular to greet a person as “my nigga” and is considered “cool”.  Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, and Jay Z, are all guilty of using nigga throughout their songs.  This results to other races saying nigga not just as a song lyric but as a term of endearment as well.  This then results to the black community becoming upset because nigga is “our” word.  This unnecessary domino effect can be eliminated if we all stop using nigga.  First, the black community needs to lead by example and stop calling each other niggas.  Nigga is not slang, it is a derogatory word that demeans the integrity of our black community. 

 

In order to completely transform the meaning of nigga, it is necessary that the black community finds a different word to express our love for one another.  This modern idea of taking away the power does not take away the pain.  Nigga has had so many different definitions over the years.  If we all come to a common understanding that nigga is derogative, we will eradicate all confusion.  This will end the hurt feelings and anger from cultural appropriation.  The late hip-hop rapper Tupac Shakur once said, “Nigger is a black man with a slavery chain around his neck and a nigga is a black man with a gold chain around his neck” Is there even a difference? You tell me. 

Check out this video about the double standard behind the N word.