Natural Hair 101: An excerpt from my guidebook

I was inspired to offer a little more encouragement to the courageous women who are aspiring to go natural (Do it, do it, do it!!) I have created a natural hair guide book, "Natural Hair 101: Toolkit,  Fundamentals, and Resources", complete with a listing of essential tools, products, images and greater resources. If you are interested in a full copy of the guidebook, feel free to contact me via e-mail at MickelJustMickel@gmail.com

My Hairstory

I have been natural (no perm) my entire life thanks to the traditions of the women in my family. No perms for the Jackson girls (Thanks Grandmama!) I say that because I have never experienced “The Big Chop” nor do I understand the difference between 4a hair and 3b hair.  I have, however, experienced the teasing and culturally insensitive comments from people not accustomed to seeing a black child wear her hair as god intended her to.  This includes Caucasians and PEOPLE OF COLOR (Black, Asian, Latino, etc).  The women in my family were natural before it was the cool, acceptable, or “black” thing to do.  My sister and I would beg our mother to perm our hair, tears streaming down our little faces, and she refused.  I secretly prayed for “white girl hair” for years (right after praying boobies and my own room).  I just wanted to be able to get wet in the pool or rain like the white kids I saw all around me. I grew up partially in North Dakota, which is not (big surprise) the epicenter of black pride. I did not want to be forced to sit in my mother’s lap for four hours as she carved these intricate braided designs into my tender scalp.  I did not enjoy the fear of 2nd and 3rd degree burns on the back of my ears when my mother mis-calculated the heat of the pressing comb in the three hours (plus) that it took to make my hair conform to a more accepted straight style.  In the 4th grade, I blurted out that I wished I were white so I could have “good hair” and my mother lost it.  Thus begun my education into the importance of maintaining my hair in its natural state, the countless lectures on why I should be thankful that I do not have a perm and why it is important to love and respect my black skin and others that look just like me, and the influx of little black dolls and African American children’s books. Whatever “black and proud” item my mother could find, made it into my bedroom. Remember this was North Dakota pre-internet.  My mother taught me how to wash, condition, braid, cornrow, and press my own hair. Then made me solely responsible for maintaining my sister’s hair after I proved that I could maintain my own.  My mother is the mastermind of my hairstory.  

Naturally Maintained Locs

Natural Curly Afro