Side ponytails and pollen

Summer is almost here! Except for the pollen and all this sneezing (not to mention breathing problems) I am so ready! Bring out the summer clothes and summer hairstyles.

I don't know how many of you natural curlies are out there, but this is your time to shine! My sister got highlights put in today, and now I'm dying to do the same with my hair. I got it highlighted a year ago, and so there is still a little goldish color in half of my hair, but the rest is dark dark brown.

For Easter I changed up what I normally would have done for a "special occasion" and kept my hair natural (because side ponytails go with pollen like peanut butter goes with jelly lol.). I will eventually get into the process for how I semi-controlled this curly side ponytail, but for now I'll just share a picture. Due to all the terrible allergens right now, I'm in the middle of-or should be in the middle of-cleaning my room (lol.) Dust be gone!

What's your favorite curly summer style?

Going natural: the dark story behind it

My hair has been natural for two years. While I may play it down (it really doesn't seem like a huge deal sometimes,) let me give you the low-down, nitty gritty, bare bones story.

Imagine that everywhere you look the definition of beautiful hair is hair that you can never "naturally" have; you're taught that it is supposed to be your "crowning glory" but you feel like it's more of a "dunce cap." The girls on movies (i.e. princess diaries) always have straight shiny hair if they're popular, while curly hair seems to secure them a spot in the unpopular weird crowd. Every day with your hair is a battle again all natural elements: rain, humidity, and even too much touching. Although people say your hair is pretty, you have noticed that these comments are directly related to when your hair is straight. Your hair is not even normally called curly, it's kinky. It's tangly. It's impossible to comb. It's short. It's not shiny. It breaks off easily. Welcome to my world: you are black.

Relaxed and flat-ironed

Don't get me wrong...I could do the straight long hair. The hair that (mostly black) people touched and asked how I grew it (to which I shrugged and said "Ummmm I just don't do anything to it.) I did it by relaxing it. After I washed it though, it would curl up. I couldn't figure it out! Why was my hair not like my sisters where all you do is just blow dry it and then it's fine? After not feeling like going through the trouble I started letting it air-dry. Mostly in the summer. It was a big, half-curly, half straight, hot mess. I loved it. I felt free. It bounced, it had attitude, it angered and frustrated me, and at the same time was TOTALLY ME! 

I hated getting relaxers and only had them done about every 3 months because they burned my head sometimes, they made my hair stiff and weird, and they never straightened certain parts of my hair...

In August of 2009 I decided that I'd had enough and that I was sick to death of relaxers. The beginning of the end. If I had time I would go on to tell you the rest of the story, the one behind the "Oh I'm a black girl going natural"! {The comments from family and friends (good and bad), the hair disasters, the styles that worked, and the frame of mind that it produced.} I just don't have time. You'll have to wait for part two, if it ever comes.