D.I.Y.'ERS

I have a confession. Off and then on again I have relaxed my own hair. It started in our kitchen in between the stove and the sink. That is where my mom would relax my hair. Then I graduated to doing it myself in the bathroom.

So after years of my hair snapping in two like uncooked spaghetti noodles. I convinced myself that I was one of those women with hair so fragile that it could not with stand a relaxer.

I then went cold turkey and Au natural (Oh¡ Napptural is what my little sister called it). I sported my fro for years. Until that time it caught fire after a fight I lost to a Conair blow-dryer. I was attempting to straighten my locks for a trip to Chicago.

Reintroduced relaxer in 2005, and sported a blue finned Mohawk shortly after the birth of my daughter. Then I completely lost my patience and shaved my head bald in January 2007. I was sick of my hair, and I could not figure out what to do with it.

We were on our way out to a U 0f D Womens Basketball game when I walked out of the bathroom. My head was shining like new money. I am pretty sure that my husband threw up in his mouth that day. He couldn't believe that I would cut my hair off like that. By the way we never made it to that game.

He immediately called my mother and asked for her advice. She said "oh she's at it again"? Again? Yes Again, I did this before after I was tired of my hair, I took the clippers to it and buzzed it off. It took me relaxing my own hair, two buzz cuts, and a pinky swear to my man that I would never cut my hair off like that again. To realize that I had no business doing my own hair.

All of this from a girl who's grandma Frances was an award winning stylist. I am not sure if I thought that my grandmother's God given talent would one day come to me like a Revelation, or that I would inherit her skills because she was my grandma, but inheritance, and God given talent does not work that way. I have accepted that I am an esthetician.

On my journey I have found the light. I am now allowing someone else to take care of my hair. Not do my hair, but take care of it. I have allowed her to suggest the products that I use on my hair, relax my hair, style it, and even trim my ends. I now have the assignment of combing my hair.

This has lifted a weight off of me. Might I add that I love my hair now. She is taking great care of it. What I've learned along the way is that my true sense of self does not come from how much I can do myself, but that I am taking great care of myself.


please feel free to share your hair care or DIY beauty stories.