My Hair Journey – Dominique-Alexis

I, like many young African-American girls, had a love-hate relationship with the teeny, tiny curls that adorned my head. I liked the fact that I could wear cornrows and beads and ballies; however, I hated that I had to spend my precious after school time getting my hair styled instead of being able to play outside.

This love-hate thing went on for many years, up until my thirteenth birthday when my mother popped the question. “Do you want to get your hair relaxed or pressed?” And my response was, “which one lasts longer?” Of course I was gonna pick whichever one lasted longer, that way I had more time to do important things like play with my toy horses and in the creek outside.

Well, needless to say, my relaxer experience wasn’t as amazing as I thought it would be. The thick relaxer ended up burning my scalp pretty badly. No one had told me not to scratch! My hair was too straight to hold my beloved cornrows, I couldn’t scratch my head, and, worst of all, I had to style my hair daily now, since protective styles didn’t last for very long.

Before it was even time for my first relaxer retouch, I told my mom how much I hated my relaxer and how I “NEEDED” my natural hair back.

In case no one has told you this, transitioning sucks. It’s probably worse than the relaxing process. You have these two VERY different textures fighting against each other and detangling is awful.

Breakage happens. Frequent trims happen. Getting frustrated happens.

Finally, around my fifteenth birthday, I had grown out all the relaxed ends and transitioned back to natural. This time things were a lot different, I could actually fully appreciate the curls that I had. I took the time out to learn how to properly maintain and care for my hair. I researched blogs for tips, I googled products for proper maintenance, and I asked and searched until I found the perfect regimen that worked for me.

Growth happened. Protective styles happen. Happiness happened.

Somewhere between relaxed and being natural, I fell head over heels in love with caring for natural hair. This new found love led me to enroll in cosmetology school. Nine and half months later, I’m getting ready to graduate from Paul Mitchell the School of Nashville as the student council vice president and an honor student.

It’s amazing what hair can do to a person!

And that’s my hair journey! What’s yours?!

Dominique-Alexis is an eighteen-year-old blogger, aspiring hair stylist, and Paul Mitchell student. She has been blogging about the care and keeping of natural hair with her little sister for three years and plans on becoming a famous hair dresser for celebrities, teaching at hair shows, and educating African-American women to love themselves and love the beautiful curls that God blessed them with!