On July 19, 2014, the day after I said “I do” to my husband, I went to the salon and had my stylist shave my hair off. Before you go thinking I’ve lost my mind, hear me out. There was a method and a very good reason for the madness. Simply put, I got a bad perm.
I had been a flat-iron natural queen for 7 years, but my hair was damaged beyond repair. Though it had some length to it, I’d never cared for my hair in its natural state; so when I decided to do the “No Heat Challenge” I did more harm than good. Becoming impatient with tangles, I would often rake my hair breaking strands and creating split ends along the way.
Frustrated, I turned to sew in’s, and they were good… for a while. Just like the one bad perm, I got one bad sew in that left a bald spot that I’m still caring for and trying to repair nearly two years later. I would get my bundles installed back to back with only a few days of rest in between. This created sore spots on my head from where the wefts would lay or pull due to the weight of the hair. Remember ladies, three 4oz bundles is almost a pound of hair, not to mention the weight of the wefts themselves.
So… I cut it all off and decided to embrace my hair, but that didn’t last long. I turned to wigs, but still found myself in the same situation of not knowing how to maintain my natural hair. I began doing research on low maintenance styles that still would give me freedom with my hair and discovered Sisterlocks.
I contemplated getting the style for more than 2 years before I locked my hair in October 2016. At that time my hair was between 8 and 10 inches long. My fine, low density, 3B/C & 4A hair has flourished. My only regret was not getting them sooner. In only 7 years I went from almost at the shoulders to sweeping my behind with my hair… and it was fun.
Recently I did my 2nd big chop. A lot of people have asked why. There are several answers to that question. For starters, hair freedom. With so many tiny locs, and me being particular about my parts, when my stylist went out of commission for a while, I was left having the choice of maintaining it myself or letting someone new put their hands in my hair. Another reason is that, I’m simply in a transformative period in my life and I needed to SEE myself for real. It may not make sense to some, but it made all the difference for me.
Telliey Renee LLC 