To start with, in my elementary school years my mom always kept my hair blow dried and in a high puff. The kids at school were fascinated with how thick my hair was. One time the rubber band keeping up my puff broke and my hair stayed straight up ( like frankenstein). As a child I never disliked my natural hair texture because I didn’t even know what it was myself. Ironically I saw a curly fro on tv and I thought it was a perm and asked my mom for one ( I was so confused).

Once I got to middle school it was a different story. I got my first relaxer in 6th grade. I loved my straight hair. I wore my hair up nearly everyday. My hair routine consisted of sulfate shampoos, blow drying (no product in hair), and leaving out a small bang which I flat ironed religiously. The hair in the ponytail did ok, but my bangs were horribly damaged. Furthermore, I knew nothing about healthy hair care. By 8th grade I became reluctant to get my next relaxer, but continued.

My freshman year of Highschool is when I really began caring about my hair. Natural Hair Youtubers became my TV. I watched tutorials endlessly and I was finally becoming confident about my hair. After taking swimming in P.E  I decided I was done with relaxers, and I went on a no heat challenge and protective style challenge for a year. My hair flourished and I retained a TON of length! On top of that I cut off my relaxed ends over the summer and had 8 inches of beautiful 4a hair. I was in LOVE!! I rocked twist outs, curly puffs, flat twist outs, banto knot outs, and flexi rods (all no heat).

Sophomore year I was on top of the world and ready to rock my curly fro. Then the... (click read more to see the rest of Shemeka's story)
unthinkable happened HEAT DAMAGE. I know what your thinking, “what happened to no heat?!” I experimented with my instyler on my natural hair one time (turned into a frizz ball in the humidity). Then a week later I tried roller set wraps (did two days in a row) and then when the second rollerset wrap didn’t work (frustrated) I brought out my instyler and used it on HIGH. Keep in mind I used no heat protectant for all of this. The result, my curl pattern appeared slightly different to me and in one small section on the left side of my head I saw about an inch of stringy ends (NOOOOOOOOO!). So I cut off about half the heat damage and I currently have about half an inch left to get rid of. After going through that experience I am SO DONE with heat. The results are truly not worth it. For anyone who has some heat damage like me just continue taking care of your hair as best as you can and your hair WILL grow back. Don’t focus on length, but the health of your hair. March 1st of 2015 (2 year natural anniversary) I plan to cut off the last bit of my heat damage.

Last but not least, after going through all of that with my hair and experimenting with different products I felt like I truly understood my hair, and I felt a need to start helping others so…. I LAUNCHED A YOUTUBE CHANNEL!! I self titled it “shemekascurls” and now i’m constantly working to produce videos helpful to new and old naturals;hoping that I can show people something new and inspirational so they’ll love their curls as much as I do. Also so they won’t make the same pitfalls on their journey. So if any of you girls (or guys) out there are scared to go natural JUST DO IT! You won’t regret it. When you finally learn to love your hair, a whole new world of healthy living is revealed, and you will find you love those curls, coils, or kinks much more than you ever thought possible.
Name: Nicole W.
Q: What is your hair story?  What kind of hair styles have you rocked, before embracing your natural hair?
A:  My mother is a cosmetologist so my hair was always fried, dyed and laid to the side!  I had a Jerri Curl from 5th through 7th grade and then in the 8th grade I got my first relaxer.  I wore a relaxer from the age of 14 until 35 :o).  I had a perm for almost 21 years and I really enjoyed having straight hair.  While my hair was relaxed I would often wear my hair short or in a cute bob cut!

Q: When and why did you decide to start wearing your hair naturally?
A: I began to research natural hair in 2010 and I decided to go natural because I wanted to see what my natural hair looked like.  So in July 2011 I did the big chop and never looked back!

Q: Did you have any big fears about going back to your natural texture?
A:  I really can’t say I had any fears I was just wondering how I was going to take care of my hair and what would I look like.

Q: What are three products you can't live without for nurturing/styling your hair?
A: I can’t live without my Design Essentials Curl Cleanser Sulfate free shampoo, my Design Essentials Stimulations conditioner and my Camille Rose Naturals Almond Jai Twisting butter.

Q: What would you say to someone who's thinking about embracing their natural hair, but scared about being rejected in various parts of their lives?
 A: If you are thinking of going natural do so because this is what you want not because your friends etc. are pressuring you to go natural.  Going natural is a personal choice don’t mind what people will say just know you made a choice to have healthier hair.  Take the opportunity to educate them if they question why you went natural.

Q: How can we keep up with you and your journey i.e. blog, twitter, facebook, fotki, tumblr, personal or professional website? (Optional)
A: You can keep up with me at http://www.naturalnicole.com/ my website and on twitter @naturlnicole
 
 
Natural Girls United is happy to celebrate Black History Month. To learn more about the history of Black History Month, go to History - Black History Month and Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month. One of the goals of the dolls of Natural Girls United is to celebrate our beauty, our individuality, our beautiful tones and our beautiful textures. Love yourself for who you are. Natural Girls United http://www.naturalgirlsunited.com/


I finally got the hair cut that I have wanted for almost a year now.  I hesitated in cutting my hair because I had worked so hard at caring for it so I cold reach a healthy long length.  But I learned that having long hair can be overrated. I loved the way it looked. But my hair became very heavy, hard to style and was always in the way.   After my hair cut, I felt so much lighter. It was a great feeling. 

The good thing about my being open to cutting my hair, is not only is it a bit of a fresh beginning. But I can have fun styling it in more ways, with out it giving me a headache (old length was heavy).

Next!  Hoping to play with some color.  Updates soon.   Any one else thinking of making a change with their natural hair - color, length or style?


Great article on The Science of Black Hair about things to consider when thinking about coloring your hair.

Color Smart: 4 Things You Should Consider Before You Color Your Natural Hair
By The Science of Black Hair

"Taking your hair to the next level with color can be a really exciting experience. Color can jazz up a boring puff, add dimension to locs and twist outs or really turn heads as a simple statement piece on TWAs. While going darker, adding lowlights or coloring within your natural color range won’t cause you too many problems—the drastic color leaps upward (more than 3 shades beyond your natural color) can really take a toll on your hair. Before you engage in any hair altering experience, first understand and weigh the risks. Never ever color your hair on a whim or without a gameplan for aftercare. Finally, decide if you trust yourself enough to do it yourself. Be honest with yourself and say, Self— do you really know what you are doing? What if this color is unsuccessful? Am I prepared for breakage? Am I prepared for a weird color result? Before you take the color plunge, here are some things to consider. You May Experience:

1.Curl pattern changes. Yes, coloring textured hair can sometimes result in temporary, unpredictable changes in your hair’s curl pattern. Sometimes, the changes are permanent. Whenever you alter or manipulate the hair’s protein bonding arrangement a slight relaxing effect can occur. These curl pattern changes are less likely to occur in coarse hair textures (coarse refers to the diameter of the hair fiber, not the feel of the fiber), and are more likely to occur in those with fine to medium hair textures. Prior damage may also influence whether or not you experience changes in your curl pattern. Using a protein reconstructor after coloring may help some lost curls find their way again.

2.Increases in hair porosity. Products that lighten the hair always require direct access to the hair’s cortical layers. When the hair’s cuticle is breached in this manner, the hair’s natural porosity increases leading to a dryness that hardly ever lets up. When porosity increases, dryness becomes a major complaint because moisture is next to impossible to hold securely within the fiber. Your hair becomes like a bucket with holes poked in the sides. Color-treated hair can be unforgiving, too. Miss a regularly scheduled deep conditioning and you may find yourself parting with strands prematurely. A strict, moisture and protein-focused regimen is absolutely essential if the hair is to thrive in this condition. If you never cared before, now is definitely the time to learn how to balance protein and moisture sources in your regimen!

3.Loss of Elasticity. Because color-treated hair has lost much of its natural moisture (and its overall
ability to retain supplemental moisture given), the hair may lose some of its elasticity. Elasticity refers to the ability of our hair fibers to stretch gently and return back to their normal shape and character without damage. The elastic quality of our hair is what makes putting our hair in a ponytail or drawing a puff effortless. When hair lacks elasticity, it does not move, bend and recover when pressured like healthy hair does— it simply gives up under pressure and snaps in its fragile condition. Again, moisture and protein balancing become critical for establishing elasticity because it’s that careful mix of moisture and strength that gives our hair the ability to resist breakage from being stretched and handled day to day.

4.Horrific Color Result. Color is very, very unpredictable and all the swatches, box comparisons and focus groups in the world can’t prepare you for the end result you will be able to expect. Why? Because color uptake is dependent on a number of factors— namely your hair’s current color, porosity and texture (strand size). At best, the hair color on the box is just the product manufacturer’s best corporate guess at what your hair will look like (with a bit of photoshopping thrown in for good measure.) Sometimes, multiple steps will be needed to get your color right. It is always best to have an experienced professional take color more than three shades out of your natural color range. Chances are, they’ve seen numerous heads with textures like yours and varying degrees of porosity—plus they have the added bonus of experiences with various colors and looks to bring to the table. The numbers game is in their favor. You standing there in the store aisle with a box and maybe 0-5 colorings under your belt really can’t compete. (Okay, okay— maybe some of you can!)

Don’t let your color job be the first time you are sitting in this stylist’s chair— especially if the color change is drastic. You want someone who knows you and your hair and who’ll be available if you have questions. Unfortunately, here on the worldwide web, we can’t see your color or touch your hair. Sometimes it really is best to have someone from the outside hold your hand a little. Finally, one last note to take into consideration. Know that your color-treated hair will be very sensitive to things that you may have taken for granted before— (i.e., water, the sun, heat etc) and undergoing the coloring process sort of assumes that you’re ready to handle a little extra responsibility. Color-treating your hair is not a time to get lackadaisical with your hair. If you are lazy, put down the box, do not pass go and do not collect $200. (Same advice for those of you who relax/texturize, too)! Color-treated hair REQUIRES upkeep or you will quickly find it circling (albeit very colorfully) down the drain."

Photo Source one and two 

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