Welcome to the soul of natural hair. The positive expression of black aesthetics by Lady Kinnks. Visitors may surf our site and blog to celebrate natural hair.
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In my opinion, Laquita is the number one supporter of Natural Hair Online!! You may have seen her featured on several natural hair sites and blogs. She shares her hair journey, and previous stylist expertise on her own blog All Natural . In addition to being heavily involved in the blog community, she specializes in articles related to Natural Hair for Clutch Magazine. I bounce several ideas by Laquita and she gets just as excited as I do AND provides great feedback towards the natural hair cause!! Join our fight by reading below…
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My Natural Hair Story by Laquita
Well, I guess I will start at the beginning. I had to beg for a perm for years, and my mother would not let me get one. When I finally did after wearing a Lustra Curl for a few years, I put it in myself when I was about 17. I used to use perm like it was hair grease. I kept jars stashed in my room for the slightest sight of new growth - people used to think my hair was just naturally straight. I am surprised and thankful that I did not experience any hair loss behind such foolishness - I managed to get by with a headful of damaged, shedding hair with broke off ends and a few chemical burns, but that’s it.
This is my third and final time ‘going natural’. The first time I did it was in 1996 right after The Fugees released The Score. I saw Lauryn Hill’s curly knot-out and I had to have it. I scoured magazine racks just to find a closer picture of it and found one in a Right On! Magazine, where she was on the cover and I was set (though, taped and beaten up, I still have that same magazine today).
Unfortunately, there were not many magazines or books that focused on natural hair then, so eventually I reverted and shortly went back to permed hair. A couple of years later I ventured on the natural path again, and once again since I couldn’t find more information on how to maintain my hair in it’s natural state nor information or pictures of natural styles I reverted again. But not long after I did, I started to see more people sporting their natural hair and came across the website Nappturality and the rest is history.
Since then, I have been a natural hair advocate. People are always stopping me and asking me about my hair and who does it. When I tell them I do it and how simple and easy it is to maintain they too get excited. Of course, I come across those “my hair wont do that” and “I just don’t have the time” but I try to be as patient with them as possible.
I have also been ‘doing’ hair for about 25 years, and it still puzzles me that people can not take care of their own hair. I did an interview with a young lady and she said that one of the best things we can know how to do is take care of our own hair, and I think that is wonderful advice.
Even if you can not braid or cornrow, you can two-strand twist, or wash your hair put in some leave-in conditioner and a little moisturizer and wear a wash-n-go. It baffles me that some people can not or really just simply refuse to that. Another puzzling thing is that some have not even seen the texture of their natural hair - have never seen it.
I have heard so many horror stories about severe chemical burns and hair loss, one lady even ended up in the hospital because she said she accidentally picked up a strong perm and ended up with a strange type of growth on her face - she showed me pictures and everything.
That there would have stopped me from ever using any type of chemical in my hair - but not her she said that from then on she just made sure she used a mild perm. Believe me, I did ask her if she had lost her mind. The proved to me that perming is surely and addiction - puts a whole new meaning to the term ‘creamy crack’.
Overall, I love my natural hair journey. I get to meet - online and in-person, so many interesting people, I have gotten so many writing opportunities and will soon venture out on my very own natural product business - all in the name of natural hair. Years ago when I first saw that picture of Lauryn Hill’s hair, I would have never believed it if someone told me what the future held for me just because I decided to stop perming my hair.
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Laquita, Thanks for sharing your natural hair journey!! ~Lady Kinnks
Thanks Laquita for posting this site on your blog! I think it`s great! I will add this site to my natural hair care links!
Again - thanks Lady Kinnks for giving me the opportunity to share :o)