Hi my lovelies, my name is Angie and I’ve got four words for you:

Embrace your natural coils! 

During the last few years, I’ve been on a journey learning to love my natural hair. Prior to going natural I’d been a fiend for the “creamy crack” and from the young age of nine, thought I’d needed curly or straight hair to enhance my beauty. As terrible as that sounds, I wasn’t the only one who felt that way – this idea was shared among many of my peers. The girls that were deemed the “prettiest” were the ones with naturally curly or straight hair. The kinky girls…we didn’t quite make the cut because we didn’t have “good hair”.

I’ll never forget the day I decided I just had to have a perm…

My mom set an appointment with my beautician and she cancelled last minute, but I was soooo pressed to get one that I started asking other people in the hair salon if they had time to perm my hair that day. Only one beautician had free time (a lot of free time actually) and I quickly discovered why.

It was the worst hair experience of my life! 

She literally slapped perm on my hair and decided to take a phone call – leaving my scalp to burn for what felt like hours…I felt like my hair was on fire! When she finally got around to taking out the perm I had a humongous scab along my hairline. I could have cried.

Regardless of the drama, my hair was straight like the other girls in my class and I still was more pleased with my hair then, than I was prior. I thought I’d finally discovered the answer to my “nappy hair” problems and would never turn back – and I didn’t.

Well, not until 2012…

After years of over processing my hair, I’d experienced significant breakage, shedding and thinning. Sure, I’d been walking around with silky straight hair but you know ain’t nothing cute about having bald spots lol, yet that was the direction I was going in.

It wasn’t until I started to really understand my value and the beauty in who God made me naturally that I started thinking,

hmmm I wonder if I’ll be just as pleased with my looks if I stopped perming my hair.

When I started educating myself on the many products, hair tips and hairstyles created for people with my hair type, I became so excited about what possibly lay beyond my permed roots. That excitement led me to make one of the boldest moves of my life…the big chop…and it was completely liberating and I was eager to begin experimenting with my own hair.

Except it wasn’t as easy as it looked…

I’d love to say that over the last few years I’ve “mastered” all aspects of my natural hair journey but that wouldn’t be true. I’d made a big step by going natural, however once my hair got to be about 5/6 inches, I stopped experimenting. I had some unanticipated life challenges that kept me from focusing on my hair.

And let’s be honest…I thought my hair was A LOT less manageable.

I started wearing wigs and allowing my hair to grow without a lot of fuss. Many of the hairstyles and tips that I’d drooled over prior to my big chop, had lain dormant in my to-do’s.

It’s time to make a change

I don’t want to live my life with my natural hair constantly under silk scarves. My hair is a gift from God and I want to share it with the world (except in the winter months because that cold air is brutal!) I’m determined to see my hair’s fullest potential and help others do the same.

My goal for this site is to encourage, educate, and inspire others through my journey and the information I gather from YOU. There is much to be thankful for in having a coily texture. Our hair is our crown of glory and we should embrace our coily strands.

What I love most about the natural hair community is the collective effort it’s members make to come up with new and innovative hairstyles, tips and tricks. There’s no real “natural hair expert” that knows the answer to all of our questions. That definitely doesn’t mean I don’t know a thing or two, BUT I also believe that your ideas are just as valuable.

We ALL add something to the community.

I’d love for you to join me in discovering the many blessings of natural hair. I know there are others who are like me – whether newly natural and learning for the first time how to manage their hair or natural enthusiasts, seeking a little inspiration. I know that together we will enjoy this journey.  Therefore, please get involved, I’d love to hear your questions, hair stories, and tips. We can learn a lot from one another.

God bless you on your hair journey,

Angie

Founder of Naptural Hair Love