walk with me...: Nappturality done right!

As some of you may already know from reading my blogs or knowing me personally, i have recently shaved my hair off in efforts to go back to the way i came into this world. All of a sudden, it seems to be the buzz nowadays with African-American woman. I initially had my big chop back on 02/07/2007, but impatience only allowed me to stay napptural for almost 2 years. I was so anxious to run my fingers through my hair again, so i did the inevitable...permed it! Bad choice, but i dont regret it. I had fun with my hair, doing all the things i had never done...getting bangs, doing blunt shoulder length cuts, short sharp rihanna cuts, sow in weaves...i mean, i did pretty much everything to it but color it. Now i am back to being my napptural self again where i belong (for now) and love. One of my favorite R&B singers felt the same way.

“I was tired of black sista’s feeling subject to having their hair pressed and straightened, and damaged, with relaxers, and heat. I wanted to make short and nappy hair fashionable, and let the industry know that there is nothing wrong with the texture that we have been born with. So I plan to grow it out to the big beautiful nappy hair that I have.”
-Chrisette Michele

I'll be honest, my first reaction to this bold move caught me off guard. Its very rare you see anyone in the industry do something like this, and with meaning. Yeah, you have the Rihanna's and Cassie's shaving half of their heads off to be a part of "the now", and to be what is considered hip to set a trend, but to do something with meaning that is so much deeper than the surface, i can appreciate that.

I was my first inspiration to shave my hair off the first time, but of course, my fellow pisces and other favorite R&B singer Erykah Badu did the darn thing too, but way before shaving your head as a woman was cool. But that is what i love about her. She has that "I dont care what people think about me" attitude. And when i tell you homegirl rocked the heck out of that cut, it is not a game. Her beauty magnified.

Most people ask me, why did you just shave it all off instead of getting braids first to allow the new growth to grow out first? Well, i'll tell you why. I believe, to fully appreciate what you are doing, its a must to start from scratch and to not half step it. I must say, it's a bold move to shave your hair off, but when you do it, it is by far the most liberating experience for a woman. To walk around with your head held high knowing that you are beautiful in your natural state and don't have to conform to what society and mainstream considers acceptable, is a huge statement to make without saying a word. Its so powerful.

So although some trends are cute for the moment, like shaving your hair off on the side like La La Vasquez who is said to have mocked Cassie and Cassie who is said to have mocked Rihanna and Rihanna who is believed to have mocked...., well, you get the idea, be original.