“My aunt told me that she couldn’t comb through my hair anymore because my natural hair was growing out and for her to treat my hair better she was going to chop off all of the relaxed hair…”
Washington, DC, Women

“My aunt told me that she couldn’t comb through my hair anymore because my natural hair was growing out and for her to treat my hair better she was going to chop off all of the relaxed hair. It took some convincing, but I knew that I couldn’t do it anymore after I saw her struggling to comb through the relaxed hair so I told her to chop it off. That was in December 2014.

My aunt eventually ended up relaxing her and her daughters hair again. I don’t want to relax my hair, however. I just can’t maintain it anymore. I’ll be honest, the maintenance is a pain but I can’t put a relaxer back in my hair. It’s a little annoying to have to twist my hair every night, but I like it. I really enjoy it. I spent the last six to eight months with my hair in braids and twists because the humidity in Florida was terrible.”

“When I started wearing my hair natural, I wore an afro and it was a little intimidating because people didn’t know how to address me…”
Washington, DC, Women

“The first time I did the big chop was nearly five years ago. I just cut my hair for the second time because I wanted something exciting and new. I’ve dyed my hair so many times that I just wanted to stop and do it all over again. It’s a lot easier for me to deal with short hair because I can pick up and go.

When I started wearing my hair natural, I wore an afro and it was a little intimidating because people didn’t know how to address me. It kind of showed me the barriers and boundaries for certain jobs, especially when I started going through the interview process. People looked at me a bit different than they would if I had straightened my hair. It threw me off a little, but after a while I kind of learned to assert myself. I learned to be empowered and realized that if they can’t understand who I am and appreciate my personality then it’s just not worth it. Growing into it has been nice. I’ve found myself being sassier and way more confident.”