Tha ish: Day 21... I made it!!!

Just in case you haven’t been reading tha ish religiously (*shame on you! LOL), I’ve gone on a 21 day challenge to live without my extensions, aka “fake hair”.


I’ve been natural for almost 10 years, but I’ve rarely worn my own hair. I did a couple of times (when money was tight), but for the most part, I’ve worn extensions and ponytails. (I haven’t done a full on weave, but I am actually quite curious about it...)


Over the past 3 weeks, I’ve gone through a million emotions. At the beginning of the journey, I felt daring and confident when I showed off my big ass afro. Then, my confidence took a beating and I felt a lot of frustration, anger, and feeling very unpretty.




My frustration came from not looking like my old self and not feeling attractive. To combat this feeling, I basically banished myself from the world over for my 3 week experiment (I only went to work, the grocery store, and I did a little bit of shopping). Yep, I’m serious. I tried to come off as confident and owning my look, but I’m not that good of an actress.


Believe it or not, I looooove natural hair. It is gorgeous and sexy when you have the skillz to style it. Unfortunately, my skillz aren’t on point, so I was pretty much irritated and frustrated for most of my challenge. My hair never looked good (or so I thought), so I never felt good.


I know a lot of people didn’t like my choice of hairstyles—I was actually told that to my face, (people can be soooo rude!), but I am glad that I challenged myself.


Well, I am getting ready to wash my hair. I have a hair appointment tomorrow morning and I’m getting my hair twisted. Yeah, I’m getting my extensions back. I honestly feel like those hair obsessed women in Chris Rock’s film, Good Hair : )


As much as I love my extensions I am glad that I was able to go outside my comfort zone and expose the real me to the world and myself. Naps and all!


Thanks for reading!


xxxoo

Tha ish: Day 16 - I’m sooo damn annoying

I must apologize to my mom, my sister, my friends, my co-workers and anyone else who has had to listen to me dwell on the trials and tribulations of my hair. Sorry, y’all. Just think, there are only 5 more days to my self imposed 21 day extension-free challenge!!



As much as I irritated everyone who has come in my path, I am soooo glad that I did this challenge. I’m glad that I got to be natural and love (not all the time) every inch of me. But I will save that speech for my last hair entry.


BTW, today was a relatively good hair day.  I rocked a cute side afro puff that is braided in the front. Sounds funky, but it came out pretty nice. I’ll try to post a pic soon.


anyways, time for bed.  Good night!

Tha ish: Days 9-12 of embracing my natural hair- aka "I miss my extensions!"

The uncomfortable feeling that I had on Monday pretty much spilled over the entire week. I had major hair issues. I wasn’t really feeling the style I was sporting, (sorry ma—my mom twisted my hair for me), but I had to keep it because I had no time (or skillz) to do anything else, and I also thought my frustration was part of the process of understanding my natural hair. My hair won’t look the way I want it to all the time, and that’s something that gets a little frustrating. At least I know which styles I like and suit me, and which styles I plan on never wearing again!!



I came thisclose to getting my hair flat ironed, but I didn’t want to give in and punk out. I need to embrace my nappy hair!


I did get lots of encouragement from a friend who is also a natural girl. She gave me a daily dose of support and tons of product knowledge on the various products out there for black hair. Thanks OQ!


I plan on rocking my fro for the last week of my challenge. (psst ....my 21 day challenge of being extension free officially ends on August 29th, 2010. I miss my old style (I wear my hair in twists with the aid of extensions), but I like wearing my own hair. I like the way it feels, the way it smells. Even though it drives me crazy when it does the things it does (FYI black hair is probably the only hair that shrinks!!!! ), I definitely love my hair.

Tha ish: Day 8 Sexy hair?

It’s funny (or weird), that since I’ve taken out my extensions, I actually feel like those crazy ass women on those makeover shows who freak out when their hair is cut. They think that they won’t be attractive anymore and that their husbands/boyfriends will no longer want them. I know my hair hasn’t been cut, but I kinda feel those women's pain.  I am now exposing the real me by unleashing every kink and curl to the world. Seriously, it can be overwhelming at times.



Today wasn’t such a bad day though. I spent the afternoon shopping (I didn’t buy anything) and trying to get used to my twists. I had to check myself out in every mirror that I passed to make sure that I looked okay. Yep, I’m neurotic!


On one hand I like the new style because the twists give me a cool, edgy, badass vibe, but on the other hand, I kinda wish my hair were longer so that I could feel a little more girly. Yes, I said it. I know it’s stupid and ignorant, but it’s how I feel. I know that my style looks good (my mother keeps telling me how good it looks. She’s such a mom!), but I still want to feel sexy and attractive. I am a single lady!


I guess I need to get used to the new version of me. I’m trying.

Tha ish: Days 5 – 7 of embracing my natural hair

Day 5 - August 13, 2010


I was actually pretty impressed with myself. I spent an hour cornrowing my hair last night and it came out very well. My mother even told me that it was WAY better than she expected. Big up to me!!


I wore my hair in an afro, but it wasn’t as cute as it was in the beginning of the week. It looked a little dry, but it was good enough to wear to the mall.


I bumped into an ex co-worker at the mall and she said that I looked like a kid with my new hairstyle. She said it looked nice (I don’t believe her!), but said that I should try to make it look softer and show my ringlet curls. I had to let her know that I was rocking my real hair and that my real hair doesn’t look like ringlet curls. I was a little annoyed by her statement, but realized she’s kinda ignorant about my hair texture, so I didn't dwell on it.


BTW I finally updated my facebook pic and showed off my afro. I was relieved and overwhelmed to get such a positive response. Thanks!


Day 6 - August 14, 2010


No major hair issues happened.


Day 7  August 15, 2010


I decided a couple of days ago that the next style that I was going to rock was twists (twisting my own hair, without extensions). I decided on twists because of its low maintenance. The afro was cool, but it took a lot of work for it to look cool.


I asked my mother a few days ago to twist my hair and she agreed to do it today. I was kinda shocked because my mom twisted my hair 2 whole years ago, and ungratefully I told her that I didn’t like the style on me as soon as she was done (possibly because I missed my extensions!). I subsequently took out the twists and ran straight to the hair salon one day later. My mother swore she’d never twist my hair again. Thankfully, my mother disregarded that, and patiently and lovingly twisted my hair today. Thanks, mommy!


It’s a shorter ‘do than I’m used to, but it looks nice. I have to get used to it. Don’t worry, I have no plans on untwisting it any time soon!

Tha ish: Day 4

Well it took me FOREVER to style my hair today. I really didn’t want to rock an afro puff, but after fussing with my hair for at least half an hour, I caved in and decide to put it in a side afro puff. I really wasn’t thrilled with the style, but I had no choice as I had to leave my house ASAP so I would get to work by 9:00am.



10:14 am I went to the bathroom and checked my hair. I still was unimpressed with my do. It was dry, lacked pizzazz. Not a good day. Thankfully, there was no one in the office today. LOL


Day 4 = Bad Hair Day!


12:33pm A friend dropped by my office and told me how much she liked my hairstyle. I thought the girl was being nice or was on crack, but then she said she wanted to steal the look. I told her to go ahead. Go figure. Sometimes I am my biggest critic.

Here’s a pic of the side afro puff.

Tha ish: Day 3...

Just in case you’ve stumbled on the website and want to know why I’ve deviated from writing about random things that I think are tha ish, well, it’s because I’m challenging myself to embrace my natural hair and not use extensions ( aka fake hair) for 21 days (* I have 18 more days to go). I plan on documenting this journey.

Today is day 3 of rocking a natural hairstyle.

7: 05 am   I woke up 25 minutes earlier than normal to start my day, ensuring that I had enough time to do my hair

8:00 am   I started to take my braids down (read: unbraid my hair)

8:30 am   After fixing my hair, I had to admit that my hair looked good! That shea butter worked miracles on my dehydrated hair. I like that my hair is moisturized and kinda fluffy.


I liked my hairstyle so much that I took a few pics so that I could update my facebook account [update: I still haven’t changed my profile pic yet.]


Although I left the house feeling great, I got a few comments that brought me back down to earth.


• “Why did you do that?”


• “I like it and I don’t”


• “I prefer your “other hair” better


• “I have no comment”


• “You are brave!”


Honestly, I had to laugh at some of the comments. I know they weren’t said to be hurtful; they were just telling me how they felt about my new hairstyle. No big deal. All that matters is how I feel. Anyways, tomorrow is another day.


p.s. Within seconds of arriving to work, my hair was fondled by one of my co-workers. Not cool!

Tha ish: Day 2 of being extension free

I didn’t have to work today, so I didn’t do much with my hair. I had to run a few errands, so I rocked an afro puff. I like the look, but not on me. Whenever I wear an afro puff, I always end up looking like I’m eleven years old.



When I came home, I asked my mom to braid my hair again (she cornrowed it on Sunday night. Yes, I know, I need to learn how to braid my hair!).


Natural hair is beautiful but the maintenance is a killer. I must spritz my hair daily with water and a leave in conditioner, and I must, must, must braid it at night. If I don’t, I will have a head full of tangles.


Yeah, I’m kinda missing the extensions today. I used to get up, take a shower and be ready to leave in a matter of minutes, now I have to decide the night before how I plan to wear my hair. Oh well.


p.s. I have to thank O. Q for providing me with unrefined shea butter for my hair. My hair loved it!!!! Also thanks for indulging me in talking about hair products, hair styles and natural hair care websites. I need all the help I can get!

Tha ish: My big ass afro

My big ass afro made its debut today. I normally wear my natural hair in twists with the aid of extensions, but after thinking about doing something different with my hair for the longest time, I decided I should let my natural hair take center stage.



I have truly loved being chemical free for almost 10 years (my 10 year nappiversary will be Dec 2010), but the thought of not having my “fake hair” scared me. Seriously. I’ve been protected by extensions for so long that being without them made me feel a little vulnerable. During the 10 years of being natural, I never took the time out to appreciate my nappy hair! : )


So for the next 21 days, I plan to be extension-free! I hope I can do it.


Don’t worry; I will document my day to day hair issues.


p.s. I liked the way my hair looked today. I got up extra early to tame my crazy hair, but all in all it looked cool. Here’s a pic of my ‘do.

Tha ish: Melanie Fiona

I’m slowly becoming a Melanie Fiona fan. She has definitely demonstrated that she has the voice and talent to become a great singer. And the fact that she's from Toronto doesn't hurt either : )

I first heard about her after the insane amount of buzz that she received after she released, “It Kills Me.” Damn, that song is one of the most powerful, emotionally charged songs I’ve ever heard in my entire life! It is sooo good it hurts! I knew that anyone that could release such a strong single was definitely talented, but being the sceptic that I am, I still wanted to hear more.

She released her second single, A yo, which was good. It’s not as powerful as It Kills Me, but her raspy voice sounded gorgeous on this track. I also liked the reggae-ish vibe of the single.

It was about two weeks ago when I knew I would ultimately become a fan. While I was as work, I heard a song on the radio that made me tune out everything going on around me. Seriously, the office could have been on fire, but I didn’t care. I had to hear the song. It had a motown-y, Lauryn Hill –ish feel, so I was hooked from the first few notes.

All I could remember was Monday morning, so I googled “Monday morning” and found out that it was the title to Melanie Fiona’s latest single.

When I realized that she released yet another hot song, I knew then and there that I had become a bona fide Melanie Fiona fan.

Big up to Miss Melanie Fiona! I know you’ll have a successful career!


p.s I think I love her even her more after I found out that she sang a song on the Reggae Gold 2008 compilation CD that I had always liked. She sang "Someone Come Get Me" (wicked tune!!!) , but had no idea who sang it (she used a pseudonym to record the song- Melanie ‘Syren’ Hall).