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unatrilliza - *Updated**May 15th 2009*

North Carolina

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unatrilliza - *Updated**May 15th 2009*

I am a senior at Duke University, majoring in Cultural Anthropology and minoring in linguistics and computer science. I still can't believe that I graduated May 10, 2009. LOL

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*My hair story:
I got my first relaxer back in elementary school. After that, I hadn't really considered going natural, even when my older sister stopped relaxing her hair in college. But I never liked paying so much $ for straight hair; especially since my hair and scalp were nearly always damaged.

During my sophomore year in college (spring 2007), I conducted an ethnography in one of my culanth classes about hair care practices among African American women. We studied the history of black hair (read: scientific racism, lol) and in view of that, explored how contemporary women explain their chosen hair care methods/styles. At that time, I interviewed a number of women on campus, the majority of whom were not natural. Only one of my friends went natural that year, because of damage from a relaxer. But she was definitely the exception. Many of my friends were aware of the historic reasons for black women so commonly viewing straight hair as the beauty standard. But they explained their own (straight) hair choices as one of manageability.

Talking about hair so openly really started me thinking about why I relaxed my hair. In May 2007, I realized that I'd forgotten to get a retouch in the busyness of the semester - my last one was in March. And my hair was absolutely fine. I didn't have any of the problems that I'd always been assured I would face if I didn't get that much "needed" retouch every six weeks.

I finally entertained the idea of no longer straightening my hair. Since I was about to go study abroad in Sydney, Australia for 6 months, I thought this was the perfect opportunity. My mom was wary because she kept asking me what I was going to do with my hair. Like many of the women from my hair project, I didn't have knowledge about how to handle my natural hair or transitioning. At the time, i didn't even know what transitioning was. As I prepared to go abroad, I began experimenting with twisting my relaxed hair and searching for good products. I even checked out some books from the library. And since I google everything, I searched for "kinky hair going natural." I thought I would find some more books. I was pleasantly surprised to find entire sites like nappturality, motowngirl, and many others devoted to hair. Through these sites, I have been inspired and educated about natural hair care.

My last relaxer was in June 2007. While I was abroad, I went with the wash and rollersets and the occasional bantu knot out until December 2007. It made me so happy when one of my aunts asked me how I kept my hair looking so good while I was abroad. She was surprised that I hadn't relaxed the entire time! When I got back to school, I wore braids from January 08 until July 2008. In May 08, my Mom cut off most of the relaxed ends. Then I officially did the BC at the beginning of August, 2008. I am having a great time getting to know my hair texture, experimenting with styles and developing a regimen as I learn how to grow and maintain healthy, natural hair.
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*My current cultural anthropology project: Spring 2009
Since I benefited from 'lurking' around (fotki albums, blogs, websites, youtube videos, etc) during my own transition, and even know as I continue to get to know my hair, I am exploring the role of these online hair communities. Specifically, how women select their hair care practices, talk about, and understand their hair through these online spaces. It's fascinating how we can interact, learn, influence and identify with each other (all around the US and the world) about our hair (and so many other things) and yet most of us will never even meet face to face.

Since my first hair project in 2007, a lot of women at my school have gone natural or are transitioning, so I'm also continuing to interview them. In general, I think that being able to find information and support online is a key factor in how many of us are going natural. Thanks for reading to the end!

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