About

Don King Fro

I have decided to ditch the relaxer (a perm to some) and embrace my natural hair texture. I’m not 100% sure that I won’t run back to my relaxer; but after finding out about all the styling options for natural hair, such as wet sets, braidouts, and twistouts, having and maintaining my natural hair seems less daunting. In the past, I thought the only natural styles were braids or a Don King afro (although there’s nothing really wrong with a Don King afro). Actually, it turns out that African American natural hair expresses itself in many different ways (curly, coily, kinky, nappy, etc.). So before you write your hair off as “unmanageable” you may want to revisit your natural texture. No matter the texture, it really is about learning to properly care for your hair.

Infamous Twistout

I began relaxing my hair when I was 18 years old. In almost 20 years, I never really thought about going natural until the past year. I’m not sure what started this process. I’ve flirted with natural-inspired hairstyles in the past, but I was always put off by folks assuming that I was making a political statement with my hair. While I acknowledge that “African American” natural hair carries with it a political undertone, right now, I just want to enjoy my natural hair texture. God gave it to me – I want to enjoy it. Further, I ditched the natural-inspired styles because I listened to feedback that my hair looked better straight. Looking better or not, I grew tired of my broken ends damaged by flat irons. So, I came across some hair sites and forums and the rest is history. At first, I learned to take better care of my relaxed hair. The tips I picked up – using heat protectants, not flat-ironing every day, wearing protective styles, air drying, etc. – had an immediate beneficial effect on my hair. I didn’t know if I could handle natural hair, but I began stretching the time in-between relaxers from 5 weeks to 20 weeks. I haven’t had a relaxer since December 2007, and as of July 2008, all of my relaxed hair has been cut off.

Email me @ drcoleman@phdiddy.com.