I’m five months post relaxer! You’d think that I’m some kind of addict who’s excited about being drug free. But, I’m just so proud of myself for making it this far, and I want to shout it to the world. Since my last post, I’ve been working on protective styling options for my on-air gig. As I mentioned, I am a weather anchor in New York City. The bosses are strict when it comes to hair. It’s tough trying to find a balance between healthy hair and a style that makes everyone happy.
My main goal is to achieve well-preserved natural hair, which means shampooing and conditioning weekly without applying heat all the time. When I mention this to my colleagues they look at me like I’m crazy and I understand why. It’s impossible to avoid the curling iron, a flat iron, and heated rollers in my line of work. However, I’ve been determined to prove otherwise.
Sitting under a hooded dryer for almost two hours each week is the only heat I normally use. I’d wrap my mane over night and pin curl it in the morning. But as my roots continue to sprout, my hair becomes harder to control. Every now and again I’d give in and blow-dry my hair, which means dealing with a lot of unnecessary breakage and heat damage. Ultimately, I decided that wearing a wig would be the best thing for me. In fact, it’s been my saving grace. After weeks of research and planning, I settled on True Indian Hair (a wig company I heard about from a friend at work).
I wanted to maintain the same overall on-camera look. So, I settled on this one.
Getting my wig (which I named Janasia) has been the easy part. Convincing my boss has been a whole other story. Rather than chat with her beforehand, I decided to just show up to work with it on.
I’ve been worrying about the reaction of my boss, and even more concerned about what the fans would think. Would they consider me a sell out for wearing this thing on my head? Would they think I’m not being true to who I am?
Long story short- boss lady isn’t too crazy about Janasia. She prefers my relaxed look. But, I ain’t going back to that. On the flip side, I have been getting some positive feedback from my colleagues and viewers. I’ve gotten so many emails and phone calls to the station saying how much they love my new look.
I realize that I can’t be too hard on myself and I shouldn’t be over thinking this whole transitioning process. I wouldn’t call wearing a wig selling out. It’s just another option of protective styling. If anything, I am being true to who I really am. Deciding to go natural means that my hair will be the way God intended it to be. The only other choice I have is to go on air rockin’ corn-rows, and that would never fly. I know- it’s sad, but true. Hopefully, that will all change in the future. For now, I’ll rock my wig until my relaxer grows out. I’m excited to be on the path to healthy hair, but I still have to work on making my boss happy. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to convince her about wearing my natural curls. We’ll see.
