I just realised it has been 18 months since I took the plunge and went natural. That means I’ve been creamy-crack-free for two full human gestation periods, that’s insane! And like any recovering addict, there’s been many a time I’ve threatened to fall off the bandwagon and return to the creamy crack – usually during an “I’m not about this life” moment that happens at least every 3 months.

In all honesty my natural hair journey hasn’t been all sunshine and roses, in fact you can read here just how lack-lustre I was about it in the early days. For goodness sake, it’s taken one and half rotations around the freaking sun for me to get smitten – love at first sight, this was not.

So in the spirit of keep things positive let me share with you a few reasons why I currently love me some natural hair!

1. Memory Lane
It took me going natural to remind me that a lot of my favourite memories involve my mum* combing out my hair on a random Saturday afternoon on the veranda steps of my childhood home. A huge container of Dax or Blue Magic was always nearby and my favourite part by far was when she’d idly play with my hair whilst telling my siblings and I some story.

There’s a reason my I’m obsessed with big hair, because for most of my life my mum rocked the meanest fro EVER. A fun memory, that just dawned on me, is searching her hair for pencils…yes, PENCILS – my mum the ever avid crossword puzzle solver used to store pencils in her hair whilst between puzzles. The most pencils I remember finding at any given time was 3 #TrueStory

My mum’s rocking her fro in the 80’s 

2. Werk It!
When making the decision to take the plunge and go natural, a married former co-worker of mine told me I was “brave” and if she was single, she probably wouldn’t consider going that route as she believed it would lessen her chances of attracting members of the opposite sex *straight face*

Digression: Let’s get something straight here – adjectives like “brave” should be saved for survivors of cancer and genocide or those fools who choose to cross the highway during peak hour traffic. Those individuals are brave. Reverting back to one’s natural hair isn’t so much brave but more…”inevitable”, “liberating” or “exciting”. 

The thing I’ve taken from this entire experience is that anything can be deemed as sexy and attractive, as long as your rock it with attitude and confidence. Hair is an accessory, just werk it sista!

3. Goodbye, Kryptonite
Rain (and all forms of general precipitation) and I are no longer fierce foes! Yes people, water is no longer my kryptonite. In fact, dare I say that I liberally  spritz the stuff on my hair daily…DAILY *woop woop*

4. Dollar dollar bills, y’all
During my creamy-crack period I was definitely THAT girl whom you’d religiously find wilting under a hair-dryer at 11:00am on any given Saturday morning, paying a small fortune to get my curls perfectly coiffed. Nowadays you’ll find me on a tennis court at that exact time, sweating out my hair before I take it through my own hair washing & styling regime that all takes place from my home.

The amount of money I am saving is ridiculous compared to what I used to spend on my hair – I refuse to actually calculate the amount, in case the bold figures I parted with on a monthly/yearly basis send me into cardiac arrest. Suffice to say, the only time my coily crown sees the inside of a hair salon these days is when I’m getting braids or the rare blow-out done *rubs dirt off my shoulder*

5. Burn-free Zone
This is how I feel about not having to go to the hair salon and have my scalp subjected to the burning qualities of creamy-crack!

6. Lastly, because Sesame Street affirmed that my hair is truly awesome via this cute song!

What’s your favourite thing about having natural hair?
Holla in the comments!

*PS: It’s my mum’s birthday, today! Happy birthday to one awesome lady whom I love a lot and share 23 blessed chromosomes with, one of which probably factored into giving me my lovely hair. Love you mumsie 🙂