Naturally, Loving My Hair

Within Texarkana, several African-American women became part of the hair revolution as it arises on the scene. Collectively, they joined the natural hair movement with different explanations, textures, and hairstyles. "I didn't see it as going natural, I seen it as returning natural. After we do all this perming and stuff like that, I feel like we returned. I felt like my hair didn't really need those chemicals", said Tanji Miller. "My natural hair makes me unique, because everybody wears their hair straight or with braids. Whenever I wear my hair out and walk down the hallway, people see that and say, "Oh your hair is so pretty, I can't do that, I say...you can", said Mccenzie Murphy. "For the longest time, I've gotten perms, weave, braids and anything to avoid wearing my natural hair because I simply hated it and didn't think it was beautiful enough! As I've gotten older I've started to embrace the things that simply make me Brenda", said Brenda Awuah.

Different reasons united the naturals, but versatility unified them in The Natural Hair Movement. "It is very versatile. If I want to wear it straight, in my natural state I can", said Tanji Miller. "I love to see the versatility that you can do with natural hair. I love the idea of changing the texture of your hair and do things with my curls", said Angela Pickett-Murphy. "After learning so much about different products and different ways to style your hair, I felt like I can do pretty much what I wanted without a relaxer", said Kandis Wilborn.

Relaxers were another common denominator as a motivating factor. "I permed my daughter's hair with an old, bad permed and it ruined her hair. In addition to that my moms' side of the family naturally thins, but I realized they continued to put chemicals on their hair", said Keeta King. Relaxers or perms are chemical based products African-American women use for a more straight, sleek, and manageable look. "The more I relaxed, the brittle it got. It never reached a certain level to achieve", said Kasharie Sanders. "Nothing against relaxed hair. I've never had a bit of a problem with relaxed hair, but I love the idea to change the texture and do things with me curls that you couldn't do with relaxed hair", said Angela Pickett-Murphy.

Once the ladies abandoned their relaxers, the began "the transitioning phase". The transitioning phase allows African-American women to transition with two different hair textures until reaching a desired length while going natural. The two textures include hair in its natural state, (hair grown from their head) and relaxed hair (long or short) preventing, "The Big Chop", cutting off the relaxed hair. "I did a lot of perm rod sets. Most people cut their hair off. I didn't. I let my hair grow off and every month I would cut off an inch", said Tanji. "I didn't do the big chop. I grew my hair with braids", said Kandis. Other naturals are bold enough to take go above the transitioning phase with the big chop. "I actually did the big chop with a feminine fade. I grabbed the scissors and I chopped my hair. I slowly began transitioning. It was much, because I was already relaxed", said Laronda. "The first time I went natural, I actually got a buzz-cut. This time, I decided to transition, I rocked braids, because it saved me time in the morning to do my hair", said Kasharie.

Transitioning can also be difficult stage for naturals. "When I cut off the perm it was so easy. I could wash my hair with my fingertips, get up and go with a little mousee. As it grew, you go through an "ugly stage", when you don't know what to do with your hair, but you manage to get through it. Gel was my best-friend. I would wash my hair and it would "shrink" or curl up to it looked like it was shorter", said Keeta. "It was difficult working with those two textures with relaxed ends. I tell people to transition with styles that work with two transitioning textures. It's a real process and it's not an easy process. If you can be patient, find hairstyles that work for two textures you can definitely transition", said Angela.

Several naturals survived the transitioning phase with patience and preserverance. Unfortunately, not all naturals can withstand the transitioning phase and soon return back to relaxers. The remaining naturals push through the obstacles, even it means transitioning more than once. "This is my second time going natural. The first time, I was natural for three years. Today, I have been natural for almost two years", said Kasharie Sanders. Stumbling blocks are not enough for these naturals to re-relax their hair. "I honestly think I would never go back to a relaxer", said Tanji. "I don't regret one day being natural.

With so many natural hair options, Texarkana Community College professor, Laronda Bailey chose a particular style she desired as child. "I always wanted to have locks. I remembered as a little girl reading books and Alice Walker was one of my favorite writers, but Tony Morrison stood out to me", said Laronda.

Appropriate hairstyles can be found on blogs, YouTube, and social media. "There are so many options and people think it's not professional, but you can wear it at work or wherever you need to. It's just being comfortable in your natural hair", said Angela. "For me, reading blogs and watching YouTube videos about which products I should consider using have best worked for naturalist like myself", said Brenda Awuah. Texarkana resident, Kasharie Sanders demonstrates different protective styles and a known natural hair brand, Mane Choice via her social media and YouTube blogging under, Sharie Shine.

"I'm trying to teach my daughter that you can wear your natural hair and it can fit for different occasions", said Angela. She recalled styling her daughter's hair a certain occasion. "She went to homecoming for the first time this year. We decided that she was going to wear her natural hair, because natural hair can be. She had a twist-out and we pulled it up into a pretty puff with a nice formal dress", said Angela.

Similar to Mccenzie's story, 2018 Miss Texarkana Twin Rivers Pageant contestant, Brenda Awuah decided to step out of her fears and gracefully competed with her natural hair. "When I decided to do the Miss Texarkana Twin Rivers pageant, people asked if I was going to buy a wig or change my hair style to compete. The thought of not wearing my natural hair crossed my mind several times because I feared that I wouldn't be considered beautiful just because I didn't have long fake hair. Ultimately I decided to wear my natural hair for the little girls who might be in the audience", said Brenda.

The former contestant spoke about 2017 Miss Jamaica Universe contestant, Davina Bennett competing in the 2017 Miss Universe contest with her natural hair. Majic 93.3, Keeta King also mentioned Bennett as she changed the media's standards of beauty in 2017. "Miss Jamaica took the stage this past pageant. She wasn't in bundles, or cute pageant ponytails, she rocked her mane", said Keeta. Working in the media business can be challenging for the radio host, however, she believes natural hair is a humbling experience for herself and others."I believe it's healthy to remind everybody that this is what my hair looks like. It's not distracting. It's not threatening. I'm still cute, I'm equally smart as I was when I had long silky hair down my back. I think it's a healthy way to keep people grounded and for our young girls to see us wear our hair", said Keeta. Texarkana College professor, Laronda Bailey also faced challenges within the media/journalism business. "As I was building my career, I thought I had to look a certain way. I thought I had to fit a certain look in college and doing other things. ", said Laronda.

Having natural hair requires great responsibility and accountability. Finding the right products without chemicals and utilizing a low regimen are part of the natural's responsibilities. "I'm very careful not to use products with alcohols. In fact, the only products I use are water, almond oil, coconut oil, and peppermint oils", said Laronda Bailey. Tanji Miller stresses an ultimate regimine technique for herself and her clients. "I try to deep condition my hair every week, because I can see the result from when I didn't deep condition. I also try to press the issue with my clients to deep condition your hair", said Tanji. "I use the "LCO method" leave-in, cream, and oil method. I also co-wash once a week and every two weeks use shampoo, and deep condition every time I shampoo", said Kasharie. Neglectful hair techniques can result in damage, breakage, and re-transitioning for a fresh start.