My Hair

So, my hair has always been an issue. As a black woman in America, I think most of us struggle with the same issues: How to have sustainable, presentable, healthy hair. Peoples views of good hair vary, but good hair in the black community is mostly anything that comes close to looking like straight, flowing, long hair. Ive done it all to achieve this look, and many other looks. Ive done, perms, weaves, presses, braids, wigs, I even spent $700 on a lace wig (which went down the tubes fast one bc I didn't like the glue and two bc I accidently destroyed the wig...but we wont go there).

For my Peace Corps journey, I thought long and hard about what to do with my hair. The advantage of living in Brooklyn for the past 26 years of my life has allowed me to have any hair accessories/products at my disposal that allowed me to change my hairs style every 3-6 months. I had my hair stylist, my wig stores (synthetic & human), my stores to buy hair for my weaves, perms, oils, sprays...anything that a black woman needs for her hair can be found in BK. Not so much in Kazakhstan...

When I accepted my invitation to join PC I was at my synthetic wig stage (just getting over my human hair wig stage after the lace wig debacle). At first I thought I could just buy a bunch of wigs and bring them with me to Kazakhstan. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this wasnt realistic. Here is why:

1. Although I had a certain style and brand of wigs that I use, unfortunately, it might not always be in stock. Therefore, my parents will be unable to send me the wigs that I like at a moments notice, if I needed a new one. Synthetic wigs last only about 4-6 weeks before losing its luster so you need to constantly buy new ones. In addition, styles discontinue and change even more rapidly that cell phones. And you really cant buy a wig w/o trying it on to make sure it fits your face and looks good on you. Also, bring 15 wigs would make me go over my 50lbs weight limit for luggage (lol)
2. My hair under the wigs is natural, I haven't had a perm in 3 years. Natural means thick and nappy. In order for me to wear the wigs, I usually went to the African hair braiding place to cornrow my hair to make it flat. In Kazakhstan, I doubt there will be any Africans who own hair braiding shops. And no, I dont know how to cornrow my hair, I hate doing my hair. Also washing thick nappy hair in its natural state takes a lot of energy, it aint easy!! So even if I brought wigs with me, when it came time to wash and cornrow my hair, no one could do it. And yes I thought about cutting my hair in a short boy cut, but i dont kow how to cut/sustain that type hair either.
3. The cultural shock is another factor. I dont sleep in my wigs, i take them off when i get home and walk around in my cornrows. Its culture shock enough that my host families arent getting a young white blond american girl, like Im sure thier are expecting. They are getting a black girl from brooklyn. Now Im sure PC preps them about the various ethinicies we have in America, and I know they've seen Michelle and Barack, so I dont think Im gonna have much of a problem. However, im sure they will be in shock to see me taking off my hair every day! lol. And I dont think my Russian will be good enough (in the beginning) to be able to explain it to them. So the wigs are out.

So no wigs, no perms, no braids (bc I dont know how). I was really perplexed on what to do. I scoured the blogs and different online PC groups for an answer. Most African American female volunteers were in Africa, or South America, where they have resources to do their hair. I was discouraged.

Until one day on the PC yahoo groups site one AA female said that she recently locked her hair and loved it. She said it was convenient and easier (notice it not entirely easy) to take care of. Easier to wash, easier to style, and easier to maintain. So I decided to buy a book on the subject. After I read it, I knew that this was the right move. I still would need a bunch of hair products, but not as much as the wigs, etc. And its easier to learn how to twist your hair than braid. Also, I wont need a hair dryer, bc they can air dry and be fine.

So I thats the reason decdied to lock my hair: because of my PC journey.

I started in April with a new loctition. Im learning how to take care of it. The beginning stages are ruff! Because they dont look like locks right away, and it looks like "bad" hair. But I stuck with it and now I love them. I like them better up than down, but overall I like them.

Here they are!