Why I Grew My Natural 4c Hair

Hi Queens! Let’s talk about my crown. I’m going to tell you why I decided to grow my natural hair. I used to have the short Halle Berry cut. I loved it because well…first of all, it was really cute, and secondly, it was so easy to take care of. It was easy because my crown was relaxed.

Deciding to go natural

I started relaxing my hair when I was in my twenties, and that was a loooong time ago. Yes, I’m a woman of a certain age! I made the decision to relax my crown because I have 4c textured hair, and frankly, I just didn’t want to deal with it, and I didn’t think coils and kinks were cute. I was brought up to call my kinky strands “nappy”. Little did I know that the term “nappy” is a derogatory term used to describe the hair of black people, especially women. My family used that term and thought nothing of it. It was how I was brought up.

So, what made me go natural? Well, my son did. One day, I was relaxing my hair, and he said “why don’t you let your hair grow out and stop putting that perm in it? I said to him, “no, I don’t want to have to deal with it”. Then my daughter chimed in, in agreement with him. She also suggested I go on YouTube to learn about natural hair care.

It took a couple of months, but the more I thought about it, the more curious I got. I wanted to see what my natural crown looked like. Since it had been relaxed for so long, I couldn’t remember. So, I started watching YouTube videos and decided to start the natural hair journey.

The Big Chop

Although my hair was already short, I still had to big chop. I had to cut those relaxed strands off. I ended up chopping twice because I didn't get all the relaxed ends the first time. 

Embracing my natural crown

It took a while before I really embraced my natural crown. I didn’t know how to take care of it. My first mistake was looking at the YouTuber’s techniques and thinking their routines would work for me. I thought if I did what they did, I’d get the same style of results they got. I didn’t realize I needed to find the routine and products that my crown loved. Don’t get me wrong…I learned so much from the YouTubers. If it wasn’t for them, I would have just started relaxing my crown again. They certainly helped me figure it out.

Finding the hair routine that works for me

I must have tried every product on the market. Every product I saw the YouTubers use, I used. I spent a small fortune, and I wasted a lot of products because I’d use them two or three times and then figured out my crown didn’t like them.

I tried every product on the market. Quick disclaimer: just because these products didn’t work for me doesn’t mean they won’t work for you. Our crown has a personality, and she likes what she likes and hates what she hates, and she will tell you exactly how to care for her. You just have to listen!

Here are some of the products I used:

I even subscribed to a hair club that sends different products for you to try out. My crown didn’t like any of them, and it was very frustrating. But I hung in there and FINALLY found the hair care products that my crown fell in LOVE with. I've noticed that I need to switch up on products every now and then. My hair seems to get used to them and not react the same way. I have three brands that I love. 

I also created my natural hair growth butter Vanilla Rose Hair Growth Butter, and my Stimulating Scalp Elixir. These accelerated my hair growth exponentially. 

Now that my crown has let me know what she loves, I stay consistent and give her the nourishment she needs. And she responds to me by growing!

Now you know why I decided to go natural and grow my hair. I have so much more to share with you about my hair growth journey. I hope that sharing my experience will help you grow your crown. I’ll tell you about the mistakes I’ve made and the wins I’ve had. The one thing I do know is… growing your crown is a marathon. It takes time and patience. If you’re just starting your hair growth journey, DON’T GIVE UP!!

I’d love to hear about your journey or if you’re trying to decide to go natural. Let me know what your experience has been. I’m sure ya’ll have some great information to share.

With love,

Dana