Wearing Her Crown — Abigail

When did you go natural and why?

I went natural in late 1999. It was just something I did on a whim. I just wanted a change. Beginning in my teenage years, I had been doing my own hair. Whatever style I wanted to try, I did.

Did you transition or do a big chop (BC)?  If you transitioned, what were your transition styles?

I did the Big Chop. For all of high school and the first 2 years of college, I had been going back and forth between braids (extensions) and then getting a relaxer or touch-up. This time, I saw I had a good chunk of new growth and wondered out loud what I would look like if I cut off all my perm and just left the new growth. So, I did. I haven’t looked back since!

What were some of your challenges (if any) as a new natural?

Since I was already so familiar with my hair, I didn’t have any challenges as a new natural. I think others had the challenge of dealing with it; wondering why I would cut off my hair [or] how am I going to comb my hair. (Crazy stuff like that!)

What’s your signature style?

When I first went natural, my signature style was two-strand twists. Now it’s the afro. I love afros! Any afro. The wash-n-go fro. The picked-out fro. The curly fro. The afro puff. The spiky fro. The slept-on fro….

What hair products do you like?

I wash my hair with Suave conditioner. I use Cantu Shea Butter leave-in conditioner, but only after I wash my hair. I wash my hair every 3-4 weeks. I keep my scalp moisturized with Palmer’s Coconut Oil or Palmer’s Gro Treatment. If I’m doing a deep conditioning, I’ll use coconut cream, tea tree oil, canola oil (or whatever I have in the kitchen) and raw shea butter. .

What do you love most about being natural?
That it’s natural. It’s free. It’s easy. I hear lots of complaints about having natural hair being a lot of work. I think it’s a lot of work only if you fight what your hair wants to do naturally.

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Abigail’s a NYC writer.  Learn more about Abigail and her work on her website Abigail Ekue: The Native Creative New Yorker. Click here to check out her blog, Random Musings.