I went with two Natural Hair friends.First, let me say how surprised I was that this event was sold out and the line out the door when we got there....and how surprised I (my friends too) was to see so many ladies with Natural Hair in Austin, Texas.
After a little chatter, we found out not all the ladies lived in Austin....they were just there for the event...but it was still good to see not one relaxer in sight for miles. There were so many different styles....afros, fades, twist outs, braids, french braids, I-don't-knows (that's how some ladies described what their hair did this morning).
Titi and Niko of Miss Jessie's (in picture too) did a wonderful job explaining the joys and woes of Natural Hair and answered so many questions! I took notes in my phone, and was able to get some great information to pass on to all my Natural Hair friends and sisters.
They did not address locks or Sisterlocks, which I expected because it was "Natural Hair Celebration" and not "Sisterlock Celebration" but they did mention that locks (in general) take a commitment some women may not want to make. I laughed to myself when I heard this, of course, because....well....you can read my post Free Your Hair for my take on why I was laughing....but as a side note, doesn't it take a commitment to wear a relaxer? (You commit to getting them regularly, right? And to free yourself of a relaxer, you, too, have to grow your hair out and eventually cut out the relaxed hair, right? You can't just change relaxer hair to natural hair. Is that not a commitment???)
I was the only one I saw with Sisterlocks, and no one asked about them.
I am still happy to go to the event, though, because it was just down right inspiring to see so many women making the choice to wear natural hair and embrace their natural beauty. Again, I am not pointing a judgmental finger at anyone without natural hair....I just like natural hair, is all.
So many women are looking for a product or "routine" to "fix" their hair to make it look "acceptable" or "good" or "like hers..." Just a thought: products can't fix everything. You see....no matter how much Miss Jessie's products you put on your hair (or anyone else's products for that matter), it will only do so much repairing, maintenance, moisturizing, etc. YOU, my Lady, control the rest. Yep, YOU, and Yep, I said it. What you put into your body affects what grows out of it. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......Yea, reread that if necessary. You can't feed yourself junk, never exercise, have a deep aversion to water, and then throw on a bunch of natural hair products and expect your hair to look it's best. So...let's get it together. Let's all not neglect the choices we make for our lifestyles.
Phew...alright, I'm done rambling for now. I'm still excited from the event earlier today so I am no doubt rambling.
I will post an update this week that will be more succinct and informative and less opinion-y and rambling.
Phew!
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