My scalp is having a party. Literally. She can’t remember the last time she was free of braids and weave for an extended period of time, meaning more than the two days I usually allow my hair to breathe in between new weave appointments. My first week natural on TV went better than I could have ever imagined.
I got amazing support from my co-workers and overwhelmingly positive feedback from the viewers. But, behind the scenes, maintaining my natural hair didn’t go off without a hitch. This is not a complaint. This is a reality check. There was a lot of work to make sure I wasn’t on the air with two things I cannot tolerate: bushy and dry hair. My hair was drinking up every product I put into it.
And on top of that, it was not receptive to holding each style. The flexi rod set earlier in the week was beautiful but I had to continue to rod it to maintain the curls, even between newscasts.
The bantu twist on day 3 was gorgeous, but by the late evening newscast, I was sitting on the anchor desk looking like Foxxy Cleopatra. Big hair on air equals distraction. I will definitely try that style again in my off time.
So I decided to make the two-strand twists my everyday go-to style. It looks great and is pretty easy to achieve. But, I’m fighting the frizz. I can take the strands out right before show time and immediately the ends puff up. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still pretty. But I don’t want to have to fight with my frizzy hair every day.
I’m working on trying new products and hopefully I can master the art of defined, frizz-free curls. The reality is, it’s going to take time, and patience on my part. I want instant natural hair success. I just have to keep reminding myself my hair isn’t used to its newfound freedom and I will have to continue to train it.
