A few pics of my hair before I started my loc journey

That afro has grown on me! I sometimes miss it but immediately dismiss those "regrets" when I think of all the progress that I have made. Here are a few shots of my loose naps.

Here is my hair pressed two years ago...obviously the puff had taken over!

Loose hair before graduation in 2008.

One of the last few pics that I took of my loose naps in Feb '09.

My hair in its wet state.

If you want to see more pictures of my loose naps, go to www.fotki.com/perlenoire83

"What is that?!"

I received my first negative comment today by a family member. My cousin saw my pinned hair and asked me "what did you do to your hair?". Silly question to which I did not answer and surprisingly did not get offended by... And that is how far I have come since the beginning of my natural hair journey. Three years ago I would have probably been so upset about it, telling my boyfriend how ugly I felt and looked, that I would have certainly ended up questioning myself and my decision to loc.
Today, I was Ms. Crown of Hair, the strong woman who carries her head proudly regardless of the comments or the weird looks. I was the black woman who viewed her God-given Crown as a blessing instead of a mane waiting to be tamed. I was ME!!!
Now, compare that to being complimented by two brothers withing one block... Yes, two black men stopped to look at me, and politely tell me how beautiful they thought I was two days ago. Nothing could have made me feel better...except for my boyfriend's unconditional admiration for my hair even when I feel like it looks like a bunch of worms.

First retwist

I did my first retwist last night at 2:00am, four weeks after I started my locs. I was so excited about it and was glad to see some thick new growth. However, there is one little problem: I REALIZED THAT I DID NOT KNOW HOW TO PALM TWIST MY OWN HAIR! I watched some YouTube videos about this method, but they were all showcasing locticians doing it on other people's hair. Therefore, I did not know how to do it on one's self (does that make sense?). Some of my locs turned out just fine, while others looked like they weren't touched at all...
Oh, well! I'll wait another 4 to 5 weeks to retwist my hair, because I do not want to overdo it and mess my hard labor.
On a more positive note, I noticed that my hair is looking less and less like twists. Rather, they look like comb twists which can only mean one thing! My locs are starting to mesh together, slowly but surely. I've received compliments about them from strangers and family alike, the latter being rather surprising to me.
I'll come back later to post some pics!

Introduction

Hmmm...my very first post. Who am I? Why did I create this blog? What am I going to talk about? These are certainly the questions that came to your mind and my first post will attempt to answer them all for you.
First off: Who am I? I'm a 25 year old black woman trying the make the best of her life with what she has. I am not endowed with material riches, but I am blessed by love from people I cherish (even when that love gets suffocating...). I graduated last year right before the recession hit the country and of course I was among the people affected by it...and still am. I know, I know, everybody talks about the recession nowadays and how it has negatively affected everybody's lives, but I personally can say that it has helped me grow and get stronger. I no longer cry and feel like a failure because I can't find a decent-paying job. Instead I focus on the positive aspects of my professional life, i.e. substitute teaching, and try to make the best of it. Every new day is now a day I look forward to with its trials and tribulations, its joys and pains, its losses and gains.
I am also a black woman who proudly wears her nappy crown of hair, thus the title of this blog "Crown of Hair". I made the big jump almost three years ago despite my family's disapproval and negative comments which have now turned into admiration for my hair's length, thickness and surprising versatility. I wore my afros, twists, buns for a little over two years and last month I decided to make another wide turn in my hair journey...GROW LOCS.
My hair is growing nicely and is longer than it has ever been while I permed it, but like Spiderman's uncle would say "with great length comes greater maintenance". My hair is what they call a 4a-4b depending on the area, and we all know how challenging that can be. I loved and still love my hair, but I was going through so many issues that just one more "problem", i.e. my hair, would have made me snap. So it was either cutting it to a shorter and more manageable length or finally grow locs. I knew I was growing to grow locs eventually but was afraid of the "limitedness" of locs and was attached to my loose naps' versatility. I cried over my hair 6 weeks ago, the first time since my hair started falling off in 2005 due to damage. I, then decided to do some research on locs, weighed the pros and the cons and within one week I had made up my mind. Locs I would grow, and hair I would keep!
I still love loose naps but I have learned that locs are not a death to versatility. I view them as a another option for natural hair. Obviously, I did not chose to loc my hair up for spiritual reasons and I do not view locs as better than loose naps. It is all just hair and a personal preference.
Why did I create this blog? I created it a while back but was too lazy to actually write anything...lol I have finally decided to write my first post as I enter my loc journey and want to share it. I have some YouTube videos but I sometimes get lazy and don't want to make any videos because they can be time-consuming. My blog is therefore a good alternative to my "video-free" weeks...or months.
What am I going to talk about? Primarily my hair, but knowing me I will also write about other aspects of my life, since there is more to me than my hair. It will range from rants, to topics or pics I want to share, polls and more. I do not want to engage myself yet to post on a set schedule, but I will try my best to post at least once a week...
And that's all folks!
P.S.: I will post pics of my journey when I finally find them all! Stay tuned!