If my hair could speak, it would probably ask that I be thrown in jail.
See, I wear myhair naturallynow, but over the years Ive put it through some trying times.
I liked the twists enough, but doing them was aneventthat took hours.
Courtesy of Zahra Barnes
It was all downhill from there.
Looking down at the final product, she ran her fingers through my straight hair and smiled, soothed.
Armed with a salon-quality heat protectant, blow dryer, and flatiron, it worked for a while.
Courtesy of Zahra Barnes still having embarrassing photos from high school dances on her Facebook.
Still, straight hair was my norm.
That all changed whenI started working out more.
My life got an immediate upgrade.
I’d often use flatirons to add curls or waves once my hair was fully straight. The irony of this did not escape me.
Now, I loverunning.
I love HIIT strength training.
Not sweating is not an option.
This is very scenic and nice but I’m not smiling because it’s 95 degrees out and also there was no wine in that glass.
The whole process can take around two to three hours depending on the style I’m doing that day.
And at first, figuring out which natural style felt most like me was a little tough.
Luckily, there’s a whole wide world ofnatural-hair inspirationon the internet.
Me, my crown braid, and my adorable grandfather.
Here are some of my favorites.
My natural hair holds braids really well, so I’ve been incorporating them a lot.
I actually wore a version of this whenI ran a 10Klast month.
Her name is Bella, no she is not mine, yes I thought about dognapping her.
I’m also a fan of the crown braid.
This style is especially great I want to dress up my workouts with more than a topknot.
Lately I’ve been going toFuse Pilates, an incredible spot in DC.
That’s where the above look comes in.
Like many other black women, there are still hair issues I’m working through.
And I’m certainly not saying I won’t ever straighten my hair again.
They were fine, if maybe a little silently disapproving, when I used to wear my hair straight.
Every time we talk like this, we see reflections of ourselves in the women we love most.
You may also like: 6 Nude Lipsticks For Women with Darker Skin Tones
