2010

Happy New Years everyone! More details to come ;-)

Should I rock it short?

So once I got it cut, I became a Youtube/Product Junkie! I would spend hours looking up new products. What was good for my hair, what was not good for my hair. I looked up new styles I could do. I went ahead and bought Kinky Curly Custard, the reviews were amazing, and it is an amazing product, but my first experience with it was NOT THE BUSINESS…. So, I finally was going to rock my hair without pressing it. I washed it, conditioned it, and put the curly custard on it. For those who don’t know what the curly custard is, it’s basically a holding gel that keeps your hair moisturized and holds the curls. Well, the one thing I forgot was that I still had an inch of relaxed hair on my ends. LOL, it turned out disastrous (pic at the bottom). But I was determined to leave the house with my new short hair, so I went to my friend’s B-Day dinner…..Talk about being self conscious, but I went through with it anyway. I’m glad I did. That day let me know that I had more confidence than I thought. So not long after, I was going overseas. I decided to get micros (yes, BF, I know I was “cheating” again). BUT, I was determined to where it curly soon……More details to come

The "Umm, I don't Know"

The "Spain"

The Big Chop?

Sooo….My goodness. I finally made the decision. But I still was not up for cutting all my hair off. So I decided to go through the long transition. I would press out my roots. The first month and a half wasn’t so bad. My relaxer was just starting to grow out like normal, so it wasn’t anything that I wasn’t already used to. By month three, I started to think that I bit off more than I could chew. The constant flat ironing was getting to be a little much. I hadn’t learned to love my texture yet, so I would add heat to my hair daily. Enough was enough; I decided to get the sew-in. My best friend said I was cheating, but hey, I thought it would let me meet my end result without all the muss and fuss. Boy was I wrong. I kept my sew-in in my head from the end of March until the beginning of June. It was the longest I had ever kept weave in my hair at one time. I took it out, took down my braids, and brushed, brushed, brushed my hair. I brushed it so it would get I matted once it was wet. Apparently, I did not brush enough. I ran my head under the shower, and let out a sigh of relief because my hair needed to be washed. This relief did not last for long. As I shampooed my tresses, I realized that it was tangled. Wait, more than tangled. It was, it was, oh no, it was MATTED. I went into panic mode. I tried putting conditioner on it to detangle. I tried to come through it, wasn’t working. I spent three days going through my hair, trying to detangle. What was I going to do?? Classes would start in a couple of days. My whole time in LA, almost two years at that point, I had never been to a professional hairstylist, but I needed professional help now. Luckily a good friend of mine (HEY “ROOMIE” lol) was going natural as well and got her hair pressed regularly by a stylist. She gave me the number and I made an emergency appointment for the next morning. I went to the stylist, she tried to save my hair, but in the end, it needed to be CUT. So I was forced into my semi BC (big chop). To be honest, while sitting in the chair I was not happy at all. This was not the plan I had in mind. But it had to be done. So I got it cut, and then styled, and when I looked in the mirror, I looked like a granny! I didn’t like it at all! The tears just kept flowing. I got home took pictures to show the family the drama. Then I said to myself….Kim…..you know you’ve got swag. You can rock anything! Lol. So I styled it myself. I felt a whole lot better. But please believe there were more ups and downs ahead. There was still about an inch left of permed hair on my ends……More details to come
The Weave


Semi BC


The Granny


Self Styled Swag

Decisions, Decisions

So I have wanted to grow locks for a while now. I can remember telling my ex....Babe I want locks, and him looking at me half crazy and saying "you better not cut your hair to start them!" As much as I laughed at this threat in the back of my mind for me, cutting my hair off was the one thing keeping me from starting my locks. I've had short hair before.....Many, many times I have sat in the chair and said cut it off! As many times as those words have came out of my mouth, my hairdresser (either my sister or mom) knew that I was not referring to a buzz cut, but merely an above the ear kind of cut, that may be tapered in the back. How was I going to have my locks without cutting this perm off my head?? That was the question that made me stall taking my natural journey. I've had at least 3 of my friends to the BC (big chop) during my undergraduate years, but Kim Grace just could not wrap her head around it. After I moved to LA, during graduate school, I gained more independence. I gained a more, Cartman from South Park mentality "Whatever! I'll do what I want!" So the week of my 5th year high school reunion (the second one) I decided I would get my last relaxer. My last chemical straightener.....I was giving up a stable bimonthly process in my life, but I wanted something else. The months ahead of this decision were filled with a lot of ups and downs........but it's what makes me who I am now....More details to come....

>>>>This is what the last relaxer looked like

Starting

Hey, so I figured I've been wanting to blog about my journey for a while. Now that I have time off from school, I figured there's not time like the present. I plan to blog mostly about my natural hair process, but everyday life will more than likely seep through :-) It's been a year and a day since I had my last relaxer, and it has definitely been a journey.......more details to come