Last night I took some time to really dive into my Blog archives and re-read some of my much older posts. I like to do this every now and then just to remember a time or phase in my life. It's therapeutic in a sense because I can remember things that were going on in my life then and be grateful for the growth that has come with time. Anyways, as I looked over my posts one thing I realized is that my own "Natural Hair Journey" pretty much ceased around the time I began working with brands. The focus quickly switched from my journey to reviewing products. Then it dawned on me, where the heck did the era of Natural Hair Journeys go?
I began looking into transitioning to Natural back in 2010 and quickly became obsessed with YouTube, Chat Groups and various Natural Hair related Websites. Back then, all everyone ever talked about was "starting" their Natural Hair Journey. In fact, when women replied to comments they would end with "HHJ" which stood for "Happy Hair Journey" to wish women well along the way. We all just wanted to form our own regimens and document our transition to Natural Hair. When I think back to those years it truly puts a smile on my face. I came across so many women who helped me overcome struggles and they didn't necessarily have a "platform"... All of us just wanted some healthy ass Natural Hair! LOL. If you look closely, you can find remnants of this era here and there but things have definitely shifted. Rarely do I get questions specifically about my regimen anymore but I can't even keep count with how many times someone asks about what particular product I'm currently using to style my hair or my Hair Type. Not to say no one cared about products years ago, it just wasn't the central focus.
Let's bring back our Natural Hair Journeys! It's not just the "gurus" or those with platforms that can help. We can go back to helping each other. There is a whole new era of women currently going Natural who just want to know what products to use... Let's show them that there's so much more. Sure, there is a basic set of products that can be recommended but let's remind them that this is truly a Journey. Let's go back to talking about our regimens and sharing our struggles, our failed attempts and what didn't work. Brands and products will always play an integral part of our community and to be honest, they're absolutely NECESSARY.
I'll start first by posting a video discussing the current state of my Natural Hair and giving some background on my own journey. Will the product reviews and campaigns stop? No not at all, but they shouldn't replace the Journey... In fact, they should add to the Journey. So, what do you think? Are you down?! Let's go!
XOXOMCS.
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