I'm your gracious host Niafloda. I live in the Los Angeles area and I'm a happy nappy! I haven't had the luxury of running into a lot of naturals in Los Angeles and not any with my kinky, curly, shrinky, 4b/4c hair.
I started my natural hair journey in college when I saw the beauty in my best friend's natural hair. I admired the texture, density, and halo that the afro represents. I did the big chop but I don't remember when. It may have been 2001 or 2002. I remained natural until 2005 when I wanted a more "curly", aka 3C look. I got a wave nouveau. What a mistake! I was cute for half a second until the second touch-up ruined my hair. I was devastated that I caved into the creamy/liquid hair crack. Before the wave nouveau I had about 10-12 inches of thick hair. It was great and then I messed it up with chemicals.
I spent a lot of time trying to get my hair to recover by hiding it in braids. I defaulted to micro braids because my hair was in such bad condition. I went to a braider that was gentle and patient. I did this for 2.5 years.
To abridge this story, I got tired of the braids and with my boyfriend's encouragement I got rid of the braids for a few months and enjoyed the length I had acquired. About 12 inches all around. I was ecstatic. My fro was huge!! Then late December 2009, I fell under the pressure of doing an updo with my hair for a work Christmas party and got scissor happy cutting 2-3 inches off my hair and some sections even shorter (the right side was almost 4-5 inches). I don't know what I was thinking??!!? I resorted back to braids to let my hair rest and to not stress over growth.
My objectives:
1. Get 4b/4c kinkies to embrace and enjoy their hair
2. Educate on proper and healthy hair maintenance
3. Product reviews
4. Network with other 4b/4c kinkies on their best practices for everyone to share.
I want this to be a positive forum that gives 4b/4c kinkies their moment to show the beauty of our hair.