Will Your Hair Journey Ever End?

For so many of us, starting a hair journey was not something we knew about before this recent surge in awareness. Natural hair took off and we all went along for the ride.

In the beginning, there were the pioneers, the guinea pigs, those who bravely ventured out before the rest of us and failed at all things hair related. They documented those failures, learned from then and then graciously passed on their knowledge to the rest of us.

It was through observation of others who learned by trial and error, that we all came to recognize and appreciate that getting our hair from point A to point B, is indeed a journey.

Breakdown of a Hair Journey

A common hair journey starts with a goal. Usually, some unattainable goal that was birthed after fixating over the perfect head of hair on an overly photoshopped and/or airbrushed poster. That or either after hours of watching videos of women who seemingly create amazing hairstyles with no sign of struggle or excessive effort.

Ok, after a few months of that, reality usually sets in. It’s around this time that we reassess and create some more realistic hair goals. Then the true fun begins.

Learning our hair, what products it does and doesn’t like, whether we have low or high porosity hair, what leave in works under what gel and so on, we eventually get to a place where we feel confident in our ability to make ourselves look presentable.

In the following months, presentable glows up to a point where we can confidently create and recreate a style that looks very, very good. We start feeling ourselves. You think, I got this. I figured it out. It took me a while, but hey, I know how to manage this mane of hair that’s atop my head. I’m good to go.

Changing Stages

Then what happens? Our hair grows. And just like that, you go from confident senior to a scared kindergartener in the school of self-managed natural hair maintenance.

What you don’t usually know until you experience it, is that each new length brings its own set of challenges. Those changes persist until you reach a certain length. Then the issues you have are not associated with a few additional inches of hair. From TWA to about bra strap length, growth sets you back. Go figure.

There is a level of contentment where you are aware that changes will come and you are adept enough to notice those changes early on, and deal. Although that stage is not without its challenges, it does present a feeling of ease that comes with time, not two weeks after you big chop.

The Promised Land

I think it’s around this stage when we begin to wonder whether there’s an end to the whole hair journey. Learning to roll with the punches of single strand knots and losing bobby pins* in a mass of twisted out twists becomes the norm. Weekly hair routines are just a part of life.

At that stage, I had even given in to the time necessary to properly detangle and deep condition. Reality had beaten me into submission and I gave up on the fanciful idea that I could somehow single-handedly create an effective method that only took ten minutes.

When your hair is thriving, you know how to handle it, you’re no longer afraid of humidity and things are good, it can cause panic. Even though all the struggle was to get to that point, the manifestation of it made me think about whether it would stay the way it was or whether some new, unforeseen challenge lay ahead of me.

Could there really be a promised land? Do hair journeys come to an end? And if so, what would that end mean, exactly?

I had visions of being able to flat ironing my hair on a whim, skipping deep conditioning* sessions and the like. The months and months and months of restrictive styling would come to an end and I would be able to reap the benefits of those hard earned healthy inches of hair. Right?

For a few minutes, I was overjoyed. That quickly subsided. There was a feeling of disappointment. It felt very anti-climactic. For all the work that goes into maintaining healthy, thriving natural hair, we hope for a little more than an uneventful end.

Will Your Hair Journey Ever End?

Most people go out on a limb and try some kamikaze style hair straightening or hair coloring or whatever else is out there.

What then happens, is the dreaded setback. Once the setback occurs, they spend the next chunk of their time recovering from the setback. This is a diversion of sorts that keeps you on the journey, plugging away toward the promised land.

That leaves us with the question: Is there an end to the natural hair journey and what is it?