Afro!

My standard method of wash/blow dry/flat iron-curl was producing an every day is a shaggy dog bad hair day. I had to add another layer of heat (wash/blow dry/press/curl) to get my hair to look halfway decent. Another layer of heat, another hour of work on my hair.

Snip snip!

I had been growing out my relaxer for a while, planning to cut it out in March as a birthday gift to myself. But the threat of more work to get the coif presentable sped up my timeline.

I had this look ~ four years ago. When I last took my driver's license picture. When I went to Hawaii twice, for two different weddings. When I was pummeled by a wave while body surfing and spent at least 4 hours washing the sand out of my hair, coming to an intimate understanding of why my mother gave me a mild relaxer when I was in preschool, a child who couldn't say 'no' to the sandbox.

I've gotten many more compliments than I expected, a pleasant, though sometimes interesting surprise. One person thought I had gotten a perm; it didn't occur to them that I my hair was not naturally straight, bless their heart.

So here I am, hair au naturel once again.

Fresh from the salon