For all my non patios speaking viewers here is a list of translation to bare in mind while you enjoy reading.
"nyamins'"-eating
"yuh betta mek it las yuh two weeks enuh"- your hair must be kept for two weeks, ok!
" it gree wid yuh hair"- It grows your hair or it works good with your hair
"bruk"- break
"mi tun hyatt gyal"- I became a hot girl
"fahrin"- Overseas or in this case America
"mi gud like dat"- I'm good like that
As a child, I remember every Sunday mornings, my mom, aunt or grandma washed my hair with "blue bar soup"a.k.a "blue soup" because we could not afford shampoo or conditioner. Of course back in the 90's, I was unaware how to properly care for my own hair. Even though detangling my hair was a tedious process, I had to sit still imprisoned by the tight grip of thighs until it was done. The process continued by greasing my scalp with "Blue Magic Hair Oil" and styled in chiney bumps. Right after bath and nyamins' of the traditional Jamaican Sunday dinner (rice and peas with chicken), my hair would be cornrowed by my aunt. And of course, I was always left with a warning " yuh betta mek it las yuh two weeks enuh". Oh, and if I ever dare raise my hands to touch my hair, a chop from the comb to my knuckles will be felt [lol]. Ahhh...Nostalgia...
As I got older and started high school I got my first jerry curl (don't ask, long story). My hair grew so much I was amazed. As my grandma always say, "it gree wid yuh hair". At one point, people thought I was Coolie which means mixed breed with curly hair. I absolutely played it off well too, but who was I fooling. After a while, I was disgusted by it because of the daily application of the jerry curl gel. It was very messy, smelt awful and soiled the collar of my white uniform blouse every day. Well, that phase did not last too long at all .
A year passed, and the transition from jerry curl to natural went pretty well. My shinny, dark-brown, strong and healthy hair that bruk comb tooth was back into play. Sooo yeahhh, that was where my mom agreed for my hair to be permed. Best day ever, mi tun hyatt gyal. Now, I fitted right in with the rest of girls in high school.
Until probably 17 years old, my hair was only neck length. Around that time I moved to fah-rin right after high school. From the Bronx to Brooklyn Dominican hair salons was the spot for cheap perm and cheap hair maintenance, so I started going there. Unfortunately, my hair texture was a bit too much for them. They did not know how to manage my new growth and perm hair ends. That was when I changed my hairdresser to one that understands black hair. Few months after, I could already see the results. A few years went by and up until 2014 my hair grew up to 14 inches long. Strong roots, no split ends and just a chemically long beautiful head of hair. Talking about high maintenance shiish! Perm, wash and set weekly, treatments and the whole works.
I wanted to take a break from perming, so I decided to get some box braids. I kept the braids in for a month and neglected my hairdresser [sighs]. During that time I was not caring for my hair as I should. Little did I know, that by the time I was ready to take out the braids my hair would be so dry and brittle. OMG, my 14 inches chemically long hair which I adored and paid so much to maintain was breaking.
Of course I freaked out. I was in the midst of my hair crisis and was ashamed of returning to my hairdresser because all I had left on my head was thinned, broken and damaged hair. I could not face her with my disastrous looking hair. Y'all know where I went right?! Right back to the Dominicans and they finished it alright. Yup, I was pissed because I never saw myself going natural again. However, I did not have a choice because all my perm ends broke during the detangling process and all that was left was my new growth [tisk, tisk].
Long story, but it is safe to say that going natural was an accident that I never saw coming. However, today I can proudly say I absolutely love my natural hair. Couple months into my new phase of hair journey I had no idea how to style my short natural hair, but youtube was my university [lol]. Oh, and I am considered 4C hair texture, learned that too! I'm now a big advocate on natural hair, unprocessed and just as the way it is suppose to be.
Let thy roots be free of unwanted chemicals! Sounds great and catchy right?! Mi gud like dat!
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| No turning back! Summer 2017! Lemonade braid protective hairstyle! looking into the rain forest in this two piece set from fashion nova in beautiful Puerto Rico |
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I apologize if I offended anyone and emphasize that Dominicans are great hairdressers but are not too familiar with black hair texture that's all.
Thanks for reading!
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