Reversion Anxiety: the fear that curls will not pop back after straightening; most often felt by naturals who avoid heat usage; becomes gradually more intense in the days and weeks following a meeting with the flat iron.
So, I decided to straighten my hair and I have to say...I am in LOVE big time! I tried to get a couple of different pictures throughout the process. I pre-pooed with almond oil, olive oil, and Giovanni 50/50 Moisture Conditioner, then shampooed with Giovanni's Avocado-something-something shampoo (yea I forget the name), deep conditioned and detangled with Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose. Then I applied some more almond oil and a bit of Fantasia heat protectant mostly at the ends and twisted it in 4 sections to stretch it without the blow dryer and let it air dry overnight. The next day I hit it with my Chi flat iron. The back section of my hair has a naturally looser curl so I only made one pass, two at most with the other sections and then a quick curl around a very low heat iron. I pin-curled it up and let it set until later that night and - ta-da!
But here's the real deal: while I'm in love with my new 'do the Reversion Anxiety has begun to set in! This morning I went for a walk with my rollers still snugly in place and about midway through I began to feel a bit of sweat on my scalp. At first I prayed for a breeze, hoping that my roots wouldn't end up...well looking like I came off the set of Roots. But then the real anxiety set in...if my roots didn't curl up, would that mean that I had damaged my curls beyond recognition?
My mind immediately flashed back to a conversation I had with Jaz last night about losing my curl pattern in my quest to "heat train" my hair. But with heat training, you retain your some of your curl pattern...with straight up damage it's just gone...no bueno! More importantly - no twist-outs - eek! What's a natural without a good twist-out?
Luckily, while all of this was running through my mind, I remembered that I am still on this journey of finding what works best for my hair. And while I am still learning, I finally do know how to nurse my hair to good health. So with that said, I'm going to enjoy my smooth style and enjoy whipping my hair back and forth while it lasts. And if I end up with some stringy straight ends (shudder) well I'll just have to figure it out when it comes. Our hair is so important to us as Black women, but it is definitely not all of who we are and that's a lesson that is far too important to forget, whether you're Kinky 'N Free or Straight 'N Natural :-)
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