age when I also made the pledge to end my dependency on hair straightening products that are known toWhen I was about 8 years old, my family moved from a place of comfort in Kansas City, Missouri, back to my homeland of Nigeria, specifically the capital city of Lagos, and it was a jarring experience because of the stark cultural differences that became apparent almost immediately and hit at the core of my fragile identity.
I used my first relaxer when I turned 17. It was my reward for graduating from Queen’s College, and my mom gave me permission to surrender to the monthly torture of having toxic chemicals containing a harsh ingredient , slathered on my hair and scalp. The burning sensation was unbearable, but necessary to achieve the smooth, glossy results.The emotional and financial toll of maintaining my habit became too overwhelming and forced me to embrace my natural hair to save money and rediscover my roots . Like Union, it was a struggle to wean myself off the addiction of frying my hair to a crisp for the sake of “assimilating” into a society rigged against my Blackness.
All these years later, it’s been a joy to witness the rejuvenation of Black pride and the Black power that gives us the audacity to claim our heritage without diluting or diminishing the features that should be beautified and celebrated. There’s no better time for those revelations, especially during Black History Month.
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