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African-American Women Embrace Natural Hair After Long Journey

Source: Dothan Eagle

Source: Dothan Eagle

Lamesa Danzey cannot remember her first perm.

“It’s just one of those things as a woman of color, we do relaxers in our hair, and relaxing the hair is usually for straightening the kinky coils in our hair,” she said. “That’s not always the healthy route to take in dealing with our hair.”

But more than a year ago, Danzey chose to go the natural route.

“I had a perm forever – I can’t even remember when I got my first perm,” Danzey said. “So, me having a perm, I never had to deal with my own natural texture, ever.”

Danzey “transitioned,” as it’s called, from chemically processed hair to her hair’s natural texture. Five months of growing her hair and perm out was all she could take. Danzey took a drastic measure, a step that has become known as “the big chop” in natural hair circles.

“The big chop − you go and get all of your hair chopped off,” Danzey said. “Well, I had no hair – which I was fine with. From that point, I was able to just work with my texture.”

That was 10 months. Today, Danzey’s hair is all natural.

“I absolutely love it, but it’s pretty much me embracing the true texture of my hair and just accepting it, loving it and sharing it,” she said.

The experience led Danzey to organize a natural hair expo for Dothan, Alabama. The event, Beautiful Rootz, will be held Oct. 4 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the St. Andrews Market in downtown Dothan. There will be tutorials and vendors, all designed to help women learn to how to care for their natural hair.

 

Read more at dothaneagle.com

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