very kinky curls: [asha] is a teen with natural hair !

i [heart] girls who [heart] their hair ! lately, tons of black girls have been turning down relaxers [a.k.a. perms a.k.a. the creamy crack] and wearing their n a t u r a l kinks & curls [remember ms. safiya ?]-- and 15-year-old asha is one of those girls [she's also one of my darling younger cousins :) ] !  asha was curious & brave enough to see what her hair looked like without a relaxer and
she told brenda michelle . all about her journey to natural hair!  check it out below. . .

asha w/ her relaxed hair

Hello everyone. My name is Asha and I am a 15 year old natural hair vlogger on youtube. I decided to go natural after discovering what it was to embrace the hair that you were naturally born with. I was not educated about what relaxers do for your hair because I received my first relaxer at the young age of five. 

When I was in eighth grade, my sister was messing around on youtube and came across a youtuber that was long-term transitioning. She explained to me that the girl was growing out her relaxer and I then understood what it meant to have natural hair. At the time, I had went months and months without a relaxer because all I did was wear a ponytail and I disliked getting them. I watched natural hair journey videos on youtube often because I became addicted and fell in love with natural hair. The videos that I watched on youtube really inspired me to step out of my comfort zone by going on an official natural hair journey. I told my mom that I loved my new growth and that I did not want a relaxer ever again. She was supportive of my decision and I ended up transitioning for eight months.

asha transitioning between perming her hair and being natural

During my transition to natural, I had a lot of ups and downs. Styling my own hair was new to me after years of not only my mom doing my hair, but going to the salon every once in a while. To make my transition a bit easier, I wore individual braids for a minute and they came in handy. On my eighth month of my transition, I could not wait to see my hair fully natural and mom agreed to do my big chop for me on November 21, 2010. When some of my family found out that I was going natural, they tried to convince me to get sister locs but I knew what I wanted and nobody was going to change my mind about it! Some of my family asked why I wanted an afro and weren't able to understand why I wanted to go natural but I could care less because at the end of the day I would be the one taking care of my hair. I ended up making a youtube video titled 'Family Criticizing Your Natural Hair' because I needed to vent to someone and I was grateful with the support that I received. 

asha's natural curls (: 

For my first natural hairstyle, I wore a twist-out with a bow and really loved how it turned out. I wore my hair with confidence because I was doing something that a lot of teens my age did not do. I feel accomplished because I was able to inspire my friends to transition to natural. I love my natural hair simply because it is natural! I don't have to run in the rain anymore, I can get my hair wet at the pool, and I no longer look like everyone else! I can wear wash & go's all summer if I want to and it is quick and simple. I love how fast my hair is growing and how healthy it is in its natural state. At the end of the day, being natural is fun and worth the transition!

i wish i had been as confident as asha when i was 15 ! i just built up the nerve to go natural almost 2 years ago (when i was 22).  what i love most about my natural hair is the versatility. i can rock a fro one day...

...and have straight hair the next :)

no relaxer here !

to learn more about what it means to be a natural teen, check out asha's vlog at www.youtube.com/tweetybirdlove43 !