Embrace the Shrinkage

So I BC’d a couple of weeks ago, and one thing I was really worried about before BCing was shrinkage. For the last few years I was obsessed with length. I even hated to have my ends clipped even when I needed them clipped. It’s amazing how far I’ve come in less than a year. Yes, less than a year. I may have BC’d a year after my last relaxer, but I didn’t “officially” officially decide to go natural until about 4 months later. I usually went that long without getting a relaxer since I got used to it in undergrad (I didn’t like non-professionals putting chemicals or scissors in my hair), but one day I just decided “f-it, I don’t want anymore relaxers.”

Anyway, my point is, I was once afraid of shrinkage and obsessed with length. Now I’m more obsessed with the health of my hair. I don’t want it to be dry and nasty and dirty. I want my hair to be happy, when my hair is happy, I’m happier. When my hair isn’t happy, I’m not happy. It may just be a psychological thing, but when you look good, you feel good.

The way I see my shrinkage now is, it’s healthy. My hair is curly almost to the point of being coily in some spots, and less so in others. When my hair is healthy, it will shrink. When I pull a piece of my hair out, it usually snaps right back into the curl, and I love it. When it grows out some more it will still have shrinkage, but it probably won’t be able to do what it does now, so I’m embracing my shrinkage. I love my shrinkage. My shrinkage is part of what makes me and my hair uniquely beautiful. I’m sure there will come a time when I dislike the shrinkage (no one loves anything ALL the time) but I suspect those times are going to be few and far between.

So embrace your shrinkage, especially in the summer because while some necks will be baking, mine will be nice and cool. :o)