Natural Women: Our Hair, Our Stories (S. "Treasure" W.)
(S."Treasure" W.'s Story) 
S. Treasure w.
Background / I am a 28 year old mother of four beautiful children. I am a native of Savannah, GA, who now resides in Warner Robins, GA. I am an author with three published works under my belt.
Hairstyle / At the present time I wear my hair in a natural, baby 'fro. My hair has been natural for about five years now. The decision was made final--after much contemplation--when I was pregnant with my third child. I put a perm in my hair and it felt as if my head was being squeezed by the biggest, strongest hands in the world. It hurt like mad, and so I said, "A'ight! Decision made! Now, let me get this mess out of my hair! LOL!
Reason for wearing a "natural" hairstyle / I'd been thinking of going natural months before I actually did. The reason I did was because I wanted my daughter, who was four at the time, to grow up proud of her hair. I didn't want her to feel as if God had made a bad choice during her creation. I didn't want her to feel pressured by the socieital definition of what looked good.
Support of your "natural" look / Pretty much everyone has been supportive of my natural look. Even those who thought it wouldnt' look good changed their tune once they saw me!
Negative reactions / Once, an ex of mine said I looked like a fuzzy peach. LOL! I was in desperate need of a trim. My own negative reaction, however, only happens when I'm trying to start my locks. Because of all the different textures I have going on--kinky on the sides, curly in the back and straight up top--I tend to get frustrated. That would be the reason I haven't suceeded in having them.
A woman with natural hair whose style you admire / I admire India Arie because she knows who she is and even sings about being proud of it.
Advice for women considering a natural hairstyle / My advice to any woman going natural is to make sure that you are comfortable in your own skin, or should I say hair! Don't be afraid and hold your head up with much confidence knowing tha nobody else has to agree with you. You are beautiful! Natural and all!
Additional commentary / I have come to feel empowered by my natural hair. Once that step was taken to go against the grain of society, I found that it allowed me to dig deeper into my being. I began to act like an individual and not just say that I am one. My visions became more important because I was trusting myself and the Spirit in me, instead of needing to be validated or accepted. I am naturally Me and that's okay.
Your definition of "a natural woman"? / A natural woman is one who is not afraid to just be! Who she is carries much weight with others because she's real. She's authentic. She's one who can be who she was created to be without doubting herself or thinking that anything about her is a mistake.
"Treasure""S. Treasure W.'s Story" is part of an on-going series I created that focuses on African American women who wear their hair au naturel. Check the archives (see sidebar on the right) for past segments, features and profiles. If you'd like to participate in the series, please email me for details (go to my blog's profile page or visit my website for contact information). Your feedback is always appreciated. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments you might have about "S. Treasure W.'s Story," the "Natural Women: Our Hair, Our Stories" series or Black hair in general, in the section below marked for comments.
THANK YOU!
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6 comments:
Naturally Treasure!!! Thanks Lori!
I thought the article was pretty good. I am a natural woman myself I have long black locs and I have loved being natural now for about 9yrs. I have never been afraid of allowing myself to be who I am and I think being natural period says a lot about a person especially since we have so many different ideas in the media that says what we should look like. So big ups to shalonda for rocking her fro thats whats up!
The short natural is very becoming on you! I like how you are teaching your daughter to appreciate the texture of hair God gave her.
Thank you Sharon. I love it but now I want God to give me the patience to go ahead and lock it up. :-)
This was a nice story but of course you know I did locks for five years and now I back to just natural all over again. I just want to say to you if you want to do locks you just have to forget about having the patience and do it some time during the process patience will come you got to be willing not to give up when it don't look like it's going to work for you. Believe me it really takes a lot of time to maintain and manage them when you have the kind of hair you have with the three different textures.
I get so excited when a sista stops perming her hair because she wants her daughter to have a positive self-image of herself-including her hair. Good for you, mama!
I have been natural all my life, and I guess I take the liberation part for granted, but I appreciate my hair more than I ever have.
Your TWA is poppin, by the way.
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