Megane, Congolese, was very enthusiastic about her very first photo shoot with frizzy hair. She thought the result was beautiful, but why did it take so long? Why do we still not dare to go out with our natural frizzy hair? Megane answers these questions.
Can you introduce yourself for people who don't know you? What's your name, what's your ethnicity, and where did you grow up?
Hello everyone, my name is Megane I am a young adult lady of Congolese descent. And Leiden is the city where I grew up almost my entire life.
Did you grow up thinking you had bad hair? Was it normal to see your mother's natural hair as a child?
It was a hype back then to have relaxed hair, I had relaxed hair from a young age, and almost everyone around me had it too. In my opinion not because frizzy hair is bad, but because people just followed fashion. I also didn't really care about the statement "frizzy hair is bad" because I unfortunately didn't know any better. By the way, it was absolutely not strange to see my mother with natural hair as a child, because my mother was never ashamed of it.
When was your first relaxer and what was the experience like?
My very first relaxer moment was when I was 5.. From the age of 5 my mother kept it up every time until I was 18. After that I was more into weave, regularly had a sew in. Over time my hair started to die because I didn't take care of it. I got casual bald spots at my hair growth line and my middle parting was shorter than the rest.
When did you go curly, why and what was your biggest fear?
Normally going curly wasn't on the list. But due to circumstances I did it anyway. On May 29, 2012 I decided to go to a hairdresser for a specific haircut that I had in mind, so that I could let my dead hair grow as healthy as possible again. That was no success a big no go! I can remember very well that I arrived home very unhappy and stood in front of the mirror crying. My mother on the other hand thought it was a piece of cake, and because she had already done the big chop herself, she encouraged me to do the same that same day because my hair really didn't look good anymore. And yes, I think you can already feel it coming. So what she had done was grab a hair clipper and eventually shave everything off... there I was with my bald head. It took me a long time to get used to the new me, because I had created an illusion in my head that my face had taken on a different shape, and that for that reason I was not feminine enough. Of course that makes no sense at all. But after a while that illusion was gone, and I felt attractive again because I suddenly had those really cute mini curls!
What was your hardest moment/low point during going curly? Did you ever relapse?
The hardest moment I think is despite the fact that I loved my short hair so much, that I kept cutting it, I didn't really see any progress in my hair growth line. I was at my wits' end because it didn't grow the way I wanted it to and due to ignorance, I just didn't feel like letting it grow like that anymore. I also really thought that I didn't have any hair follicles in those places and that the relaxer had ruined everything. On August 22, 2014 I went completely bald again and until a certain time only wore a wig.
Was there a moment when you felt like you had fully embraced afro hair? Can you describe how you knew and why or do you think that moment has yet to come?
From the moment my hair started to grow evenly because of the right products I had an emotional moment because I was so proud of myself. I finally made it into a healthy afro yoooo, whooop whoop! *pats herself on the back* I fell in love with my incredibly beautiful curl pattern. And oh yes I know for 100% sure now, I will stay frizzy for the rest of my life. Such a beautiful head of nappy hair makes you happy!
Why didn’t you dare to do a photoshoot with your curly hair before? Were you ashamed of your hair? What was your thought process? Can you explain it?
I never thought that I could be found beautiful with my own natural curly hair. And one day I woke up and thought.. You know what Meg? U should be very happy with your hair u better rock it! I was like u worked hard for it, and now it's time to share your story with the rest. YES black is beautiful even without the weave and the wigs of relaxed hair. So be proud of yourself and go for it. And that's what I did.
Can I ask how old you are? How long did it take you to dare and what made you finally dare?
I am now 22 years old, and it did not take long to do such a shoot because I became more and more self-confident. I received a lot of support from my boyfriend, he regularly complimented me on my hair, which gave me more motivation to continue the growth process. And my mother also helped me with it. Now I can imagine that if you do not have the right support from your loved ones, it can be difficult to take those steps. Fortunately, there are various groups on the internet that encourage the Natural Hair Movement, and through that way you could possibly stimulate yourself to love your frizzy hair more.
What would you say now to your younger self who didn't dare to do that and to all the other young girls?
Hey gorgeous girl, it doesn't matter if your frizzy hair is soft or hard, your hair makes you the person you are, and let me tell you.. What you can do with beautiful hair, not everyone can.. 🙂 So wear your beautiful frizzy hair with pride as a crown, because you are the Queen and no one has the right to tell you that you have ugly hair.
Finish this sentence: I love my hair because it has beautiful curls. I can twist it, braid it, put it up, straighten it with a flat iron and wear it frizzy again if I want. Frizzy hair is simply amazing.
What influence has the process had on your identity?
I have learned to accept myself as I am, and if there are people who associate my hair with ugly then they are just out of luck.
What has going to Kroes taught you?
However, that people talk negatively about frizzy hair and that the ideal beauty image is straight hair, is nothing new. What I have learned is that you don't have to go along with that, as long as you stay true to yourself. I know my history and know that an inferiority complex is sometimes one of the reasons that people choose to find frizzy hair less beautiful. But my pride can no longer be taken away from me and I am far from finished learning.
BlackFollicles.com , is becoming the amazon for Black Hair Care Products. It is the solution to the limited supply of Black hair products. Would you like to take a look at the site and tell me what you think? What else do you hope to see?
It is a great initiative to create such a platform for frizzy hair. Really great! What I hope to see more are reviews of hair products and if possible nice hair tutorials.
My thanks to: Mireille Liong, thank you for letting me do this interview, And I also want to thank my mother Flavie and my friend Jordan for the support. October 11, 2015
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