Thread by @blacksnob

So this is no kind of surprise but I love my hair. It's wild. It's curly. It's thick. It takes a licking & mostly keeps on ticking. It's a pain in the ass to do, but man, when it's done, it looks good!

So whether long/short, curly/straight, this is a hair appreciation thread

My original hairstylist was my mother. (theroot.com/28-days-of-bla…)

One of my fav pics of my hair from when she did it was this headshot from my first day of junior high which started a rumor that I was Polynesian for 2 seconds.

This would not be the last time my hair did this.

Note the very early 90s bangs (hideous), but other than that, not a bad job, mommy!

This was also the first time she EVER let me wear my hair down for a photo

In high school my hair would go through some trials and tribulations as now I was my own hairstylist.

We had some hits! Like this curly-do from one of my homecoming dances in sophomore year...

But then I broke my hair off curling dirty hair every day to replicate this look, leading us to the "Ugly Betty" horror that was my junior year photo.

I asked my mom to cut those horrid bangs! I ASKED FOR THEM!!! As for the shirt, I was really into "Parker Lewis Can't Lose."

By college, my style icon was everyone's style icon, Aaliyah.

I did my best, y'all. My hair, as always, was up for the challenge even if the rest of me was 100% goofy, but with a flat stomach at the time!

By college I was tired of getting a relaxer, as it was thinning my typically thick hair out. So by senior year at @SIUE, I ditched the creamy crack and went natural!

In 1999.

When there were no hair products for natural hair.

Whoo chile, the struggle was real and lasted years!

My years in Midland, TX and Bakersfield, Calif. were dark, depressing years for my poor, dry, struggling hair. But occasionally, I would manage to pull off a "lewk"

I would return home to St. Louis in 2007 for what I call the hair "depression ages" as in there aren't many photos from then because I was so deeply depressed. But my hair was growing, and growing, and growing as I slowly, by 2009, started to come out of my protective shell

Unfortunately, I still had no clue of what to do with my hair, but I had a dream.

A big, wild n' curly dream.

And after moving to Washington, D.C., that dream became real and my OG Black Snob, "Heeeeey Chaka Khan" hair phase was born!

The giant afro, curly, wavy, twist out situation was bomb. I loved it.

But it was a pain to maintain.

After meeting @chloearnold in LA in 2011, she recommended for me to see the stylists at @HalcyonSalonDC and a new "lewk" was born.

My friends who loved the afro were upset. Who was The Snob if she didn't have a giant afro? But a blowout was much easier for me to maintain & I had, for a long time, the perfect stylists for it!

Still, a few folks told me that the DC "lewk" had finally gotten to my hair lol

Then I moved to NYC, for real, for real, and something horrid happened ... I discovered Drybar ...

At first the looks were pretty iconic. I loved them.

Then, a year later, I tried to wear my hair curly after sweating out my blowout in Miami and discovered the back of my hair was completely uneven and broken off!!!

I was able to disguise it, but the truth hurt

So then, after an unfortunate haircut from Devachan, I asked my friend and @glowup style expert @maiysha who I could go to in "fix this." She recommended Edris' Salon, where I met my current stylist, Jason Lamar (instagram.com/madebyjasonlam…)

Soon, I was #ShortHairDontCare

The short n' curly look was beyond fun. I loved it. Especially after I died it blonde. But soon I missed my old length and three years ago began the process of growing it all back out.

Which began with the curly, blonde bob phase...

And then, in 2019, the sleek, blonde bob phase...

This was the hair my father disliked (he hated the blonde), but that I LOVED!

Then 2020 hit and I spent six months wearing brightly colored wigs as therapy because I couldn't see my stylist due to the quarantine.

It was a mood. A dark, slightly insane mood.

Today my hair is shoulder-length, mostly dark since I haven't dyed it in almost two years, and most days, thanks to COVID, in a bun, piled on top of my head.

It's been a journey, but I love my hair & this is my #hairstory. If you have hair, love it. If you don't, be a fierce baldy. It's important for us to appreciate who we are & where we are in this moment. Love up on yourself and celebrate you!

#thankyouforcomingtomytedtalk