:who is sugar: nappy head and artists of sorts

Day 1 took about a year in the making. I’ve wanted to go completely natural for sometime now . I wanted to donate my hair to Locks of Love. That was my original intention. I’m certain a lot of brown children and women who've lost their hair because of medical reasons were forced to wear European hair pieces because African American hair pieces were unavailable (although my African American hair looked like that of Europeans). After all... what African American woman in “her right mind” would cut of her hair and give it a way? Free of charge That’s unheard of!

Well, I was going to be the one to donate my hair to a cause. (I’m also an organ donor!!) I got a lot of heat from my family and friends. Mainly my Mama. One would have thunk I decided to amputate a limp or decide to smoke crack for a living. They begged me to wait a year (and buy a wig which I did) and if I still feel the same way then it would be ok to cut my hair. Whatever that means. So I took their advice.

Fast forward, Thursday 2 December 2004. I was looking a flaming mess! I was rocking a process and a nappy at the same time. Not a good look. Something’s you can’t do both of like drinking and driving. Well, if that was the case I was a drunken fool way past the speed limit doing 62 in a residential area. (Can you see it?) Something had to give. And my hair was it.

I consulted with a few friends for S & G and they were like NOOOOOOO!!!!! Go to the salon and get your hair done. That would have been a plan but we all know that beauticians hate to style a nappy/straight hair do. They would try to relax my new growth and besides I didn’t trust myself in a salon. I would be tempted by the smells of creamy crack and burning hair! As absurd as that may sound. I had already been going through withdrawal and I didn’t need to be tempted. I declined. So I called up my buddy Andre and asked him to take me to his barber. It was a plan...

MY SUPER EXCITING JOURNEY TO NAPPINESS BEGINS HERE...