To Perm or Not to Perm

Okay My girl T permmed her hair a while back and she is looking smashing and my sister Vixen has been rocking a perm for about ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...all her life!

So here is my problem. I have my hair natural and my hair has gone through some traumatic stunts with me. Listen closely

1. When I was born I had natural "Dada" or what Yankees here call Dreadlocks. My mother didn't know what to do with my hair because it just locked naturally so I had my hair cut short like a boy

2. Then my mom stuck a perm in my hair. One of those homemade perms broke all my hair and burnt my scalp ridicoulously

3. So mommy decided to do a straightening comb thing every week. The problem with that was that I am a tomboy so I was always either sweating or running around near water and well, that didn't last and my locks always seemed to form at the bottom. Painful sessions of combing out the knots every other day

4. Finally mommy got me a jerry curl. This was in the eighties in America when jerry curls was in. I am talking about "Comming to America: Soul Glo" kind of jerry curl. I thought I was styling. Then she hooked me up with "Wave Neveou". Is this bringing back memories people?

5. So after about three years with this. I had a big Jerry curl afro. I thought I was cool. We went to Nigeria and I attended Mayflower Junior School. Guess what they did to me my first day of school .Cut my damn hair off!

6. So I had to grow my hair back and mommy stuck another perm in my hair.

7. So there I was with a perm and my hair started breaking. I decided to go get a hair cut and start afresh and this barber after I fell asleep shaved my head bald. So for about a month and half I had a bald head like a boy. I was eight and had just started growing boobies! Imagine people's surprise when they realized I wasn't a boy because two little things bounced up and down my chest when i ran.

8. By 9 I was sporting my natural hair again but I was getting it cornrowed and threaded so my hair never locked. I mean the moment i took out braids or whatever, I washed and was back at the hairdressers getting my hair done for 10 Naira all over again. It is funny what 10 Naira could buy when I was 9 versus what it can buy now when I am 20 something...Agba ti'n de oh!

9. Then the drama hit a peak when I went to ISI. Bet you didn't know I went to ISI. But I did! And mommy decided I could maintain my own hair. Bad idea mom. Because I cut, permed, braided, cut, permmed and cut my hair so many times it was ridicoulous

10. By the time I got to ASHS in JSS3 my hair was threatening never to grow. It showed some promise and because as dorms go there is always someone who knows how to perm your hair I got a perm again.

11. SS1 cam around and I decided to cut my hair and perm the cut hair. So I had spikes. This was the first time I had spikes. Then I grew out my hair and had an Anita Baker cut. Remember when everyone rocked the Anita Baker look? God this brings back many memories. Everyone swore they knew how to do the dance in TLC's "Waterfalls?" and Boys II Men was like the best boy band ever. And Tupac was Alive and fighting with Biggie? We all thought we were gangsters. I remember my SSII class was West Coast and the SSI class was East Coast. Damn! Those were good times

12. By SSIII I was on a plane coming to America with a Wet and Wavy weave sewn firmly onto my permed head. So as a Senior in B-Springs I began again to experiment with braids. My girls were all braiders from "MeMe" to the "Ghana Girls" they all had this thing wear they could braid my hair in no time (for free). That was fun

13. So my Sophomore year of college I was still rocking a now raggedy perm due to constant braiding. I cut what was left of the perm off and went natural and continued to get my hair braided. Then my girlfriend who I don't speak to anymore because of her stupid ass husband, came into my life and she got me my first perm in over two years.

12. Moved away to Bmore and started getting my hair professionally done in a Salon curtesy of Vixen and those were good times. We would get our eyebrows, nails and hair done every other week. We were styling. I have some pictures from those days and wow! Those are some pictures. T you were in quit a few of them!

13. Then I cut the perm off and did an S-curl thing and got my hair spiked. By my second year in Bmore I was rocking spikes. We moved to the "hills" and I went back to natural.

I have been natural since... But because of the upcoming nuptuals I have been seriously considering perming my hair. I live close to NY and can afford to get a wash and set every other week from a professional but I fear that my natural hair will soon fall out. It had grown up to 5 inches now. I measured it yesterday after I blew it out with a very hot comb and a hot blow dryer to stretch out the curling bottom. Very painful but very rewarding. So I have my hair in "calabar" walking around the house like a village girl. Baby said to not perm but do braids because that's what he loves but I am seriously considering perming my hair....

My causin has convinced me to wait, but I am tired of seeing beyonce flaunt her cute as weave in "Irreplaceable" music videos. I keep thinking I could pay $80 to the Illegal Immigrants in Harlem and be rocking a weave just as good if my hair weren't natural. And I would look hot in it!

What do you think? It has been 5 years since my hair has been touched by relaxer do you think it is time?