Barbados is 166 square miles of beautiful people, delicious food and white sandy beaches. I was fortunate enough to be born and raised on this lovely island, which has such a welcoming and vibrant culture some could only dream about.
OUR LOVE-HATE AFFAIR WITH OUR HAIR
In Barbados, we are a predominantly black society, and with that comes the universal trait of raising our young, black girls to dislike their natural hair. As a child, I was negatively influenced by my society to believe that long, straight, flowing hair was the sole definition of beauty, as my role models praised those girls who possessed this so called “good hair”.
It was from then that I remembered how I counted down the days until my first relaxer. Receiving my first relaxer at the age of 10, I never had any real idea of what it was like to handle my own hair. Therefore, at the age of 27, I was intrigued to find out just how my hair would respond to these techniques and treatments I eventually learned so much about after doing my research.
Prior to this I was so held back by what my culture led me to believe would be presentable and attractive. Finally making the decision to return to natural, Barbados has played a major role in every success, obstacle and failure with relation to my natural hair.
Along with our picturesque sandy beaches, we have some of the best weather, which our tourists rave about. Sunshine blesses us basically all year round, which is excellent for tanning but awful for maintaining styles. Day five, six or seven hair does not exist in my hair diary. By day four, all definition in my hair is gone.
PRODUCTS TO USE IN OUR CLIMATE
That natural hair staple, called glycerin, which kinkier textured girls are drawn towards to make their hair pillow soft, is the worst combination with our humid weather if you’re looking for definition. Glycerin was my best friend when I was newly natural, but I couldn’t understand why my styles would never lasts. But with time and a lot of research I’ve learned that our levels of humidity, paired with products containing high amounts of glycerin, were the cause of the death of my hair styles.
My transition to returning natural definitely did not happen overnight. I spent days researching and being inspired by many natural hair gurus on YouTube. I watched numerous videos, taking notes and making lists of all these wonderful products that I could buy to get the perfect hair style for my hair type.
To my surprise, when I finally made my first trip to the beauty supply store, I found out they supplied me with everything but the magical lines which I yearned for. This is one of the disadvantages of living on such a tiny island.
However, I must admit, it has gotten better and it also forced me to dabble in making my own homemade products.
MY NATURAL HAIR JOURNEY
Seeing so many girls overseas get such amazing results, I dreamt of finding a naturalista here in Barbados that would be more relevant to my situation. Unfortunately, at the time of my big chop, our small island was paired with an even smaller natural hair community. There was no one I could find to be my product test dummy.
As a result, I was forced to do my own trial and error process and decided to document it all, on my YouTube channel (LeeAlisia) for every naturalista on the rise. From 2012 to now, it has been a blessing to see Barbados’ natural hair community grow. The only thing that could make the transition easier for the future girls deciding to return to natural, would be the development of natural hair salons. That is one thing that we lack in Barbados.
SALONS IN BARBADOS
Salons here do perms, texturisers, keratin treatments, but I have yet to find a salon that specializes in treating natural hair. When that time comes I believe that more girls would be willing to experiment and give their natural tresses a chance to shine and flourish.
Overall, being a natural in Barbados has its immediate challenges but honestly I have enjoyed every step of my process. Each trial has brought forth lessons learnt and made me appreciate every fabulous fro that came my way. I hope that I can be an inspiration to all girls of Barbados and worldwide to give their natural hair a go and let their inner beauty show.
MY BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY
