Natural Hair & Tattoos

Natural Hair & Tattoos

We are natural & tatted, here are some of the stories the ladies shared about their natural hair & their Tattoos....Enjoy ;)

Angie A. Brooklyn, NY

The reason I went natural is because I feel it is more healthy. Your hair is apart of your beauty, it is what helps to make you, just you! lol It can also be your trade mark and healthy hair is happy hair, happy hair makes a happier you! I couldn't stand all the creamy crack anymore lol I wanted my hair to go back to being strong, shiny, pretty, and full! The only way to do that was to go back to my natural hair texture. I remember thinking I can't even remember what my natural texture felt or looked like! Going natural was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I will never look back! :)

 -1st tatt(butterfly on my left shoulder blade) was that I felt I was changing, morphing into a beautiful young lady.  -2nd Tatt, which is a heart(with a vine design) at the base of my neck means that it isn't that easy to get to, meaning you have to go threw all the vines and thorns to get to something that is precious.

-3rd one which says Amor Vincit Ominia(Latin for Love Conquers All) going across my right shoulder blade, I got this one b/c I really believe that Love conquers all, I still believe in true love and that It will find me one day. I also believe that God is Love and this quote is very powerful.

-My fourth tatt which is right next to my butterfly and in line with my 3rd tatt say in Joie       

De Vivre( Joy Of Life in French), the inspiration behind this one is that I was going threw a low period in my life and I needed something that would help me get back up and start living again.God is the joy of my life, I needed a reminder that Joie De vivre is more important than what ever problems you may have. Life is short and precious, tomorrow is never promised to you.

Sharon H.

Once my mom gave me the freedom to style my own hair I was always the girl who would chop it off on a whim and say "Enh, it's just hair." My hair was my way of expressing myself. Whenever I got a new style I felt refreshed and renewed. Brand new. I would soon come to realize that hair holds energy and sometimes bad energy gets tied up in hair so when i had a bad relationship or a bad job, I would cut or dye, and start over. It's always been this way. One day while in between perms I was looking at my roots and said to a friend "You know I dont have a bad grade of hair, wonder why my mom permed it" (I cringe at this now!)... so I asked. Her reply was that My hair was so thick that it often took alot of time to comb, time she didnt have so to make HER life easier, she permed my hair. So I decided with that information after years of not seeing my own hair (except for baby pics) I wanted to see it for myself. I got two strand twist extensions and began growing it out but had to perm it for my best friend's wedding (if it were anybody else i would've said no, but for her... I did it). After her wedding I started all over. In 2007  was wearing microbraids to grow out my hair and had about a goot 4 inches of growth when I was struggling in my college courses due to growing fatigue and joint pain and I didnt get why. After going to the doctor I was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus. After one significantly bad day, I'd taken my braids out, walked to the mirror, grabbed my shears and cut straight down the middle. After that I never looked back. I've dyed my hair burgundy, purple, and black. But I've always maintained health. I gave up the dye for henna as of late a healthier method for color. I wear it in protective styles as much as i can to prevent tangling and retain length. Right now im at arm pit. My goal is Bra Strap. I dont have any horror stories of family members saying they hate my hair (my mom has always supported me and stood by my decisions even when I may end up regretting them). My friends have always had my back. Im blessed. But even when i get the "look" from strangers it doesnt bug me. I've always been the "strange/weired/geeky" girl so I understand people wont always get my way of expressing myself. And Im ok with that. It's not for them to get. It took a long time to get this way but I am ok being just who I am. 

Robot Hello Kitty: by Torrey Fleury

Torrey is a friend of mine who is OBSESSED with robots. so much so that he believes he is one lol. He draws robots in his spare time and one day since he knows my love of hello kitty, he mentioned he drew one. I told him i had to have it. I've loved hello kitty since i was a kid (long before she was saturated into pop culture and paraphernalia was easy to find). Everyone asks why and my first answer is she's a november baby like me. but more detailed is she is versatile (you can see punk kitty, geek kitty, super kitty, etc), has an awesome bff named Mimi (i have one), a great bf (i have a great hubby), and a gang of awesome friends not to mention a killer sense of style. this robot kitty is special to me tho... everyone sees her and they say "oh she's kind of sad" but that's not what i see. Sure she's broken, she's missing an arm, a whisker is gone, and she's a little rusty...but her smile is pasted on and her heart is still there... you cant get rid of it.  that's me. ive gone through alot it my life but my heart and my smile are still here.

Low Battery: By Shagari Jackson

This tattoo was thought of on a whim but it is totally befitting for me. As I mentioned in my natural story I was diagnosed with lupus in 2005. A brief description of SLE is that it's an autoimmune disease, which means the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. This leads to long-term (chronic) inflammation and joint pain.  One of the symptoms of is chronic fatigue. No matter how much sleep i get, Im ALWAYS tired. Thus my battery is always low. haha. It's my little way of turning lupus around into a pun. I like puns. In a position like mine laughter is definitely something to hold on to. 

Raven B.

November 21,2012, I stood in the mirror and chopped off my relaxed hair lock by lock. Previously, i had been wearing weaves for 2 years and managed to grow my hair almost to arm pit lenght.Throughout my entire life I had been struggling with my hair. I remember pulling and yanking my hair at times because I simply hated it and it would not grow no matter what I did! When I was 17 my hair was shoulder lenght and all of it fell out from excessive dying! I was natural at that point, but knew nothing of youtube at that time. I rocked my hair in a faux hawk for awhile and then eventually i started to relax my hair again. When i moved to chicago I was introduced to weave and I became a weavy wonder. Sadly enough i was not properly caring for my hair underneath my weave so it was very brittle and dry. During the time i wore weave I stopped relaxing my hair and decided that when my hair got to a lenght I was comfortable with I would cut off the relaxed ends! That never happened. I wanted to see the lenght of my hair so I decided to get a dominican blowout, I also decided to go ahead and get my hair relaxed. I was sick of weave, sick of paying 300 for my hair every 2 months.I thought that if I got my hair straightened It would be easier for me to take care of. I was excited to see the lenght of my hair as the relaxer was processed, but once it was finished I was dissappointed with the results. I went from a huge fro to flat, thin hair. So again, i shelled out another 300 to get my weave redone. I refused to go to work looking the way that I did. I wanted the thickness of my hair back and I was hoping in time by wearing it in weave it would come back, but it never did. Over the summer (this was 2010) I went to the beach alot and I was wearing my hair out at this point because I relocated to a new city and had no one to do my hair. I started straightening my hair daily trying to get it as straight as possible and my hair very quickly became damaged from spending a lot of time in the hot sun and constantly pressing my hair. A few months later I went to the salon, (I was back in my home town at this point) and I decided to get a wrap. While I was sitting under the hair dryer I was browsing through the hair magazines. There was a woman with beautiful natural curls and I completely fell in love. I was in love with the lenght of my hair, but I could not get the picture from the magazine out of my head. When I arrived home I started thinking about cutting my relaxer out. I only had about 2 inches of hair (give or take) at this point. My mind kept going back and forth. On one hand I achieved so much lenght. My hair was the longest it had ever been in my entire life (almost apl). On the other hand my hair had so many split ends even after I got a trim. I went to the mirror and cut one lock of hair and the rest is history!!! i felt so liberated once I cut my hair. Every morning I woke up I looked forward to stlying my hair because it was my hair, not someone elses hair!! I was so excited to see curls

I didn't get them for meaning. I get them because I love art, and I love being a living piece of artwork!!

Ellen S.  Philadelphia, PA

Going natural is something that crossed my mind when i took a black women course in 2010 and crossed path with my professor. She opened my ideas on a lot of things. I finally had the courage to bigchop in Feb 2012 and start from scratch. For me "Going natural" is not a hairstyle but rather a lifestyle that i embrace and its a great feeling when other black women come up to me and tell me that they are thinking of going natural because my hair rocks:0 Black women are beautiful no matter what hair style we rock but there is this pure aura about a woman rocking her natural hair it also spells confidence too. We have been told too many myths and lies on why it is bad to wear our own hair. It's time to break out.

The Tatoo is a map of Liberia, Monronvia in West Africa. I was born in Liberia and moved to Philadelphia a long time ago. Being homesick was the inspiration behind my tatoo.

Ashley L. Brooklyn, NY

I have been natural now for five years, there wasnt a particular reason besides perms were damaging. Once I went natural I embraced the real me, from my life style to what I wore. I love my natural kinky curly hair.

Each one of my tat means something special to me,
-Ankh- Egyptian Cross meaning Life (Most Recent)
-Butterfly Abstract -  New Life, Soul...unfinished for my late mother (2010)
-Heart & Halo - Had a dream about my mother who was my heart, decided to add the  wings & the  Halo because of her new life in heaven.

Thanks to all the ladies that shared, and helped make this article one to remember...I loved reading your stories and I am sure Fashion House 7 readers will also enjoy.

Stay Beautiful & Sweet....

XOXO,
Fashion House 7