If you’ve been following my hair journey, you’d know that the only reason I embarked upon this journey was a result of bad salon experiences. My hair was intimidating to stylists because it was too thick or too big or too coarse. So, the only solution for them was to relax it way too straight or cut it way too short.

When the blogging world was introduced to HOPEsaidit, I was on a mission to reach waist-length texlaxed hair and prove that African-American hair (emphasis on African…Igbo Kwenu! ) can grow boundlessly.

Within five years, I had three kids, and all the hormones and postpartum shedding wouldn’t let me be great. However, I kept the focus on my hair’s moisture and low manipulation.

I had my staple products down. I was retaining length. My hair was doing pretty good. There was the detangling issue, but I’ll get to that later.

The only thing I knew I needed was a professional trim.

My angst about going to a professional stylist shot right back up. It was like a catch 22. I needed a trim because after YEARS of doing everything by myself, my pathetic trims (more like clippings) were still leaving my ends looking like they were throwing gang signs at each other. But who could handle my mane?

I had to leave it to the pros, so my research skills were in full effect. The criteria: a stylist who can handle kinky hair without ripping through it during the detangling process without cutting unnecessary length.

It felt like I was searching for a unicorn. And then after seeing random posts on Instagram, I was led to a woman who called herself The Growth Guru. It wasn’t her ability to grow her client’s hair that caught my attention, although that was cool too. What made me immediately reach out to her was her consistency in carefully detangling hair, trimming only what’s necessary and giving a great silk press that left no heat damage.

I needed the Guru.

Remember when I referenced my detangling issue? Well, somewhere along the way, I stopped texlaxing annually, meaning I stopped straightening my hair. That was the only time my sister would detangle with a fine-tooth comb. Every other time, I would either finger comb or detangle with a wide-tooth comb… on my natural Nigerian hair.

Aloe vera juice would slice through my tangles; but since I didn’t detangle with a fine-toothed comb, I had free-forming dreads in the thickest parts of my head. It just keeps getting better, huh?

So, I decided to book with the Guru. Apparently, everyone else did too because she was booked to capacity. Her waiting list is anywhere from six months to one year. I got in within the six-month window for a 4 o’ clock appointment.

And then the time finally arrived.

3:45 P.M.

I made sure to get to the salon on time since it was an hour away. I parked, took a deep breath and proceeded to get out of my car. As I walked toward the salon, I could hear Eminem’s Lose Yourself narrating my every move.

“His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy.
There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti.
He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready.”

Okay, that was a bit intense, but the pressure was on!

4 P.M.

A young lady with the most perfect ‘fro approached me. Her name was Stephanie. She explained that she is the assistant to Whitney, The Growth Guru, and said she’d be taking me to the shampoo bowl after a quick consultation with Whitney.

I took my hair out of its usual bun, and Whitney proceeded to assess the situation. The mane was unleashed, and I knew that Whitney realized that this was more than what she bargained for.

She saw the loose dreads. She saw the thickness. She saw the tattered and battered ends. She wasn’t intimidated.

“I’m so glad you came to me! We’re going to get you right. Don’t even worry about it.”

Did she just say she’s glad? She’s excited to take on the challenge? Thank you, Lord!

Then, I made my way to the shampoo bowl.

5 P.M.

After about five “rinse and repeats” and a touch of essential oils, my scalp was singing. It hadn’t breathed in a while since my hair was always in the way, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Now it was on to detangle. And boy, did they detangle. But the process was so painless and careful.

It was a two-woman job. Stephanie started the task. And when Whitney had her other client under the dryer, she jumped in.

We talked, we laughed, we learned a lot about each other. And then hours later, my hair was fully detangled. So I thought…

8 P.M.

It was time to condition and steam my hair.

The conditioner was in, and I went under the steamer for 30 minutes. The conditioner was rinsed out, and then it was time to straighten.

But as Stephanie was combing through my strands again, she noticed that they began to wind around themselves yet again. Geesh…

Time for detangling session number two with no complaints from either of them.

9 P.M.

Heat was about to touch my hair for the first time in about two years. Unlike times in the past, I wasn’t scared or nervous. I wasn’t even looking at the mirror to see how everything was going.

They were telling me their moves every step of the way, and heat protectant was amply applied.

That’s when Whitney realized that she’d have to detangle…yet again…as she was blow-drying my hair. If you’re counting, that’s the third time for the session.

God bless them.

She treated each strand so gently, blow-dried a section, and stopped if she needed to further detangle.

11 P.M.

We were at the final stretch.

Mind you, these ladies have been at it for seven hours so far. Their fellow co-workers went home hours ago.

Since my hair was finally fully detangled, flat ironing was the light at the end of the tunnel.

Section by section, my hair transformed to silk.

She clipped about two to three inches maximum (which needed to go), and I didn’t have that all-too-familiar feeling of looking at the floor mourning the loss of healthy ends that were gone too soon.

12:45 A.M.

My hair was wrapped, and I went under the dryer for 5 minutes.

1 A.M.

The wrap was taken down, and a series of “after” photos and videos ensued.

Mission accomplished.

I’ll tell you one thing: I’ll happily be Whitney’s client for life! She gets me. From the detangling issues to the postpartum shedding, she got me. My trust issues were averted for the first time ever.

I’d say I’m about five inches away from my ultimate goal. All I’m going to do now is allow my hair to thicken back up with healthy ends and no dreads while I keep living my best life.

Don’t you just love a happy ending?

I’ve already been getting questions about this salon visit and my hair journey prior, so I’ll be including even more details in my video that comes out on Thursday  Friday. See ya soon!