So, I’ve decided to start a blog. Partially so I can document what products I’ve used and how they’ve performed and partially so I can interact with more of you on my beloved ‘curly board’, as I endearingly call the forum to my peeps who could care less about hair talk of any kind on message boards or forums.

An introduction of myself & Hair Story: Welcome. I’m Charlene (but you can call me Jive as most of my friends do). I’m 32 and I work in a large & conservative office in the greater Pittsburgh area. I’m biracial (black & white) and was adopted by my Great Aunt & Uncle who are both black. I had been chemically altering my hair since the summer of 1989. I was 9 yrs old and I was tired of wearing my BSL hair in twist & braids. All of the other girls at school were starting to wear their hair out & straight and I was trying to get in on that! My mother is a press & curl natural from way back and flat out refused to let me get a relaxer. (She had a bad relaxer experience in the 70’s and had to end up BCing down to ‘a natural’ (as she called it). This was also about the time when wave nouveau’s started to gain some momentum. So, she allowed me to get that because she thought it was not as strong as a relaxer and that it would ‘look more like your real hair’.

I was stoked that I could finally have some big girl hair and after the perm, my hair was down to my waist. But throughout the day, it shrunk and kinked back up into a frizzy triangle. My mom took me back to the salon the next day. The stylist advised us that the ‘perm didn’t take’ and repermed it that day. 2 perms in 2 days was more than my hair could take. It broke off and thinned out for the rest of the year and by the next summer, my waist length hair had been chopped into a short curly bob that was about ear-length.

Now, this was a tragedy to my parents and to my girl friends. But I was stoked about the hair cut! I was about to turn 11. I was going from the elementary school to the jr/sr high school. I thought the hair cut made me look older and I felt like I could finally fit in a bit more in regards to my hair. My hair was always a source of me getting picked on. When you’re kid in grade school, you have a hard time comprehending jealousy but looking back on it that’s obviously what it was. I had gum thrown in my hair twice. One girl took a chunk out of it with scissors in the 6th grade. Someone always had something to say about it. “Quit swinging your hair around like a white girl”. Etc, etc. So, now that it was short (for me) it was just one less thing to get picked on for.

Fast forward 9th grade. I started blowing out my curly perm and straightening it with a fat curling iron. This look was much more preferred by myself and by my peers. Even my parents were down so I grew out the wave nouveau and got a relaxer the summer before the 10th grade. I had been relaxed ever since. I loved the look but hated the chemical burns which varied in degree without warning from relaxer to relaxer. I went to the salon about 3 times a year. I couldn’t tolerate the burns anymore than that. Once I got to college, I relaxed my hair myself or had a friend help me. By this time, I was down to about twice a year. I used heat to straighten my new growth or I would wear it curly. I never kept a relaxer in for very long because it just burned the heck out of me. Therefore, my hair would always still curl back up with the assistance of scrunching, pink lotion, wrap lotion, a ‘frizz serum’ & Infusium 23. I guess it was more like ‘Tex-laxed’, but I didn’t know anything about that term then. Most of the time, it was curly from about 2001-2008.

Jump ahead to 2009-2010 ish. My hair is back to BSL. It’s super damaged but I’m not even concerned about that. Probably ¾ of it consist of split ends. It’s too long to perm myself and after a few mishaps with letting friends perm it, I went back to going to the salon. I had a love affair with wigs, half wigs & drawstrings. (I still do and I can’t wait until my hair is long enough to rock different looks again!) I’m basically concerned with keeping my length for my wedding. I wanted to wear a Beyonce style half-wig for it and needed my length to blend it. I went to the salon about 5 days before my wedding to get it permed and my stylist perm- burns the left side of my face & ear. It was the worst perm-burn I’ve ever gotten and I was livid that it happened on my wedding week. I really didn’t think that make-up was going to cover it up and the stylist had the nerve to say “just toss your hair in front of it so it don’t show”. I still have a few choice words for her if I ever see her on the street!

So from that day on, I decided I wasn’t going to perm my hair anymore. I knew nothing about how to handle my real texture and couldn’t really remember what it was going to be like all grown out. I didn’t know anything about ‘going natural’ or curlynikki.com or naturallycurly.com I was just going to wear drawstrings and wigs. I didn’t plan on big chopping until I discovered the natural hair community on Youtube which opened up a world of knowledge! Particularly, Taren916 was my inspiration for going natural. I researched products, product lines & ingredients. I watched more and more ‘hair journeys’. I talked about it with incessantly with my friends & family. I became a natural hair enthusiast and finally big chopped on July 14th 2011. My plan was to transition for a year, but I was so excited, scared and overall just so emotional over growing it out that I lost my patience and cut it. Best hair decision ever! I now consider natural hair care as my favorite hobby.

So finally here I am: Jive the Anti-mixtress. I call myself that because as much as I want to buy every oil, gel and butter to make my own “SuperJive’s Ultimate Bomb-biggity Hair Butter”. I just don’t have the time or patience to do so. And besides, being a product junkie plays well with my overall shopping addiction. I love to buy & try stuff and the only thing I have time to cook in the kitchen is food (and I only have time for that about once a week). So welcome to a Product Junkie’s Tail. A tale where I will share my purchases with you (and they may not always be hair purchases), document how they performed in my hair and my overall opinion. I love to have options and for the most part, most of the stuff I have on hand works on my hair. If it doesn’t, I swap it or give it away and buy more. The product lust never ends…..

Sorry this was so long.

__________________
GO STEELERS!!!
___________________________
LAST RELAXER:10/19/10
BC:7/14/11
My staples vary from season to season.

Twitter: @Jivelene and INSTAGRAM: Jivelene

Check Out My Blog: http://www.curlynikkiforums.com/curl...kies-tale.html

Yay! Go lady j. Wanted to comment. Will come back later to read. Congrats chick!

Sent from my PC36100 using CurlyNikki App

__________________
__________________________________

Hair I Grow!!

Thanks, I know it was long as heck!

__________________
GO STEELERS!!!
___________________________
LAST RELAXER:10/19/10
BC:7/14/11
My staples vary from season to season.

Twitter: @Jivelene and INSTAGRAM: Jivelene

Check Out My Blog: http://www.curlynikkiforums.com/curl...kies-tale.html

Yaaaaay, welcome Jivelene! Your intro reminds me of my own in so many ways Being teased, wanting straight hair, lol, the dang perm burns I sure don't miss those! Texlaxed, I guess thats what I was getting too, lol, twice a year as well and it surely wasn't worth it. Thank goodness for the curly girl, world! I will mos def be following along & scoping out products for swap #pjsunite!!


 from myusing CurlyNikki

__________________
Last Relaxer: Feb. 2008
Follow me on Instagram diamondev27

Not long.....informative. I was right in the middle of doing something when i saw ur new thread. First you were MIA then hung around a lil bit then BAM! You create a blog! *high five*

Sent from my PC36100 using CurlyNikki App

__________________
__________________________________

Hair I Grow!!

Welcome to the block! Quite an interesting story. And if you ever decide to make your SuperJive’s Ultimate Bomb-biggity Hair Butter, I'd buy it, just for the name lol!

__________________
LAST RELAXER: JUNE 20, 2010 / BIG CHOP: AUGUST 3, 2011
CHECK OUT MY BLOG: http://www.curlynikkiforums.com/curl...ce-new-me.html

Yay u made a blog. Just wanted to comment :-) now hurry up and get to the reviews lol


Sent from my iphone CurlyNikki

__________________
PJ and proud of it.
BC 7/17/11

+1


✨Sent from my iPhone✨
Colorfulkinks.tumblr.com

__________________

Standing up in a room full of pj's "Hi Jivelene". I will definitely be following. Have you had a chance to use the KBN shealoe yet?


Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using CurlyNikki App

It's your blog, J! Make it as long as you want!

__________________
Pantene Curly Series
Care Free Curl Curl Activator: Moisture, Sealer, Styler

NOT sent from my Blackberry 10 using the CurlyNikki App...there isn't one