Natural Beauty of the Week - Jaye Kennedy, tells us about her natural hair experience: 

Journey: I had relaxed hair just about all of my life up until my second year of college. I rocked the wrap, weaves, roller sets, twistees - you name it and I probably had it done. I grew up in a salon that my Uncle owned and became very close with the stylists there, so I changed hair styles the way I changed clothes.  My hair was past my shoulders and layed on my back. But when I went away to school I noticed it was thinning. The hard water there was so harsh on my hair! I'm kind of a renegade, so one day I just started chopping off pieces of my hair until it was shaved in the back and had no longer than an inch all around.  This took place November 2006 and I haven't looked back since.

I had NO FEARS about going back to my natural texture. I always figured that if I didn't like it, I could always get a relaxer again. My train of thought was always "It's just hair! It'll grow back!" I can't say the same about my sorority sisters that watched me chop off chunks of hair everyday though. They weren't as convinced as I was to say the least.

Products: Three products I absolutely can't live without are: Triple Silk Therapeutic Conditioner -it detangles, opens up my pores and keeps my curls looking great. Murray’s Bees Wax-sometimes my edges need a little help with staying under control. A Banana Clip-they are the perfect tool to use when trying to get a mohawk effect. They are pretty hard to come by these days though.

Advice for others: My advice to someone who is scared to embrace their natural hair is simply this: If you don't like it, you can always go back to what you had before. You only live life once. Why not try something new, you might love it! Some people may not be as bold as I was and start from scratch by cutting all of their hair off but you can always wear braids or rock sew-ins until you achieve your desired length. After all, it is just hair. It'll grow back!