#crownday My first relaxer was at 7 years old. I can still smell the Just for Me. That chemical process didn’t just strip away my curl pattern. It taught me to strip away my natural beauty. From childhood into adulthood, I hid and manipulated my hair in ways that now feel unimaginable. It took years to heal from that trauma. Now at 40, I am proudly loc’d, and I speak the truth with my crown every day. I’m actively challenging the false narratives that have been placed on Black hair. So much of what we were taught came hidden beneath white beauty standards, whispered to us like facts. But my hair is tamed in its natural state. My edges do not need to be slicked to be beautiful. My crown does not need to be explained to be worthy. I’m grateful this shift happened before I had a daughter. Now I get to be the living example. So she never questions what beauty looks like when she sees her reflection. Black hair has always been beautiful. And on Crown Day, we remind y’all it still is. ...