Now it's time to tell my hair transformation story!!!

On Feb 9, 1998, I chopped off my SL permed hair. I had grown up in the South, where permed hair was the norm. Never in my mind did I ever think that I would wear my hair any other way besides straight. Then in 1997, I got married and relocated to the San Francisco area. While living there, I started to notice a lot of women of color sporting natural hairstyles. I remember thinking how courageous they were to not have a perm. At the time, the hair along my hairline was starting to thin, so the concept of becoming natural started to intrigue me more. I remember asking my husband if he would like me wearing a natural style, and he was beyond supportive. But at the time, I still wasn't ready to give up my straight hair. Then, something happened to make me take the plunge. I was calling around local salons in order to find out pricing for a wash, cut, and style. For years, I had done my own perms, and normally paid $25 for a wash, cut, and style. Well while calling, almost every salon quoted me a price of $85+ for what I was asking. I was literally in shock. I kept saying I don't need a perm. Their reply was always, the price is much higher with a perm. After calling about 4-5 salons and getting the same answer, I looked at it as a God sign, and at that moment decided to cut all of my hair off. The following week, I went to my husbands barber and told him to cut it all off. Initially he was a bit hesitant. I assured him that it was indeed what I wanted and needed him to do. My only stipulation was that he had to check my scalp for any hooks/bumps/ripples. I didn't want to be walking around with a jacked up head. So after telling me that I had a perfectly shaped head, he proceeded to cut off all of my permed hair. Initially when I was loosing my hair, I was a bit startled and was about to question my sanity. But then a freeing sensation came over me. I started to think...I can now swim without having to worry about my hair. I can now walk in the rain. I can now sleep in late and not have to worry about fixing my hair. I was not a SLAVE to my hair anymore. When he was all done, I looked at my new self and said, "That's YOU!!"