#MyNaturalCrown 👑 : Meet Tenjiwe Pswarayi

I thought it would be cool to share my story with you…

All my life I’ve some what resented my hair. Growing up in schools where you were ashamed of having natural black hair because it was “untidy” and hard to maintain.

I know I’m not the only one who had to leave school early on Fridays so that you could undo your braids in time, to wash it on Saturday and rebraid by Sunday :”)

Just to fast forward, my father passed away in 2015 and the grief hit me drastically.
Emotionally, spirituality and physically.
After his death, I felt the need to strip myself down, no more fake nails, no makeup and no more braids or extensions…I just wanted to look in the mirror and see my father’s daughter.

It was a hard journey but through it, I learned a lot about myself and the most was my worth.

I started taking care of my natural hair – with setting my bantu knots every night to dedicating Sunday afternoons to hair care – and through that bonding with my hair, I started to become someone I thought I could never be comfortable with; myself.

The love and care that goes into taking care of black natural hair has taught me to love myself and know my worth. The experience of bonding with my hair every morning makes me appreciate my beautiful black hair and even more myself as a black woman.
I know it sounds almost crazy that so much emotion can come from taking care of your hair, but that’s my story.

As a black girl, especially in the times we live in now, it has helped in regaining the confidence in natural black beauty and taking back pride in the beautiful melanin queens that we are.

I love my natural hair now and wear it proudly. And that’s a lesson I plan to teach my daughter one day.

Love.