Deranda Butler

Deranda Butler says after ten years of getting her hair permed, she’s going all natural.

I remember yelling so loudly, it probably scared some neighbors. My scalp began to feel as if it was being attacked by millions of fire ants. I was six years old… and I was getting my first perm.

When my mother finished rinsing and washing the chemicals from my hair, I ran my fingers through my long, black hair and was amazed. It felt just like the silky hair on my toy Barbies. My rough, carpet-like texture had disappeared — like magic. Every little coil was now relaxed to lay down with the other strands.

The tradition of getting perms continued for more than ten years. It just became routine every few months, like getting your car’s oil changed.

But no one warned me I was literally perming away some of my identity. Of course the hair I was born with would never be that straight. I wasn’t fooling anyone. I recently looked at my curly hair and fell in love with it. So, I am vowing to never do it again. I want to have 100% natural hair. I feel like the closer I become to being all natural, the closer I become to be being the true me.