Who I am

I have been thinking about my hair a lot lately
I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by another blogger at
Crown and Temple.  The post about being a professional woman with natural hair is here .  The experience made me reflective.
I love my hair.  I love its curls. I love its twists. I love its kinks. I even love the knots.

Actually. That was a lie.  I hate the knots.  I have to keep my hair tied up during the weekend or I will pull out all of the knots.  It is a nervous habit, I guess.  It actually hurts me.  Can you believe that I have the nerve to be tender-headed?
I have a collection of hair clips, bands, combs, brushes, and books. The collection could be considered out of control. 
Eh.  Maybe not, it certainly does not rival my yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks, craft books, and bead collection.  Nothing will. Not even my love of chocolate. 


 I will share a secret. 



My favorite possession... The denman brush . Oh my gawd. This brush has awesome written all over it.  I use it for bushing my hair after applying styling products and wrapping my hair after it has been flat ironed. It amazes me so much, I would forgo chocolate for a month in order to have it.  

 I want more shirts with afros on it. I am gathering a collection of sorority inspired shirts that reflect my love for my hair.  You can  send any gifts to me, my email is ibfrizzy@gmail.

Despite all my years in the sorority, I did think that my hairstyle might keep me from being considered for higher positions.  Instead, my work in the sorority made me the natural choice for those positions.  So, on my first day as president, I wore my glorious hair natural and not pressed and proceeded to forget the names of my executive board.   

Finally, I would be willing to mortgage my house to buy this print.







When it became available a few years ago, I waited too long to purchase it. It is back and looks a little different.  It is also quite a bit more expensive. 


Alas..... I may never be able to hang it on my wall opposite this beauty.  
To the archives after the jump
Originally published Jan 12, 2007
How I selected my nickname/handle/Internet Persona






In 1999, I had had enough.
My hair was breaking off. It was getting shorter and shorter. I decided that I wanted to begin pressing my hair and leave the straightening cream alone.
My hairdresser seemed to become very frightened at the idea of me changing my hairdo. I don’t know if it was the potential earnings loss for him or his reputation. He calling card was the “Wrap.” He told me that my hair would fall out and I should just continue getting perms. Since my hair was already falling out with the perms, I decided to make the transition on my own.

Going natural was a solitary journey. It wasn’t one that I began because of some new political awareness. I didn’t change my lifestyle. Despite this people began to assume that I was a vegetarian and wanted to talk about Black issues all of the time. 

I discovered that I have very odd hair that will not nap properly. It just coils. I pay good money to get it twisted and it will unravel. My high school students used to pull on my hair to watch it snap back. Like “Boing.” Kinda irritating.Kinda affectionate. 
I hated wearing afro puffs because they give me headaches yet they are the nappy equivalent to a lazy pony-tail. Therefore, I learned to love them.

People also assumed that I was locking my hair which is absurd. I didn’t want to do anything to my hair that was permanent ever again.
I have received funny looks, stares, comments and nasty remarks from friends, members of the temporary staff and family.
I was being defiant against generations of lye conditioning.
It as if I had stopped attending religious services and people wanted to bring me back into the lyfe. I didn’t care.
After years of this abuse I began to find the entire debate very funny. My hair should not cause controversy for other people. The assumptions that I followed a vegan lifestyle truly amused me.  You haven't seem to awaken to the smell of bacon frying.....Gotta love house vents. 

I once remarked to a “Diversity Trainer” that I had nappy hair and she lectured me on why I should not refer to my hair as nappy…. I was demeaning myself. 
Whateva! 
I had already embraced the nappy. I wanted to shout it everywhere that I went.

In 2004 I wanted a vanity license plate. In Ohio there are words that cannot be used on license plates that are of a sensitive certain tone. 

True story.. Years ago, I used to regularly see a car that read " Biiyach." It disappeared one day. I later heard about the screening process for vanity plates and that police officers could cite you for having offensive plates.

When I checked for kinky and nappy they were both rejected. I can't imagine why....
But IBFRZY was not. That is how I came up with my nickname an OHIO DMV approved phrase. I didn’t get the plate because of the cost and I believe that it is no longer approved. Ha ha….
With that I became Ibfrizzy.  Later to evolve into Ibfrizzy the Frizzyhooker.