By Melissa of Trials and Tresses

2014 was a tough year in general, and an even tougher year to be in an interracial relationship. With the social unrest, scrutiny, and judgment at an all time high, even jokes from friends felt like sharp jabs. But I digress… let me start from the beginning. The natural hair movement is a constant source of new knowledge. There is always some innovation waiting around the corner to be discovered. As a naturalista for nearly three years I believed I had a pretty good grasp on the basics of natural hair care.  Or so I thought. It wasn’t until I entered an interracial relationship 1.5 years ago that I realized there were so many things that became second nature, and common knowledge to me, that were foreign and peculiar not only to men, but men that were not familiar with the culture of hair care at all. For example my brothers, though they may not know the ins and outs of natural or relaxed hair care, they are familiar with the basics in our hair care regimen that we may overlook as different. They are no strangers to hair ties to bed; cornrows, doobie wraps, and hogging the bathroom during 12 hour wash days!