(Houston Chronicle photo)
Jotina Buck just didn't wake up one day and shave off her hair.
It was a gradual process that, in a way, had been formulating since she was a little girl. The second-grade teacher at North Belt Elementary in Humble had always struggled with her hair, which was naturally "kinky" and deemed "bad," in certain societal constructs.
She had her first hair relaxer at age 5 and had been wearing hair extensions and weaves since the first grade.
"All I wanted was to go to school with straight hair, so as an adult investing in hair weaves and spending an absurd amount of money on hair was my validation," she said.