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Me and my (awesome) natural hair.
My hair is incredibly important to me, especially since I wear it in a natural hairstyle. By natural, I mean that I don’t use any chemicals to straighten or alter the texture of my hair. Relaxers and perms are very popular among black women, and I have nothing against people who use them! What you do with you hair is a personal choice and nobody’s business but your own! But I’m very happy that I leave my hair in its natural state because, well, I think it looks awesome!
Despite the growing popularity of natural hair in recent years, there is still a big stigma against it. Black hair in its natural state is often seen as unattractive and unruly, and it definitely fails to meet euro-centric standards of beauty. If you’re skeptical about how deep rooted these standards are, look at most of the hairstyles in your average magazine or advertisement. Trust me, you’ll have to spend a fair amount of time finding anyone with my hair texture. If you’re still not convinced look at it this way: I’ve had friends who decided to relax their hair so that they can appear more professional for jobs in media or business. How sad is that?
Frankly, screw euro-centric beauty standards because my hair is fabulous. Here’s 10 reasons why I love my natural hair.
The Coolest People Are Rocking It.
Interest in natural hairstyles is growing and it is becoming incredibly trendy. Celebs like Willow Smith, Solange Knowles and Viola Davis--just a few of my favorite black celebs--are rocking natural hairstyles and looking fabulous.It Scares Off Losers
Angela Davis is a political figure who should be known for more than her awesome afro. But let's be real: Her hairstyle was seen as radical back in the day, and in some ways it still is now. People love to associate afros with being angry and militant and scary, and honestly the people who are dumb enough to make those stereotypes deserve to be scared. So I hope that my hair worries at least one person everyday.It Is A Money Saver
I can save a lot of money by not getting my hair chemically straightened every few weeks. Also, I rarely need to buy shampoo! Most shampoos contain sulfates that are really rough on natural hair. Many people with natural hair rarely use shampoo, which means that my bottle of shampoo lasts FOREVER. Seriously, I'm talking one bottle every year and a half or so, personally. Saving money is always a plus in my bookIt Makes A Statement
Since there are still many people who disapprove of natural hair, wearing natural hairstyles in public always makes some kind of statement whether I like it or not. But usually, I like it, because it looks awesome! The more gravity defying it looks, the better.Rain Won't Mess With It
In case you didn't know, black hair naturally curls when water touches it. For natural ladies who don't straighten their hair, this means that rain is no longer the enemy of our 'do. For women who have their hair chemically straightened, well, my heart goes out to them. I hope their umbrella is super durable!It Is Incredibly Versatile
People underestimate the lengths to which black hair can can transform. I'd argue that black hair is the most diverse and most versatile hair type out there. It can be straightened, locked, twisted, braided, and transform into an awesomely voluminous afro. There are so many options! It almost makes me want to have two heads just so I can play around to my heart's content!It Can Be A Makeshift Pillow
Uncomfortable rides in airplanes or cars can be a real pain in the neck. Literally, a pain in the neck. Luckily when I'm in those situations and donning a fro, my hair provides a little bit of a cushion when I don't have a pillow. It's not much, but it's something.People Try To Copy Us And Fail Miserably
People who don't have our hair type love to try to emulate our most popular styles. This is especially evident with cornrow style braids. All I have to say to people like Ke$ha who try to rock this look is...no. Just, no.I Can Become Scary Spice Whenever I Want
Enough said, really. We all know that Scary Spice was the coolest of all of the Spice Girls. Stay jealous.It's Just Amazingly Badass
Frankly, I just think that natural hair is straight up beautiful. I mean, of course, I have my bad hair days but I just love how awesome natural hairstyles look. Whether it's braids or fros or everything in-between, natural hair is straight up cool and nobody should ever feel ashamed of it.Do you have natural hair? What do you think about euro-centric beauty standards? Tell us in the comments!
Why I Love My African American Hair
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I cut my hair after transitioning for five months due a hair disaster with twists, but I love it
! I just love playing in it and it’s given me much more confidence. Plus, water went from being my worst enemy to a life saver c:!
Thank you SO much for finally putting up an article that helps us feel good about our hair type!
I was literally just sitting here, feeling sad that my hair is so different and weird, but this helped me feel a lot better.
As far as transitioning, PinkGambino, I just remember that I always made sure to take really good care of my hair when I first stopped relaxing it. It will take awhile for the chemically altered bits of hair grow out, leaving the hair straight in some parts and kinky in others. I know typef.com (tyra banks website) has great tips
Hey! I’ve been natural for 1 year and 4 months and I love it! It’s so fun and I love being natural..not feeling fake or chemical-y. And my hair is so healthy!
cool article
I’ve had natural hair for about 5 months I’m absolutely obsessed and in love! If your want to follow me on my hair journey Hit my twitter and Instagram @ArieBD_
Any tips for transitioning ?
Make sure you have a wide toothed comb for detangling it, or use your fingers and be gentle and have patience. You have to moisturize you can mix water and leave in conditioner in a bottle and spritz. Seal with an oil like olive oil, coconut oil, etc or use shea butter depending on how coarse your hair is. And do styles that blend the two textures together like twist outs, braid outs, flat twists, two strand twists. or you can transition with box braids or any type of extensions the BC when you feel like you have enough new growth. Hope this helps, eventually you’ll get in the groove of things and learn what your hair like and doesn’t like.
That would be a great post! I just began transitioning but I haven’t had a perm in for a while so I just decided to transition so that would help a lot. But I have watched the process of my sister go natural and it’s a lot of work actually!