Being Natural: A Trend or a Journey
It has amazed me how "Being" or "Going" Natural has become so popular that Target now display an entire end cap of natural products or curl defining products. So is the Journey now just a Trend? Are people going natural for the right reasons?
What I am having a hard time with is all the people that I meet who are in transition but want to keep wearing weaves because they don't think their hair is pretty or it doesn't look like the other naturals they see. There are a a few things about being natural that people don't understand. Being natural there are two things you learn in your journey 1) learn patients; 2) teaches you self acceptance. I will explain what I mean.
Learning patient: Going natural is a journey a process, something that just doesn't happen overnight. This is why its called a "journey". The "journey" takes you through an emotional roller coaster with your hair. Your hair will eventually get to where you want it to be. There is no speeding up the process, so stop thinking that if you wash your hair more than usual, that your perm/relaxer will fade off. IT WILL NOT FADE OFF! Relaxers chemically altered the texture of your hair, so the only way to remove a relaxer is to CUT IT OFF! Which leads me to the second lesson.
Self-acceptance: STOP trying to look like everyone. Your hair is your own hair it will NEVER do what your friends hair does. I hate when I meet women and they complain that their hair is "nappy" and its not "good hair". Ladies the whole reason you are going natural, is to embrace your natural beauty what society says is beautiful. This is what I hear, that disturbs me...."I am going natural, not nappy natural, but I want to wear my hair straight, just without a relaxer" or I hear..." Girl, your hair is cute, mine will not do that or look that good, its too nappy, so I just keep wearing my sew-in". I am cool if you want to wear your hair straight and weave SOMETIMES, but whats so bad about being nappy? Nappy is who we are, nappy is beautiful, nappy is unique, nappy is natural. Accept that this is the way God made you. That is the beauty of being natural, majority of my friends are natural (we all took out natural journey at different times, and for different reasons), but ALL of our hair styles and texture are different.
If you have already begun the transition, stick with it, if you can not deal with the natural and relax hair on your head, I suggest 2 things, do the BC (big chop) or find a experienced hair stylist that specializes in natural that can help you on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, until you cut it. You should be cutting your ends every 6-8 weeks, to prevent split ends and to help remove the relaxer. If your hair grows 1/2 inch to 1 inch every month (which is normal growth), then you should be removing that much off your ends.
So don't go natural cause all your friends are doing it, or because its the hottest thing going because your journey will be completely different from your friends and you may not be emotionally, spiritually, mentally ready for the journey.
What I am having a hard time with is all the people that I meet who are in transition but want to keep wearing weaves because they don't think their hair is pretty or it doesn't look like the other naturals they see. There are a a few things about being natural that people don't understand. Being natural there are two things you learn in your journey 1) learn patients; 2) teaches you self acceptance. I will explain what I mean.
Learning patient: Going natural is a journey a process, something that just doesn't happen overnight. This is why its called a "journey". The "journey" takes you through an emotional roller coaster with your hair. Your hair will eventually get to where you want it to be. There is no speeding up the process, so stop thinking that if you wash your hair more than usual, that your perm/relaxer will fade off. IT WILL NOT FADE OFF! Relaxers chemically altered the texture of your hair, so the only way to remove a relaxer is to CUT IT OFF! Which leads me to the second lesson.
Self-acceptance: STOP trying to look like everyone. Your hair is your own hair it will NEVER do what your friends hair does. I hate when I meet women and they complain that their hair is "nappy" and its not "good hair". Ladies the whole reason you are going natural, is to embrace your natural beauty what society says is beautiful. This is what I hear, that disturbs me...."I am going natural, not nappy natural, but I want to wear my hair straight, just without a relaxer" or I hear..." Girl, your hair is cute, mine will not do that or look that good, its too nappy, so I just keep wearing my sew-in". I am cool if you want to wear your hair straight and weave SOMETIMES, but whats so bad about being nappy? Nappy is who we are, nappy is beautiful, nappy is unique, nappy is natural. Accept that this is the way God made you. That is the beauty of being natural, majority of my friends are natural (we all took out natural journey at different times, and for different reasons), but ALL of our hair styles and texture are different.
If you have already begun the transition, stick with it, if you can not deal with the natural and relax hair on your head, I suggest 2 things, do the BC (big chop) or find a experienced hair stylist that specializes in natural that can help you on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, until you cut it. You should be cutting your ends every 6-8 weeks, to prevent split ends and to help remove the relaxer. If your hair grows 1/2 inch to 1 inch every month (which is normal growth), then you should be removing that much off your ends.
So don't go natural cause all your friends are doing it, or because its the hottest thing going because your journey will be completely different from your friends and you may not be emotionally, spiritually, mentally ready for the journey.
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