Recently, I have noticed more and more women taking the decision to embrace their natural mane.
While I view this movement as a feministic decision to do whatever the heck I want, many women have different reasons as to why they decided to go natural. Many women have different reasons as to why they decided to go natural. However, I’ve narrowed it down to these main goals:
- we want to have healthy hair
- we want to be in tune with ourselves
- it’s easier to maintain
- it can be somewhat cheaper to maintain than relaxed hair
Although I do not believe that choosing to rock a weave or relaxed hair is negative, unhealthy, nor a hit to your feminism. It is possible to maintain healthy relaxed hair just as much as the natural hair community goes in about maintaining natural curls. Let me share some of my curly girl wisdom.
We want to have healthy hair
Many women who decide to join the natural and curly hair community consider natural, organic ingredients to be the healthier option. The intense process of perms/relaxers and their effects on our hair are definitely damaging when the proper care steps aren’t taken. Nevertheless, it’s possible to maintain a healthy mane either way. On the opposite end of the spectrum, going natural just means we choose to not alter the natural state of our hair with chemicals, only use natural products, hence being dubbed the “natural” community.
We want to be in tune with ourselves
For the natural hair community, we embrace our natural state of being. If you were born with curly hair, then acceptance and not being ashamed to rock it is the first step. It means being able to accept our natural beauty with minimal alteration, more enhancement. It means to not let fascist, Eurocentric, patriarchal standards of beauty define the way we see ourselves in the mirror. Straight hair has, until recently, been seen as the prettier preference. But naturally curly hair is making a comeback!
It’s easier to maintain
Natural hair may not always cooperate but it definitely is easier to maintain than having to visit the salon for a relaxer touch-up every month. In the beginning of the journey, it’s pretty much trial and error. Once you start noticing what your hair likes and dislikes, the maintenance becomes a routine. That part of the journey may not always come as swiftly as we desire, but patience is key.
It can be somewhat cheaper, too
Cheaper? Did I just type that? Yep, sure did! I obviously know that products aren’t cheap; with the demand being higher, prices have risen. Nonetheless, like I stated in bullet number three, once you begin to notice what your hair likes, you stick to that routine and those products. Thus, your bank account doesn’t suffer as much. Although everyone in the natural hair community knows that trying new products is always a temptation so going to Walgreens or Target is never a good experience for our wallets. Now I think we just need an article on how to gain willpower when we go to Target.
Bottom line: If natural hair is the in thing right now, at the end of the day, it is a personal choice and nobody can take away or look down upon anybody for that. Rock those natural curls, or that weave, girl!
