1. I am tired of the breakage and thinning.
Even though with permed hair you have more of a range of styles you can do because it's straight, it frys the hell out of your hair making it unable to retain moisture properly thus making it easy to break.I was so sick of being trapped in a cycle of breakage where my hair would constantly be all over the place and I was tired of seeing no real growth because it would always break off. Another thing is perming my hair and then blow drying it and straightening it with the straightening iron which would only excerbate the problem.
2. I'm tired of the process.
As a kid ( I got my hair permed for the first time when I was 8 turning 9) I would have touch ups (perming the new growth of hair so it would be bone straight) every other month. Getting a touch up was like going to the doctor or the dentist. It was something that you just had to do to maintain yourself , and the truth is I hated it. I hated trying my hardest not to scratch my scalp so that the perm wouldn't burn. I hated the burning feeling when I was getting it permed and I hated the scalp scabs I would get after I had my perm done. The only feeling of satisfaction I would get is realizing that the end result (bone straight hair) was worth all of the pain and suffering. Beauty means pain right? Being the 18 year old that I am I have come to the conclusion that I really and truly don't have to put myself through this and I've have decided to stop.
Ooo.... The memories
3. What is so damn wrong with my natural hair?
When I was a kid perming my hair was like a right of passage. I mean come on, you can't rock the cute little hair bubbles and beads forever right? When I got my perm I saw myself as no longer a kid (well not really LOL) but closer to being at least a teenager. I would be lying if I grew up thinking that my natural hair was gods gift to this earth. I hated basically every process of doing my hair. Washing it, combing it and braiding it. I remember when I used to cry when the comb would get caught in a knot when my mom would braid it. I remember if I didn't twist my hair immediately after washing it how dry and tangled it would get and how much I hated untangling it. It was hell. My texture was never praised as something special. My hair wasn't seen as "good hair" ( I'll explain further down below) and getting a perm was like the cure to all of that. When you're growing up in a society that mainly praises the Eurocentric view of beauty, it's so easy to feel like you are out of place and that instead of resisting you should adapt. it's hard growing up as a kid and constantly being bombarded by ads and media that don't reflect the way you look or try to alter the way you look in order to fit their standards. Now that I am much older and wiser and I have developed new perspectives on things, I've decided to give my natural hair a chance.
Ads like theses usually pop up in black publications like Jet, Ebony and Essence and on BET. If you have access to neither you're screwed.
Rihanna did Gucci, but here hair isn't in it's natural texture
If I didn't google this I would have never found it.
Model Jessica White does maybelline but her hair is bone straight :(. It's not a bad things it's just that their is no diversity when it comes to black women in mainstream ads.
4. I want to try something new.
Well it's a new year guys and I'm the kind of person that hates and I mean HATES being repetitive and redundant. Going natural is about change and doing something new. I have been rocking permed hair in a variety of styles and I'm ready to see what styles I can rock with my natural texture. At the moment I am rocking single braids to give my hair a break. I can't wait to discover new cool styles to rock naturally. Afro's are starting to look very good to me.
cool :)
Well that is my hair story guys. I hope you found it informative and interesting. For anyone who is transitioning like I am there are plenty of websites out there that can help make the transtition easier with great tips, reviews on hair products that are great to use while trasnsitioning and even styles to rock that will protect your hair and make you look fly :D
http://www.hairliciousinc.com/
http://www.nappturality.com/
http://thirstyroots.com/
Ooo Ya...... The Concept of Good Hair
For many of those that don't know, the concept of "good hair" is something that has sparked large debate in many black communities especially concerning women and has proved to be a very lucrative concept. The Black hair business is a Billion dollar business! (Yup BILLION). We spend more on our hair then any other race! Why is that ? One theory would be that we love to spend our money on products that will make our hair "behave" the way we want it to or in some cases turn our "bad hair" into "good hair".
Damnnn!
When someone is said to have good hair, it usually means that their hair is straighter ( not neccessarily bone straight, but curly more on a wave instead of a kinky, coily curl) longer and softer. This term has it's origins as far back as the slavery days when slaves where divided and segregated using this term. Those that had "good hair" were usually house slaves instead of spending countless hours in the hot sun and were overall treated better. So the term "good hair" is usually associated with a "good life" or a "better life". When you think about it that term still applies today. Think about it, how many women do you see rocking an afro to work? The common belief that bone straight hair will give you a better life has subtly made it's way into the 21st century. It is commonly believed that if you rock your hair naturally you won't be able to get a job or move up in your job, you won't be taken seriously, you won't find a mate to love you and have children with as well as other things. So the term "good hair" is correlated with survival the same way it was back in slavery days.
The question is, are we going to continue to stand for this? Are we going to continue to go along with the status quo or are we going to change things up. Natually kinky coily hair isn't going anywhere so why do we keep trying to hide it as if it doesn't exist. It's time to take a stand and realize that our natural hair is beautiful too. In the end good hair and the concept of beauty should be one that is developed for one's self, not what the media thinks. Good hair should mean healthy hair, that makes you feel beautiful and confident no matter what the texture or length :D
cute..
Esperanza rocking the natural curls :)
Solange Taking charge of what beauty means to her.
Chrisette Michele did it too.
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