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Ignorant comments from ignorant childish people will be ignored!!
As always happy to speak to those who are intelligent, inspiring and have something positive to add to this thread.
No you mean your happy to speak to those that are intersted in getting SistaLocs or want ot get rid of a perm. Someone with a difference of opinion you just cant handle and thats fine.
Reading through this thread, I guess I am just really saddened that many of "us" still have myths and stereotypes about each other and the ways in which we choose to wear our hair.
Mythbuster #1 Just be an AfrAm woman decides to wear her natural, it does not mean that she will have short hair. Natural Afro-textured hair can grow to great lengths if you know how to properly care for the hair and retain your growth (ie prevent breakage)
Mythbuster #2 Natural hair does not only mean a twa (teenie weenie afro) or locs. While these styles are flattering on many AfrAm women, these are not the only natural styles. Research braidout styles for examples of the cute styles that can be achieved with hair that is not chemically processed
Mythbuster#3 AfrAm women who decide to go natural are militant, Afrocentric, lesbian, etc. And again, while there is nothing wrong with being any of the above, natural hair is not an indication of these things.
Mythbuster#4 AfrAm women who have made the personal decision to go natural are not trying to "convert" those with relaxers but I think that in the zeal to explain away the Afro-texture hair myths it may come across as "preaching" or "being condescending" when the advice is only meant to be informative.
I would hope that we have moved beyond name calling and belittling each other for our respective hair style choices.
As I have said many, many times. If people are going to add their 2 cents to a thread it should be on topic. The focus of this thread is not about weave's or hair relaxers...... however because most women are transitioning from weaving and relaxing to natural hair we can discuss weaves and relaxers when talking about what caused us to go natural. Therefore if you are relaxing your hair........plan on continuing to relax your hair........then you have no place on a thread where other women are discussing wearing their natural hair.
In other words you have nothing to contribute to the discussion so move on!
I just got the "big chop" today. So far, no one has had any negative comments, not that it really matters.
I'm looking forward to getting a teeny weeny afro but as of now, it's REALLY short but it suits my face.
I was going to get it done without telling my mom but I told her last night and after some protest, she finally said she supports me and she knows I'll do whatever I want to do anyway.
I'm looking forward to the process and the new road ahead.
Are any of you members on Nappturality? If so, message me.
I just got the "big chop" today. So far, no one has had any negative comments, not that it really matters.
I'm looking forward to getting a teeny weeny afro but as of now, it's REALLY short but it suits my face.
I was going to get it done without telling my mom but I told her last night and after some protest, she finally said she supports me and she knows I'll do whatever I want to do anyway.
I'm looking forward to the process and the new road ahead.
Are any of you members on Nappturality? If so, message me.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! This is very exciting.......another trailblazer!
Welcome to freedom. Glad you decided to go natural.....with time you will be rewarded with long, healthy hair. I have visited Nappturality several times but have not created a membership........I will join the site today.
I'm not saying you can't be beautiful and natural, but when there's so much fun you can have, who'd want to? I think it has nothing to do with not being proud of your heritage, and everything to do with girls love to get dolled up.
honestly, I think you can do just as much, if not more, w/ natural hair than w/ relaxed hair. natural hair can be hot pressed to be straight, can be twisted, put up in bantu knots, can be put up in "fro hawks", afros, afro puffs, twas, the list goes on. I think having relaxed hair can be a bit more limiting. or rather, many w/ relaxed hair don't seem to be as adventurous and keep their hair down and bone striaght.
It's funny that you should mention it because I just got a relaxer this morning
As far as natural goes, I disagree w/ the statement that it is not as much maintenance as relaxed hair...I'm 20 yrs old & have been relaxing my hair since I was about 11, it has gotten pretty long now & I would prefer myself to keep it this way, yes it is a lot of maintenance but black hair in general is a lot of maintenance. One of my cousins chopped all of her hair off & is now sporting a cute curly 'fro, however she puts it in plaits @ night & then picks it out in the morning & she spends a lot of money on sheen, oil, etc.
just my $0.02
I think ease of maintenance varies per person based on their hair type. for me, I had dreams of a giant afro (a la Angela Davis) and just got sick of all the time and energy it took to condition and detangle my hair. I found that I was always happiest w/ my hair when I had it in twists and twist outs. I was literally spending over an hour deep conditioning my hair, carefully combing it to avoid tangles, then picking it into an afro. and every morning before class I had to spend time reshaping the afro. it was just a bit too high maintenance for me, which is why I went w/ locs (though I never had too much issues w/ twists. just did them while I watched a movie or surfed the net)
Quote:
Originally Posted by thriftylefty
It is very hard for a black woman who enjoys long hair to wear it naturally.
IDK, it's hard to tell length w/ natural hair since it curls up on itself so much. in the past, after I would wash my hair, I would get so excited about how long my hair was, only to be disappointed when it shrunk back to half the length. now I just live w/ the shrinkage and don't worry too much about overall length, esp. since my hair, before I got locs, tended to grow up and out as opposed to down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by calipoppy
One of the things that I hate most are the "myths" surrounding natural afro texture hair. Especially the following
2) Natural afro textured hair is "unprofessional"
5) Natural afro texture hair isn't attractive...also really irks me
I remember a while back there was some controversy regarding a comment a Glamour magazine staffer said regarding natural hair, basically calling it a "Don't". it's said to think people still think that way. I was very fortunate that when I first went natural, I was working at a very supportive job where my bosses never batted an eye at my 2-3 textured hair
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewYorkBorn
It is actually the opposite problem from my point of view. Always had to worry about the rain ruining my perm.........whenever it would get wet it would ruin my new do! I no longer have the problem of worrying about running home to blow dry, hot curl or flat iron permed hair after getting caught in the rain......in fact I no longer run to get an umbrella when it rains. Now when my locks get wet from the rain it adds to the beauty of them.........the water causes the ends of my locks to curl up more and I love it.
LOL, I remember the church I used to go to taking trips to a beach and one woman refused to go in the water w/o covering her hair in a shower cap b/c she was afraid of her perm "washing out"! IMO, natural hair is far more forgiving of water and a bit of humidity than relaxed hair. water is Nature's moisturizer, don't cha know
Quote:
Originally Posted by ParkerP
Its also regional. You'll tend to see more naturals in NY, DC, Philly than say Cincinatti or St. Louis. I'm starting to see a lot more in Chicago too. Here are a few of my favorite youtube naturals. The last 2 have awesome shrinkage...
awesome videos. I love checking out nappy heads on youtube! BTW, I LOVE your location (yey for Stephen King fans!)
Last edited by eevee; 07-29-2009 at 12:34 PM..
Reason: sp
" LOL, I remember the church I used ot go to taking trips to a beach and one woman refused to go in the water w/o covering her hair in a shower cap b/c she was afraid of her perm "washing out"! IMO, natural hair is far more forgiving of water and a bit of humidity than relaxed hair. water is Nature's moisturizer, don't cha know "
LMAO!! This is exactly what I mean when I have said to other black women that we need to take our freedom back.
The freedom to get our hair wet in the pool without the worry of wearing a swimming cap to protect a permed head.
The freedom to get in the shower wash our hair and then come out and just let it air dry on it's own without the use of heat (blow dryers and flat irons) which is another thing that can cause damage.
The freedom to let our men run their hands through our hair without fear that they will feel the weave tracks sewn into our hair.
As you mentioned I chose to have locks because there is no combing or detangling of hair involved therefore cutting down on maintenance time that would rob me of the ability to enjoy my natural hair. All I have to do is wash, condition and twist it every 5-6 weeks. Can't be simpler.
There are some women that will argue and say that their hair is long with a perm. I say natural hair is always going to grow longer then relaxed hair..........the forcing of our hair to be something it was never meant to be by using chemicals is what causes the breakage and therefore causes us to lose more hair then we are gaining!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! This is very exciting.......another trailblazer!
Welcome to freedom. Glad you decided to go natural.....with time you will be rewarded with long, healthy hair. I have visited Nappturality several times but have not created a membership........I will join the site today.
I have the same name on there.
I definitely feel free. A lot of times I didn't go swimming in the summer for fear of "messing up my hair" or "getting the perm washed out" but now I really feel like swimming. Right now it's raining and I can go outside without an umbrella if I want. I am lovin' the freedom! I might keep it short for a bit because it feels that great.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eevee
honestly, I think you can do just as much, if not more, w/ natural hair than w/ relaxed hair. natural hair can be hot pressed to be straight, can be twisted, put up in bantu knots, can be put up in "fro hawks", afros, afro puffs, twas, the list goes on. I think having relaxed hair can be a bit more limiting. or rather, many w/ relaxed hair don't seem to be as adventurous and keep thier hair down and bone striaght.
I think it's more the part in bold.
I can't blame you for getting locs. It's something I'll consider in the future. I was lazy with relaxed hair so I really have to kick my butt in gear with natural hair in terms of keeping it moisturized, conditioning it regularly, etc.
I want an afro eventually but it has to be something I can maintain and spend a "reasonable" amount of time on. Of course reasonable varies from person to person.
I probably should stay out of this since I'm a guy but I'll say my peace any way. Black woman using relaxers sadden me. More precisely, the trend of Black women constantly relaxing their hair - for decades. It's one thing to say "Girl, I'm going to wedding and I might get a blow-out or pressed for the day." But to permanently change your hair for decades and then convince yourself "It's just hair." I don't buy it. It's some deep stuff wrapped up in there for a whole culture (is it 8/10?) of women to knowingly use Drano on their heads. Which they know damages their their hair to the point that it won't (do to the relaxer) grow past their ear, and then compensate by wearing wigs and weaves which in turn further damages their hair. Something's wrong with that and there are no arguments that I've ever heard convince me otherwise.
PS - And maybe it's pride, but if I were a girl, I would be damned if I would sit on a train with a weave or wig on my head knowing that many White, Asian, and Latina women are secretly laughing at me or worse pitying me. No ma'am. I'd happy and nappy any day. Just my opinion...
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This is very exciting.......another trailblazer! 
I no longer have the problem of worrying about running home to blow dry, hot curl or flat iron permed hair after getting caught in the rain......in fact I no longer run to get an umbrella when it rains. Now when my locks get wet from the rain it adds to the beauty of them.........the water causes the ends of my locks to curl up more and I love it.
