African American Women & The Natural Hair Movement (store, relaxer, salon)

[NewYorkBorn]

Originally Posted by ParkerP

Its happening but very slowly, lol. Just go to youtube, type in natural hair care, and you will see a ton of videos from naturals, transitioners, and those contemplating it. You'll get tips from styles to even how to comb your hair properly. The problem is when a lot of women go natural, they treat their natural hair the same way they did their relaxed hair, so of course its going to be harder. Natural hair care requires an entirely different technique right down to what kind of comb to use to comb it. It also requires an entirely different mindset. Imagine trying to go natural and you got your momma, sister, boyfriend, etc in your ear telling you how bad you need to "perm that nappy ish" "you'll never get a job" "you'll never get a man" blah blah. Going natural is more than a notion for some. Some women have no support at all.

I think every one should try it at least once though. If you want to go back to perms fine. But for those who have been permed since the age of 5 and never known what their natural hair texture even looks like, give it a shot. You just might like it. And the best part? You'll be able to scratch your head whenever you want and not have to run from the rain! LOL

It's like my mother always said........how do we know whether we like something or not if we never try it? You are right it is hard to go natural when we have a bunch of negative people around us telling us to perm those naps. A year ago when I was growing my perm out.......my grandmother came for a visit and she said that to me.........."girl you need to do something with that hair"!! But I was determined to grow the perm out of my hair so I did not let that stop me. I am so glad I grew out the perm and had locs done (Sisterlocks)......it is one of the smartest decisions I have made in my life, they are beautiful. The good part is that with locks there is no combing........just wash, condition and go!

I am a big fan of Youtube too every since I had my Sisterlocks done.........I love watching the women post their hair timeline and show the before and after pictures!!

LOL, have to laugh about that hair scratching part.......another reason I was tired of the perming.......forget not to scratch before getting the perm done........next thing you know have a head full of scabs!

[NewYorkBorn]

Originally Posted by Rita Mordio

A coworker of mine just switched out for being all-natural. She went on a vacation with her daughter around California... and came back with a wig on. When I asked her about it (just curious), she said she got rid of all her damaged hair and was starting over without processing it anymore. A few months later, she came in with no wig... and she's got gorgeous hair that looks great on her.

That is fantastic......would love to see pictures of her hair. This is the thing about the perms.........just the act of perming is automatically going to cause damage because the hair shaft is being stripped away and altered from it's natural state.

[YBF]

Originally Posted by NewYorkBorn

If it does not apply.....then let it fly!! This thread was not directed at black women who are perming their hair to begin with. This thread is directed at those that are NATURAL or CONSIDERING GOING NATURAL and where they see the natural hair movement going in the future. However as with all of the threads on this forum there are always those that will twist what is being discussed and respond eventhough it has nothing to do with them. It is exactly the opposite.....we have been "pigeonhold" (brainwashed) to wear our hair permed in order to fit in to main stream society......I hear that from AA women all the time, "if I wear my hair natural I will not have certain opportunities". This has nothing to do with hair dye, curling hair or wearing makeup!! This is another way these threads fall off topic.

Compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges! If someone wears makeup at the end of the day they go home, wash their face and the makeup washes away.........if a woman perms her hair it does not simply wash away at the end of the day, it must be grown out or cut out.......big difference. As I said in my previous post on this topic.........my reasons for going natural came through wisdom, digging deep down inside myself and admiting the real reasons I was perming my hair for so many years and the understanding of who I am and who God created me to be.........therefore I stopped worrying about what the people in society think because I am more concerned with what God thinks! It is easy to gain the favor of the world and lose our souls! I used to tell myself the same thing.....perming was just easier for me.........when really part of the reason I always ran to perm my hair was because whenever I attempted to grow out the perm..........there were other AA women saying "girl you need to go and do something with that hair"! Those are my reasons.......take from that what you may.......if you are happy perming and see no reason to stop........good for you keep perming.

I wonder if people would feel the need to defend themselves about their practices if deep down they did not find something wrong with their motives. Speaking of self-hatred and low self esteem, we just watched a world icon (Michael Jackson) die and he had big time self esteem and identity crisis problems. I suspect the ills of this society, the images we see on television and the brainwashing affected him too. Enough to make him bleach his skin, have a bunch of nose jobs and lie about biologically fathering children that are clearly all white! Maybe we should learn something from this person who gained the world because of his talents but lost himself in the process.

Wow, never ceases to amaze me how people can take an innocent thread on this forum and turn it into a controversy! ("When ever I hear this topic I just cant help but feel like this is some reverse racism/self hatred") This stuff is so in-bred in us as black people and we have been so twisted up that we can not even come to terms with whats really going on so the minute the topic of hair is mentioned we feel we must attack other people for exposing it.

This subject has nothing to do with god or Michael Jackson. God didnt great the perm a black woman did....and you ppl fail to realize is that America is a melting pot.....you give some of you culture away and take some others...that is why you see white women getting but injections and botox for bigger lips and in every city in America there is a tanning salon. We are black americans...we dont live in Africa any more and even if we did I very much doubt that we would be wearing a fro...sorry but we wouldnt...Afros didnt even exist until around the 70s in AMERICA...so please save me the drama..."This stuff is so in-bred in us as black people and we have been so twisted up that we can not even come to terms with whats really going on"---so true!!!

[YBF]

Originally Posted by NewYorkBorn

This is the reason I have said that this is not simply about the choice of different hairstyles......there are still a lot of ignorant people in this world. But good for you, glad that you don't regret it .

For me the other factor that stopped me from the perming was the day I decided just out of curiosity to read the back of the perm box and see what the heck are in the chemicals. There are things in the perms that we can not even pronounce!! We already live in a world full of chemicals in the food, chemicals in the products we use on other parts of our body.........in my opinion the perming was one less chemical I could do without.......especially not knowing what the long term health affects will be years from now. Then we wonder why there is such a problem with cancer and other diseases in this society.

I am also noticing a lot more women starting to go natural.......I am also constantly stopped when I am out in public to ask about my hair. I believe that the more of us that wear our hair natural the more other women will see that and feel comfortable doing it.

Perms have bee naround since atleast the early 1900s and black women have been using them ever since...Im sure we would see some health effect by now...Im just saying

[NewYorkBorn]

Originally Posted by YBF

This subject has nothing to do with god or Michael Jackson. God didnt great the perm a black woman did....and you ppl fail to realize is that America is a melting pot.....you give some of you culture away and take some others...that is why you see white women getting but injections and botox for bigger lips and in every city in America there is a tanning salon. We are black americans...we dont live in Africa any more and even if we did I very much doubt that we would be wearing a fro...sorry but we wouldnt...Afros didnt even exist until around the 70s in AMERICA...so please save me the drama..."This stuff is so in-bred in us as black people and we have been so twisted up that we can not even come to terms with whats really going on"---so true!!!

This thread is not about white women and botox injections in their butts, tanning salons nor is it about you perming your hair. There are general beauty threads on those topics if that is what you want to discuss. As far as Michael Jackson is concerned...........he is a good example of what has gone wrong in America and that is why he is mentioned. You are not natural.........you are perming your hair.........therefore this thread has nothing to do with you........if it does not apply then let it fly.....if you are happy with perming your hair then continue to do it. The very fact that you keep coming back to this thread to debate about your hair choices is making you look like there is an issue deep down inside of you! So spare me the drama.........I don't have the time or the interest to debate about silly nonsense!

[NewYorkBorn]

Originally Posted by YBF

Perms have bee naround since atleast the early 1900s and black women have been using them ever since...Im sure we would see some health effect by now...Im just saying

The last time I checked no one has done a door to door survey to find out what is causing all of these health problems in the black community! Therefore I am not going to keep adding yet another chemical to my body and risk my health. Your body you do what you want to do with it!

[Little Mizz Pittsburgh]

I've always noticed that these types of threads tend to get out of control. I remember there was a thread on Black Planet YEARRRRRRRRRRRRS ago that went on and on and on and on and on....the natural heads vs. the relaxer heads. Lots of name calling and all of that.

I don't have a problem with people who choose to go natural. What I have a problem with are the people who USED to get relaxers who suddenly become self-righteous when they decide to go natural. If YOU decide to go natural, well, then good for you, but don't choose to look down upon other people who still choose to relax.

And, the chemical in my body excuse crap, still til' this day, cracks me the hell up when it comes out of the mouths of natural heads. They used to use that a lot, in that thread I was talking about on Black Planet. There are chemicals you consume EVERY DAY. If you eat ANY type of meat, that's a chemical you're putting in your body, the spray they're using to spray the fruits and veggies in the super market, is another chemical you're putting in your body, the deodorant you use every day is another chemical you're putting in your body, the tooth paste you use every day is another chemical you're putting in your body, the air we breathe, every day, in some of our neighborhoods, are FILLED with chemicals....I mean, the list is endless, so please stop coming at relaxer heads with that excuse because its tired. Okay we get it. You don't want to put another chemical in YOUR body... My grandmother is pushing 80 and has been relaxing and eating pork for YEARS, and she's still alive and kickin'....when its your time to go, then its just your time to go.

[ParkerP]

Originally Posted by NewYorkBorn

It's like my mother always said........how do we know whether we like something or not if we never try it? You are right it is hard to go natural when we have a bunch of negative people around us telling us to perm those naps. A year ago when I was growing my perm out.......my grandmother came for a visit and she said that to me.........."girl you need to do something with that hair"!! But I was determined to grow the perm out of my hair so I did not let that stop me. I am so glad I grew out the perm and had locs done (Sisterlocks)......it is one of the smartest decisions I have made in my life, they are beautiful. The good part is that with locks there is no combing........just wash, condition and go!

I am a big fan of Youtube too every since I had my Sisterlocks done.........I love watching the women post their hair timeline and show the before and after pictures!!

LOL, have to laugh about that hair scratching part.......another reason I was tired of the perming.......forget not to scratch before getting the perm done........next thing you know have a head full of scabs!

Yeah I was thinking about Sisterlocks when I first cut off my perm too but the price to get them started and re-twisted is what kept me at bay. I may consider it later but I'm just enjoying my loose hair for now. I wear it in puffs, twistouts, braidouts, and if I want it straight I can just flat iron.

I think the thing is a lot of black women never saw wearing natural hair as an option unless it was locks or a short fro. I know I had no idea of the wide range of styles. Growing up, its like once you get a certain age you get a perm and that's it. That was the norm, irregardless of the damage and breakage you better slap on that perm as soon as a nap appears, LOL. So by seeing all those damaged heads of hair, its no wonder most of us would believe in the "Black women's hair doesn't grow" myth. But I'm getting too deep and that's a whole nother thread LOL

[YBF]

Originally Posted by Little Mizz Pittsburgh

I've always noticed that these types of threads tend to get out of control. I remember there was a thread on Black Planet YEARRRRRRRRRRRRS ago that went on and on and on and on and on....the natural heads vs. the relaxer heads. Lots of name calling and all of that.

I don't have a problem with people who choose to go natural. What I have a problem with are the people who USED to get relaxers who suddenly become self-righteous when they decide to go natural. If YOU decide to go natural, well, then good for you, but don't choose to look down upon other people who still choose to relax.

And, the chemical in my body excuse crap, still til' this day, cracks me the hell up when it comes out of the mouths of natural heads. They used to use that a lot, in that thread I was talking about on Black Planet. There are chemicals you consume EVERY DAY. If you eat ANY type of meat, that's a chemical you're putting in your body, the spray they're using to spray the fruits and veggies in the super market, is another chemical you're putting in your body, the deodorant you use every day is another chemical you're putting in your body, the tooth paste you use every day is another chemical you're putting in your body, the air we breathe, every day, in some of our neighborhoods, are FILLED with chemicals....I mean, the list is endless, so please stop coming at relaxer heads with that excuse because its tired. Okay we get it. You don't want to put another chemical in YOUR body... My grandmother is pushing 80 and has been relaxing and eating pork for YEARS, and she's still alive and kickin'....when its your time to go, then its just your time to go.

Thank you LMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My point exactly!!!!!!

I guess my take on this thread was that somehow I am not black enough or I am ashamed of who I am because I get relaxers...maybe I am wrong for taking it that way but that is the tone I read. In America cultures are constantly mixing and changing. I am not trying to be someone who I am not but I am not my hair so if I perm my hair or I wear an afro dont assume you know me or what I am about.

[YBF]

Originally Posted by NewYorkBorn

This thread is not about white women and botox injections in their butts, tanning salons nor is it about you perming your hair. There are general beauty threads on those topics if that is what you want to discuss. As far as Michael Jackson is concerned...........he is a good example of what has gone wrong in America and that is why he is mentioned. You are not natural.........you are perming your hair.........therefore this thread has nothing to do with you........if it does not apply then let it fly.....if you are happy with perming your hair then continue to do it. The very fact that you keep coming back to this thread to debate about your hair choices is making you look like there is an issue deep down inside of you! So spare me the drama.........I don't have the time or the interest to debate about silly nonsense!

I am not debating my hair choices at all because nothing you can say will change my mind but I am in this thread stating that your "facts" (for lack of a better word) came off as your way(natural) is somehow better (than permed)not me. If that is your opinion then state it as your opinion not a fact. Coloring you hair isnt natural so that counts so if you bleach dye or put a rinse in your hair that is in fact a chemical. And the pictures you posted I am going to assume that is her Natural hair color too right?