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I hope you weren't implying that I thought the video was funny. I couldn't even stand to watch the whole thing because it just made me hurt FOR that little girl.
Yeah, I don't really see nappiness as a bad thing. My mom even tried to make a joke about it after I cut my hair and I didn't pay her too much mind. If my natural hair is nappy, so be it.
So, for those of you who have natural hair, do you make your own products, buy them online, buy them at the local drugstore/supercenter/grocery store, or a combination of all three?
I do not want anything to jeopardize the health of my natural hair and there are just too many ingredients in store brought products that I simply can not pronounce.
If I can not pronounce it then that means that it is something bad and it should not be put on my body. As a result I make my own natural hair products, this way I can control what goes into the product and know what is going on my body. I use organic natural oils and other natural ingredients and my hair seems to love it. Another thing I have learned about my natural hair is that it loves water........so the first ingredient in my hair mixes is always water before I put anything else in the mix.
Cool thread. I haven't read through most of the posts, but I will and I agree with what you're saying. I'm in the process of going natural. I haven't relaxed my hair in a year, I've just been braiding(cornrows/box-braids). It would be cool if more black women did the same, but it will take a looonnng time for that to happen. I'm just glad I'm aware of how this trend came about, and that I will no longer be apart of it. Its a conditioning that starts at an early age. From the dolls we play with, our peers, to our favorite stars, and even mom.
Most if not all, of the aforementioned have Straight hair. Black dolls are being manufactured with 'straight hair' still in 2009 !! Why ? Because kinky hair is supposedly not "good hair". Its a silly notion thats been passed down for way too long. Blacks thought good hair, was hair that was closer to European hair. It was a hoax. Theres nothing wrong with European hair, but its not 'better' than West African hair and vice versa.
When Blacks stuck together in the 70's and launched 'Black is Beautiful' it was very common to see black women with afros. Some 40 years later in 2009, seeing a black woman with an afro is now a rarity. What makes me even more pissed is that Blacks reinforce this 'bad hair' crap, by teasing each other about our hair. The "nappy" term is very offensive, but some people say its not depending on how you use it. Almost equivalent to the debate about the other 'N' word. I personally dont like that term cause we didn't come up with it and its still used to offend people. Don Imus anyone ?
I often hear black women worried if they can still attract men with their natural hair. Which is another reason why its still hard for black women to go natural. The 'straight look' will always be in and preferred. But only Black women can turn this trend around. No other race has hair like ours, which is why we're unique. You can still straighten your hair without chemicals.
I think blacks need to stop apologizing for the way we look. I'm not apologizing to anyone for having my texture hair, or my African features. But I'm starting to see more black women going natural hair, and attempting to use weaves that match their natural hair texture. Which is a good thing.....
You made some very good points. Just wanted to stop and say welcome to the natural hair revolution!
Right now I'm just experimenting all over the place. I need a really good leave in conditioner or something I can use every day/every other day to moisturize my hair.
I used some Herbal Essences conditioner last night. I guess my hair seemed to like it...
I also bought some Aussie Moist conditioner so I plan to use that.
I'm trying to experiment as much as I can with things I can find at Wal-Mart or Target before getting online and dealing with all these high shipping costs.
I bought some Coconut oil and castor oil from Whole Foods. I'm using that along with Olive oil after I wash my hair.
I'm considering buying some Oyin products. I'm hearing a lot of good reviews and they have some products that are meant for leave-in. I just need to find a good leave in product that doesn't have proteins. It leaves my hair pretty stiff.
I just hate wasting money on products. If only my hair could speak to me and tell me exactly what products I need to buy.
I used to spend a lot of money on leave in conditioners and moisturizers too until I asked one of my coworkers (she had natural hair but she pressed it) what she used to make her hair so shiny and healthy looking. She said she uses natural vitamin E oil. I went to GNC and brought some and I've been using it ever since. I put it on my hair when it's wet before I blow dry it and then I apply it to my scalp every other day. It keeps my hair moisturized without making it damp, heavy or greasy. I hate to see women with grease stains on their clothes from their hair. A lot of hair stores sell vitamin E oil too but they put it a fancy bottle and wanna charge twice as much.
I used to spend a lot of money on leave in conditioners and moisturizers too until I asked one of my coworkers (she had natural hair but she pressed it) what she used to make her hair so shiny and healthy looking. She said she uses natural vitamin E oil. I went to GNC and brought some and I've been using it ever since. I put it on my hair when it's wet before I blow dry it and then I apply it to my scalp every other day. It keeps my hair moisturized without making it damp, heavy or greasy. I hate to see women with grease stains on their clothes from their hair. A lot of hair stores sell vitamin E oil too but they put it a fancy bottle and wanna charge twice as much.
I might have to pick some of that up.
Right now my little concoction is leaving grease stains all over my pillows.
Right now my little concoction is leaving grease stains all over my pillows.
Yep out of all the hair products I've tried in my lifetime it's truly the only one I've really liked. It's cheap, you can find it everywhere and it doesn't have my hair and forehead looking super shiny. It made me nails grow all nice and purty too My mom's in town for the weekend and I just made her oil my scalp and wrap my hair for me...the things that I didn't appreciate as a kid
If you listen to the story it takes about 13 minutes of your day. It's worth a listen, even if you get through half of it. To really understand it, you have to see this Youtube video:
Someone should call the department of child safety welfare or whatever its called because that is child abuse. What kind of idiot parent does that to their kid and uses that kind of language? The worst kind of parent. Poor little kid. She has no chance with such an idiot mother. She'll be on the pole or in jail by the time she's 19 if someone doesnt do something to help her.
You are amazing! Thank you for such an inspiring post. I really admire your strength, because it's not easy to go against the grain. I speak from experience.
The only thing I want to point out though is the whole formal event=straight hair. I held this idea for many years-natural hair was okay day to day, but I had to press for a special event. But now I realize natural hair can be just as dressy and elegant as straight hair. There are tons of styles and accessories out there.
Thank you. I am happy that you found something positive to what I said. At the time that I fight the powers that be, I was on the receiving end of negative language and actions. I credit my mother for supporting my battles as she and my late grandma fought many. We have social activists in our family and it made it easier for me to shake things up.
You are right that natural hair can be formal too. It just takes different approach like moisturizing more and using a lightweight sheen that has plant based oils or silicone surfactants, I hope that's right as I'm not a hairstylist. I also find that using hair clips with cute shapes like flowers highlights the hair. That's one advantage our hair has over European hair as their hair's thinner and lacks the kink to hold the hair ornament without lots of gel, hairspray and clips.
I can relate to a lot of what you are saying my son is mixed Black- Puerto Rican and I have always taught him that no matter what happens in society he is to be proud of his Black, Puerto Rican and Native American heritage. One thing that stands out in my mind was when he became older and would watch me having my hair relaxed and could not understand why I was putting this mess on my head. It was to the point where for example even when I was not wearing a weave my son would think that I had a weave in my hair and would ask me about it. So one day I explained to him that black women relax their hair not just to get it straight but because straight hair is one of the negative legacys that slavery left behind........again the look of confusion was on his face and he asked me why??
That was one of the reasons I decided to put an end to the slave mind and stop torturing my hair with the chemicals and weaving......it all just became so clear to me that it was so uneccessary. As a mother I did not want to give my son the message that it is not ok to be himself. Children imitate what they see.......therefore when they see their parents changing themselves and not being the person that God created they grow up thinking that this behavior is ok. When I look in the mirror I don't want to see an illusion.........I want to see the person that God created me to be, I could not see that person as long as I was changing my hair in an attempt to make it look like something it was never meant to be.
You are absolutely right if we shun the person that God created what can we expect from God? It is unfortunate that most of us do not see the connection between God and what we do to our bodies. It took me years of keeping up with the crowd to understand that if God wanted me to have straight hair he would have created me that way. All the years of fighting a fight that I did not need to fight in the first place!
There is nothing wrong with black hair, there never was anything wrong with black hair, all of this nonsense is the result of the propaganda that white society and the media has put into our heads.
I hear you. I had similar things occur when I was growing up. My grandma came from the old school and would say that black hair was bad. However I noticed that she was insecure because she had to wear wigs after a scalp burning accident. She was a tester for a prominent hair product company and she used their relaxers. The relaxer had too much lye and her hair stopped growing. I recalled an incident in 6th grade where a clasmate asked me if my grandma wore wigs. I denied it and he said that I was lying and began to ridicule her bright auburn hair. I blew up and told him that she only colored her hair and told him that if he kept it up that I was going to beat him up. So he left. That day I was left thinking about hair and how people can cut you down with it.
At that time my hair was changing from loose and wavy to tight and curly. I struggled with that and thought that something was wrong. My mom reassured me that I was just growing up.
My Mom's attitude toward black hair is more positive though she prefers straight or loosely waved and curled hair because she likes the way it looks. She also tells me that she's tried using natural hairstyles and doesn't like the way it looks on her. I respect that because not every black person has to go natural as what matters is what is on the inside.
Mom always has told me to embrace the African, Chinese, Native American and Spanish part of myself. The Native part of me comes from my Mexican father as he was a mestizo. The Cuban part of my mother's family is where the black, Asian and Spanish mixture comes from.
It takes time to relearn positive thinking about us as a people. Change takes time but one day the clouds part and feel the sunlight in our heart and mind and wake up.
I hear you. I had similar things occur when I was growing up. My grandma came from the old school and would say that black hair was bad. However I noticed that she was insecure because she had to wear wigs after a scalp burning accident. She was a tester for a prominent hair product company and she used their relaxers. The relaxer had too much lye and her hair stopped growing. I recalled an incident in 6th grade where a clasmate asked me if my grandma wore wigs. I denied it and he said that I was lying and began to ridicule her bright auburn hair. I blew up and told him that she only colored her hair and told him that if he kept it up that I was going to beat him up. So he left. That day I was left thinking about hair and how people can cut you down with it.
At that time my hair was changing from loose and wavy to tight and curly. I struggled with that and thought that something was wrong. My mom reassured me that I was just growing up.
My Mom's attitude toward black hair is more positive though she prefers straight or loosely waved and curled hair because she likes the way it looks. She also tells me that she's tried using natural hairstyles and doesn't like the way it looks on her. I respect that because not every black person has to go natural as what matters is what is on the inside.
Mom always has told me to embrace the African, Chinese, Native American and Spanish part of myself. The Native part of me comes from my Mexican father as he was a mestizo. The Cuban part of my mother's family is where the black, Asian and Spanish mixture comes from.
It takes time to relearn positive thinking about us as a people. Change takes time but one day the clouds part and feel the sunlight in our heart and mind and wake up.
It sure does take time to unlearn negative things, especially when children have those responsible for teaching them actually re-enforcing a negative stereotype! Yesterday had a business occasion and was really comfortable with my natural hair........no one even raised an eyebrow in shock at the fact that I have locs and that is a good thing! Who knows maybe that is a sign that the world is beginning to make a positive change!
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My mom's in town for the weekend and I just made her oil my scalp and wrap my hair for me...the things that I didn't appreciate as a kid 
