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Why Are So Many Black Women Afraid to "Go Natural"??
Posted by lotusb • 5/04/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: black hair, hair
So many black women talk about wearing their hair natural as if it's jumping through a fiery hoop...why is that?
Why is it so taboo for a black woman to wear her hair nappy and free as opposed to sleek and straigtned?
Thoughts?
User Comments
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what do u mean... ? Hair nappy?-
Natural...we refer to our hair as "nappy" meaning it's tight coiled or kinky hair.
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i see... that's kinky~
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It's the same thing. Kinky hair nappy hair....
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It may be because it seems in terms of hair in general, so many of us want what we haven't got! I mean, I spent many years with perms to have the curly hair I wasn't born with.-
Your pic shows big curls .. lovely
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True. But the standard of beauty (according to the advertisment companies, studio execs...etc.) is that long flowing hair (of any texture...curly, or stright) is beautiful. Women who show up to work with their natural hair all over, get strange looks (I should know)...but it's ok for them to sew Indian hair into their roots and look like something they are not.
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Thanks.
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Fashions change - during the 1970's, "natural" hair was much more common. If Michelle Obama wore her hair in that manner, I suggest it would become fashionable again.-
Is Rebonding popular where u are?
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That style of afros became a "style" because Negros were becoming "Black and Proud" and the statement of being so was wearing your hair natural...it was a political statment to rock a fro...not a style. It BECAME a style from popularity but it's no longer associated with being proud of your heritage like it once was. Before that time Black people pressed and straightened their hair just like they do now.
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I wonder how negros comb their hairs... can you comb it?
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I hope your being funny...
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Just ignore him. He made some comments on another thread too and is trying to be funny.
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It's an issue that feeds itself...young black people don't see many people with natural hair so they adopt the societal norm of straightening their own hair...ad infinitum...
As greencurmudgeon said, if someone like Michelle Obama were to wear her hair naturally I imagine many more people would follow suit.-
I agree with that. If she did it would definatley at least be a talked about more. I like that point.
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@lotusb
Actually I was wondering that too. I always liked the natural look in the 70's (my college days)similiar to the style on your avatar, yet I very seldom ever see that anymore. My best friend wore her hair natural last month for about 3 weeks and everyone was oooohhing and ahhhing over it.. Yet she went back to the braids. I think it looks great both ways. She said her hair is too brittle to do anything with.-
I think education has a lot to do with it....not as many black women know how to care for their own hair unless it's straightening, pressing or braids... Braids actually cause permanate balding...
I think there should be more resourses for black women to understand their own hair and how to care for it..
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could it be because it is difficult to maintain? I'm not sure....-
Definately..."it's harder to maintain" is a big reason. But actually it's a fact that there is actually a lot LESS maintainance needed to wear one's hair natural compared to keeping up a straigt look....
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@lotusb
Do you think that there is still this lingering idea that white women are how women are supposed to look?-
Perhaps... I mean look at the majority of the famous/main stream black women... Beyonce, Tyra Banks, Oprah...even the First Lady...They straighten their hair when they can afford the time and care it would take to wear their hair natural. It's because the people who market them see more $ and public appeal and even sexual appeal if they look like the "black version" of a white woman.
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It's also noticeable that the more successful many black women get the blonder their hair gets.
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Lol...well that's debatable and maybe even true for all races...
But straighter hair...definately. Longer hair...definately... -
This is true...everyone seems to go blonde when they get famous...the reason for which escapes me entirely!
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Do you think it might also relate to the social aspect found in beauty shops, where having hair braided or straightened isn't just the act itself, but getting to spend time with friends and neighbors?
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I don't know...I go to a natural hair salon. My stylist is awesome, I go there watch movies get my hair conditioned and it's a routine thing as well, although my visits cost around $40 a month compared to $80 every 2 weeks.
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Ah, so that would still allow the social fix to some extent, but keep costs down.
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Exactly...When I used to get my hair braided it cost upwards of $200 a month to have that done, it took about 12 hours and it literally pulled my hair out from the roots in some parts....not worth it.
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bloody hell! Why would anyone do that?!
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Because it looks good...because they don't have to "do" hair and I think, because it's socially acceptable to have long braids than to have a curly afro or whatever your hair looks like natural.
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I can't imagine spending $200 to spend 12 hours with someone pulling my hair out...looks be damned!
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I miss the afros. In the 1970s that is all I saw. If someone had short hair, black or white back then, it was considered weird. Now today everyone has short hair it seems. How come nobody brings them back? -
Women have been styling their hair for centuries, and that includes African Women (in some tribes they shaved it off, dyed it, curled it with rods and clay, or straightened it with grease), so when you say natural what do you mean? You mean not style it at all?
I think it a shame women can't just have the style they want without being criticized for straightening it, colouring it or having it natural.
On a side note I am seeing more young men and women in this area (yellow Springs Ohio) going natural.-
I think the point lotusb is making is that having unstraightened hair very unusual for some reason. You can only call something choice if the people involved are really choosing their style rather than adopting what is expected of them.
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I know I got it Siuil, I grew up in the 60's and 70's when afros were popular and now they aren't, but I am seeing a comeback.
I guess my point is that fashion changes and cycles and each time it does there is a social pressure that goes with it. -
@Jafa...
If you read above I mean natural texture...not waking up and looking a mess.
The fact of the matter is that continued straightening leads to baldness, thinning, scalp problems and burns on your scalp...it's not exactly healthy.
Most black woman that I've talked to and that's literally hundreds on this topic claim they straighten out of the fact that they know they will be looked at differently and made self conscious of not having long or straight hair. Maintainance is an issue as well, and that comes from not knowing how to care for their hair. Straight styles that MORE effort than natural. -
Fashion dosen't seem to have much of an impact on how white women do their hair. Changing the color...yes...Style and cut...yes...but have you ever seen a woman implant fake hair in her head to get a kinky look? Has that ever been a trend?
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THere is a whole history of women doing things for beauty and to their hair that is not healthy, so it isn't something that is new or going to change. I think if African American women want to set a trend, they can do what the women of the 60's did, just DO IT!
"Fashion dosen't seem to have much of an impact on how white women do their hair. "
are you kidding!
www.marquise.de/en/1700/howto/frisuren/frisuren.shtml
www.ukhairdressers.com/history of hair.asp
www.lphouse.com/1930s.htm
www.lphouse.com/1900s.htm
and check out this contraption, looks like she is being tortured.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Icall_Machine_1920.jpg -
True...torure in the name of beauty is historically the "curse" of beaing a woman. I understand that aspect.
But the point I'm making is that a lot of black women are so caught up in comparing their beauty to "white" standards that they surpass straightnening their hair for beauty and do it because it's expected of them.
It's ok for there to be differences within each racial experiance. That dosen't make one above the other. I'm not fighting race equality here...I'm just pointing out the fact that black woman...a lot of them...don't want to be caught with a wig on their head because wearing their hair natural isn't considered to be beautiful... In this day and age...THIS day and age...not the 1800's...to me...thats a damn shame.
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I think you should organise something online...for black women who want to wear their hair naturally...get as many people involved as possible and pick a day where everyone goes out with their naturally textured hair. You could raise awareness of how to care for their hair and people will feel a sense of solidarity knowing that loads of people are doing it that day...
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Thats a good idea..I was actually thinking about something like that.
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Vive la revolution!!
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Lol....
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I think that is a great idea!
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It could be a "Curl Out" like that day out of the year when everyons is supposed to not fill their tanks...
Hee hee... -
You should do it! Set up a website and get all your friends involved and all the bloggers you know and spread the word...it could be really big!
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This is Tiffany of SistaWAHMs and this conversation is really interesting to me because for almost a year now I have worn my hair natural....meaning in an Afro.
Did I make the decision to go natural because I wanted to?
No, actually it was a decision I HAD to make because I was a victim of a bad perm.
Perming my hair is what I've done since I was a girl and each time I got chemical burns because of it. This thinned my hair, and broke it off badly.
When I was going to the beautician my hair was permed but turned out way more healthy because a professional was doing my hair. It kept my hair looking straight, silky, and healthy.
Which, at the end of the day is what I wanted, but when I did my own perms after starting college, that is when my hair took a turn for the worse.
Not going to a beautician to get my hair done was my first mistake, doing my own perms was my second mistake.
But as you all may know with every adversity comes the opportunity for an equal or greater good, and that is so true with my hair.
After my hair literally fell out from a bad perm less than a year ago, I was distraught.
All I could think is now I will look like "a chicken head" for the rest of my life...lol.
It shamed me, saddened me, and left me forced to make a decision. I would either:
1- go to a beautician and have her cut off all the dead ends and perm it so I can get that straight look back, or
2- go natural and see what that will do for me and my hair.
Go natural? I was scared to death every time I thought of what I would look like natural. I kept saying to myself Tiffany, your forehead is too big for that, your hair will be to nappy(kinky) for that look, your outfits will look less appealing because the hair will throw it off.
But...I had to make some sort of choice and after I got to the beauty shop and she asked: what we gone do with your hair...I said: well, I guess since a perm got me into this mess, I will just go natural....still unsure of what I really wanted to do.
Sidenote: "What I have not mentioned is that when my hair started to fall out, I was so depressed about it, that I waited 6 months to go and get it done, I just let my hair shed shorter and shorter every day".
So, when the beautician looked at my hair, she said all the perm is gone...it had all fallen out, you hair is already in it's natural state.
That helped to confirmed that I should go natural, and so I did.
She washed it, cut it shorter than what it was, conditioned it, and that was it.
When I got out the chair to look at my hair, I was full of mixed emotions and had my hands over my eyes till I mustered up the courage to look.
I was pumping myself up by thinking of what I should be happy about in this moment. I was happy my hair would no longer look like rats had been nibbling in my head, happy that I still had some hair, happy that it felt healthy, and happy that I would be able to start getting it to grow back.
But, I was scared at what I would actually look like with a small, and I mean small baby fro.
I kept telling myself, you will look good, it will be just what you needed, and it will open so many new opportunities for your mind, body, and soul.
So, I opened my eyes. And then just stood there grinning really really big
I loved it! It was short, fro'ed out and natural, as natural as natural could get. I had never seen myself like this before, but I was really digging it.
What I did afterwords is what confirmed this would be the hairstyle fit for Tiffany.
I went to the Chinese hair store and bought me a bunch of assorted head bans. What I wanted to be able to do was give myself a unique look on a daily basis that would add style and flare to my wardrobe.
The headbands accomplished just that...I love my headbands and I have many in different colors, shapes, materials and sizes.
What have others who know me and be around me had to say about my Afro?
Well, truth be told, I worried about that little, but it did cause me to worry some.
When friends and family members see my hair they really like it and embrace it. They say, ohh, my hair is so bad gurl, I need to get my hair done like that...I like it...who did it.
Or they say...OMG, you hair looks so healthy and full...that is beautiful.
The men who see me say things like, they digg a natural woman, they appreciate my natural look...can I get them digits...lol. I get more men hallin at me with my fro than I did when I didn't have it!
I have even had a cousin get her perm cut off so she can go natural, and my neighbors always compliment me when I step out the door, it never fails, they seem to be in awe with my hair.
Going natural has done great things for my hair such as caused it to grow scarily fast...I mean one morning I had a baby fro, and the next morning my afro was so big and long that I couldn't even see my head bands when I put them on...lol.
My hair is thick, healthy, beautiful, and fits me and who I am so much more naturally. The best part is how quickly and easily I get to do my hair now. It takes me less than 5 minutes to style my hair.
All that I have to do is:
1- spray my hair with conditioners that I have concocted using my own special mixtures,
2- pick my hair out with a comb,
3- put a head band on...even though I can't see them much now and
4- then pat my Afro into shape.
That is it...so fast, simple, and fun.
My hair never sheds...it used to shed badly when I combed my hair and had a perm, hair was all over the sink, floor, and my clothes...but not anymore.
So why are so many black women afraid to go natural?
I would guess from my own experience, that you fear what you don't know.
You don't know what you will look like, if others will like it, if it is going to be a good fit for you, or whatever can be thought up.
What celebs look like phases me little, I am not the one who wants to look like the latest star, but many of us use that as our guide on how we are supposed to look...therefore if an Afro is not on the big screens then that means it is not a big thing to want to do.
If we go natural we look different...or do we? To each his own I say.
Will I ever go back to a perm? Hell no!
This Afro is me, it is who I am and I am proud to be Rockin it!
I have no pictures of me with my Afro up online so I will get some up for those of you who may be interested in seeing a proud African American woman Rockin her natural hair in the 21st century.
@lotusb, I like the suggestions made about getting women together and going natural one day....that would be interesting so hit me up so we can discuss this together for sure.
Glad you asked this question....great discussion here...and glad to be apart of it.
Thanks,
Tiffany of SistaWAHMs -
There are more and more black women going natural everyday. There are a ton of hair boards for black women, relaxed, natural, transitioning, etc.
maneandchic.blogspot.com/
www.curlynikki.com/ -
Corporate America will not let Black women 'go natural'. They don't think it fits the corporate image. -
Taffany I read the whole article and learned a lot I didn’t know. That was a Great article. Keep up the good works. Myself, I go bald, I shave my head.
Freddie L. Sirmans, Sr. -
I live in Africa and most of the urban/suburban black women I see do not have natural hair, which I think is sad. So many have stiff, dull fried hair or braids that cause their hairlines recede, so few have soft, natural hair.
I have straight, baby fine hair. I hate it. I used to have a black roommate who wore her hair natural and I must admit I was SO jealous! She could wash it, towel it dry, apply a little conditioner to the ends, and she was ready to go out the door, all before I could get the tangles out of my own hair! Her hair was just beautiful and so soft.
I can't imagine why black women don't wear their hair natural...they have perfect hair!
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