The hair is the richest ornament of the woman and according to the Bible it is also the glory of the woman.
Hair doesn’t just represent a woman’s beauty, it has been used throughout history to indicate a woman’s health status and social position.
The natural hair is the hair in its original form that has not been altered in any way with chemicals, straightners, relaxers and moisturizers.
In recent times a new (yet old) hair style just emerged in the black community – NATURAL HAIR.
The new hair trend seems to have redefined the African woman’s beauty. Before now most women used harsh chemicals to straighten their hairs, but for one reason or another many women including myself have decided to stray from the chemicals.
Wearing natural hair is not as easy or cheap as it seems, it comes with its stress and difficulties. But from my estimate, the advantages and benefits outweighs any negativity associated with it. So if you have made up your mind to wear your natural hair, here are some things you need to know to help in the natural hair movement.
GOING NATURAL: To go natural means, you stop using chemicals to change the texture or natural curl pattern of your hair. That definitely means no relaxers to straighten your hair, no permanents to curl naturally straight hair, and no texturizers to loosen up tight curls. It also entails not using dyes to tint your naturally black or white hair.
THE BIG CHOP: As a result of the harsh chemicals used in straightening and or curling natural hair, the hair shaft has become weak and cannot be reversed. However it doesn’t change their growth. Therefore in moving from relaxed to natural hair, some women prefer what is called the BIG CHOP; meaning you chop off all of your hair, apparently leaving no mix of natural hair and frayed relaxed ends. This process is not easy, but it helps the hair to grow back healthier and stronger.
THE TRANSITION: This simply means moving from relaxed hair to natural hair by just trimming off the relaxed hair gradually until you are left with the natural hair. In order to achieve this, you need to wear protective hair styles consistently for a period of one year, cutting off relaxed ends every month till the natural hair gets to a certain length that you can show off.
The protective hair styles are hair styles that protect the hair, for instance; weaves twists, wigs and weavons.
The reason women in transition should wear protective hair styles is to decrease tangling, shedding, and breakage. It also prevents abrasive actions we put our hairs through, like repeated combing, over styling the hair, over washing the hair and so on.
However protective hair styles are not maintenance free.it is also recommended to allow the hair to breathe, don’t let dirt build up and also remember to moisturize the hair and scalp at least once in a day. Wash the hair at least once in two weeks. Do not dry hair using a dryer. It is not advisable to expose the hair frequently to direct sunlight.
I have experienced what it feels like to wear natural and chemically treated hair, and I can boldly say all hairs have their negatives and positives. How you choose to take care of your hair will determine its health and beauty.
