Being natural is...
Hey, first time writing a post here. Mainly I draw ( kinda 😅), but i had something on my mind. I have been a natural hair girl since 2015, so 3 years-ish. It's been a long road, but i still love my hair , and how kinky and curly it is. I just wanted to cut my hair after i graduated highschool and boom! Small afro! I went from product to product from home-made vegan based to Cantu, Cream of Nature, Shea Moisture and so on. Now, i am using just some cheap leave in from CVS that smells amazing and works wonders with a mix of Aussie and cantu. So now with that out the way let's get to the actual thing i wanted to get out.
Being natural is...hard.
I know alot of women with my grade of hair( type 4c) find it hard to maintain and...i wish i would have known that when i was just a wee high school graduate and " I WANNA EMBRACE ME!" kinda deal. I dont regret it, but I wish ,WISH I was more informed on the transition from perm to natural. I found myself trying everything every big natural hair blog and youtubers said you need to try because "it's a necessity". Looking back, i wasted so much money and time... and my hair not growing becaue i actually was somewhat allergic to the vegan hair product. Everything else was just so...expensive!! And what bothers me...how they make it where there's some law or rule you must follow to be a "true natural".
•You have to hate weaves and wigs because you are not being proud of your hair
1. That's dumb. Noone should feel like a nice weave or wig makes them less natural. Plus, noone wants to do their hair every day. Yeah, protective styles are helpful. But i would like a 1 month break from doing my hair
2. They are still cute and convenient. That's pretty much it.
• The natural hair police
Now, this is where my biggest issue is. I have a sister who likes perms because she doesn't want to cut her hair. She has a scar she does not want people to see. But she takes super good care of her hair, she is very high maintenance, and she likes to make herself look good. Shes a proud young black woman!...But she still hates herself because she doesn't want to go natural? No. No. No. This makes no sense. I've seen naturals downgraded other black women because they don't want to be natural. I think thats why some women now who are natural are afraid of perming their hair again because of they feel trapped. Its like the whole Perm vs. Natural war that was going on, and now its the naturals doing the hair bashing. I dont like it and makes it hard to be natural when I know there are women who dare stick up their nose at a permed girl and act high and mighty because they don't perm.
• Buying only products for naturals by naturals despite how expensive they are
I think this is because I have met a girl like this, but products for "straight hair" or made for "white women" work just as good as the big hitters. I use Aussie and my god I LOVE THIS STUFF ! It smells wonderful, very good to detangle and gets the curls popping! What about Dove? Still good shampoo and just mix some oils into the conditioner! Add what your hair needs for DIY versions. Not only is it cheaper...but you get alot for what you paid for. Still like Shea Moisture? That's ok! If you have the means to get it, get it! But don't say one thing is better because not many people can afford some natural hair brands. Be open to what each brand has to offer for hair. Pantene just made a line for natural hair if i'm correct.
In short, being natural is hard for me because of the culture around it. I still love my hair! I just wish the culture around natural hair wasn't so...toxic in a sense. It's a struggle, but lets be honest about how difficult it can be.
Tl;dr : being natural is hard because other people make it so difficult.