No matter what I have as my current hairstyle, I am still natural underneath it all.
For as long as I can remember, there has been a debate about what is considered "natural." Some believe that if you always wear your natural hair straightened, that's not technically being a naturalista. Others, usually of the same variety of the aforementioned, believe that if you wear protective styles you also aren't a real natural sister. A lot of people think that only black people can be natural. Well I am here to tell you that NONE of that is true... At least in my book it isn't.
The natural hair movement began as a way for African American women to embrace their roots and step away from the creamy crack also known as perms. Perms are used worldwide to both straighten naturally kinky hair and curl naturally straight hair. For black girls, this meant wearing afro puffs and showing off their natural kinks and curls.
My mother was the first one that I knew to go natural. Obviously this has been a trend for years and years before we even thought about it. However, where I was from there weren't that many visible naturals walking down the street. After my mom did the "big chop" [cutting off all of the permed ends of your hair], I reluctantly decided to do the same later that year. It was a rough start but going natural has been one of the best decisions that I have ever made. Read more about my natural hair journey here.
Now back to the purpose of this post...
No one can tell you that you are not a natural sister. Some of us aren't as comfortable with huge hair or they just don't like the way it looks on them. That doesn't make you any less natural than the girl with the massive afro, hoop earrings, and fist in the air. Protective styles are self explanatory. They are there to protect your hair from all of the potential damage that styling it everyday can cause. I don't know about you, but my hair grows like wildfire when it's in a protective style. Because of that, I plan on consistently wearing them until my hair is at the length that I want it to be. And then I probably will still be wearing them. It just depends on how I feel.
I also plan on straightening my hair when it gets to my idea of the perfect length. Does that mean I'm not natural anymore? Definitely not. I just like the way that I look with straight hair. I also love the way that I look with my natural hair too. So I will probably change it up here and there. That's the beauty of being natural, you can do practically anything. You can wear it straightened one day, you can wear it kinky the next, you can dye it a crazy color, you can wake up and throw some water in it and walk out the door, you can also throw some weave in it. You can do whatever you want!
Bottom line is, don't let anyone dull your shine. If you know and believe in your heart that you are a true natural, that's all you need. Just because you want to protect, color, or straighten your hair doesn't change that fact at all. What are y'alls thoughts on the natural hair movement? Are you natural or nah? Leave comments below!
Smooches,
The College Natural
The many ways that I have styled my natural hair...
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