The “UGLY” Truth: Natural Hair Ain’t A Good Look For EVERY Black Woman

Thanks to Angel from The Natural Lounge for posting this to her group. This is an old post but the attitude towards natural hair remains the same.

You already know. I have to respond because, that's what I do; respond to ignorance about natural hair because I'm sick and tired of it. I'm tired of people having an idea of what natural should be. And most of all, I am tired of this old rhetoric that natural hair isn't for everyone.

I have written EXTENSIVELY on this site in the topic of natural hair, but the one point I’ve never made [because I'm actually afraid of Natural Hair Nazi's]

I'm sorta, kinda afraid of the Natural Hair Nazi's myself.

as much as I LOVE natural hair [http://www.thisisyourconscience.com/2010/06/what-black-men-really-think-about-black-women-with-natural-hair/] it simply is NOT made for every Black woman.

I refuse to buy into this crap that something that is natural and native to black women, is not made for them. How many people say that an Asian woman's hair is beautiful but it is not made for them? How about Caucasian women? 

Repeat after me: Caucasian women's hair is beautiful but it is not made for every Caucasian woman.

Do you realise how absurd that sounds? I do...

And opposed to what many people who watched Chris Rock’s documentary believe, there IS a thing as BAD HAIR – and some Black women who have it need to avoid going natural like Eddie Long needs to avoid attending a B2K reunion.

Can someone please explain to me what 'bad hair' is?

What is this 'bad hair'? Is it;

• hair that doesn't curl up right? 

• hair that is damaged by heat, colour and chemicals? 

• hair that can't take up colour well? 

• very thick hair or very thin hair? 

• hair that is tightly curled or hair that is very loosely curled?

On YouTube, there are many success stories and wondrous tales of Black women overcoming the odds of friends, family and society telling them they are stupid for going relaxer-free, but in the midst of all that, there is this:

Very rarely do I actually Laugh Out Loud, but I will admit that I was almost in tears after watching this video. Her self-effacing honesty about her difficult yet honest attempt to accomplish a great looking natural style was simply priceless. She did not just do one or two things and give up in vain, she actually busted-her-a*s and followed the videos and bought the products, and ended up [by her ownadmission] looking like:

The video has since been removed, so I can't comment on this. 

The harsh reality of Natural hair is that it IS high-maintenance, it does require a lot of patience and ultimately is NOT made for someone with a wash-and-wear mentality. As a black man who once had shoulder-length hair, I do sympathize with women and their struggle to remain natural.

Did you decide that natural hair is high maintenance based on one woman's experience?

Who lied to you and told you that natural hair is high maintenance? Many naturals have very simple hair regimens and use very simple styling and hair care techniques. Never do I hear naturals who actually know their hair and how their hair responds to products/techniques/weather etc., complain about their hair being high maintenance. Never. Ever.

With that said, even when getting braids was HOT in the streets, there were some of my friends who just had NO BUSINESS growing their hair out and getting it braided. Some of these dudes dookie braids looked like an overhead view of Gaza Strip alleys instead of Iowa corn-rows. I love having Black kinky hair, but I witnessed many a Black girl get onset arthritis from trying to braid some of these dudes hair that was tougher than Mickey Ward’s chin.

You are a lover of natural hair yet you state; 'dudes with hair tougher than Mickey Ward's chin'... what type of natural hair do you love, exactly?  

Again, the lover of natural hair here is reinforcing stereotypes about certain hair types.

So why is it a bad word to say that some Black women will have hair that is not APT to being worn natural?

Because it's subjective. Not every hair style will suit every woman. And if a black woman with natural hair wears it a certain way and likes it that way, what's it to you?

I refuse to accept that something native to your body 'isn't for you'. That's just absurd. 

I agree that saying it’s too difficult to manage is a PUNK-A*S excuse for many women, but there are the few, like the woman in the video above, who are simply keeping it 100. Now, don’t accuse me of being another brother addicted to weave, because I have spoken out against excessive weave addiction on this site before too [http://www.thisisyourconscience.com/2010/09/wig-lace-front-weave-yaki-track-donkey-tail-unicorn-mane-wearers-black-men-want-a-break/]. But what I define as BAD HAIR, is hair that is just simply impossible to manage. Some people unfortunately [of all races, sexes and cultural backgrounds] are born with hair that just refuses to cooperate with what you are trying to do, and in the Black community we are not exempt from that either.

Oh here you actually admit that 'bad hair' isn't just limited to black people! Ok I'll give you that. 

But hair that doesn't cooperate, is more of a technique problem. A styling problem. A product problem. A patience problem. 

But it is not and never will be, due to the hair being a certain hair type or whatever that makes it 'bad'. 

All hair is manageable, we just need to find the techniques to manage it. People need time, patience and motivation to find what works for their hair. My hair is tightly coiled or 'type 4' and I'm still managing it properly by keeping it stretched etc. it's doable. 

Then it’s time to stop burning your scalp with that hot comb or fighting with yourblack-power-fist afro pick, and go to the damn wig shop.This Is Your Conscience

A word of advice to you; stop investing yourself so much in black women's hair. It's creepy. It's borderline obsessive that you want us to wear a wig if our hair doesn't fit your standards of natural hair.

Just stop.