This just in: the afro is making a comeback! Seriously, everywhere I turn, someone is rocking the fro. And not just amongst us sistas and brothas; it is crossing over cultural lines and solidifying its place in pop culture. So, why is it that some of us sistas are afraid to join the curly revolution?
While I cannot speak for others, embracing my natural hair has been a challenge for me. Growing up I was conditioned to believe that coarser textured hair was not ‘in’, but ‘out’…way ‘out’. As a child, whenever I would see black females in the media, almost everyone was rocking straight hair. Thus, that became my standard of beauty. I remember getting my first basement relaxer when I was in junior high, and let me confess to you all that I was feeling myself. Now straightened, my hair length extended past my shoulders, and when there was a breeze, it took flight. My friends and family members often described it as ‘good hair’ (I’ll have more to say on this in an upcoming article). Boy, oh boy, did I love my hair.
Today I no longer relax my hair and I am still in love with my hair. In its natural state, it has become my new obsession. Rest assured that I didn’t always embrace my natural hair. I decided not to relax my hair about three and a half years ago. I wish I could tell you that I was making some sort of political statement or predicting an upcoming fashion trend, but that was not the case. I was just tired. I was tired of wasting my Saturdays in a poorly ventilated salon, tired of coming out of the salon with a haircut or style that I did not ask for, and just all around tired of giving my hard-earned dollars to someone who did not care about the health of my hair.
So I told myself that I was going on strike from relaxers until I was able to find a good, no make-that-great hairstylist. And in time, I did. I found a hair stylist so great that with a little swipe from her flat iron, she could whip my kinks into a straight, lustrous mane that still danced in the wind. So I had the permed look without adding chemicals in the mix. I then came to the realization that I did not need to relax my hair in order to wear it straight. I felt like I had it made.
This past summer, I noticed that my hair was in quite a damaged state. It was limp, breaking and crying to be heard. I remembered Tim Gunn’s catchphrase “make it work,” and it was then that I decided to make my head of kinky, coily, nappy, unruly, truly me, head of hair work.
So here’s my disclaimer: I am neither a licensed hair stylist nor am I a trichologist. Also, I am not anti-chemical relaxers. That said, I can only share with you what has and has not worked for me. I’m a bit of a product junkie, and I’m on a mission to find the right products for my hair. My goal for my hair is to achieve a full head of healthy hair, rock my fro and let you all know that the afro is back. Ladies and gents, let's make our fros work!
