Curly Kinky….Cool?

Posted on 01. Oct, 2009 by E.Carmel in Fashion, Life and Style

In the past year or so we have seen many hairstyle crazes amongst women of colour, most notably the short/shaved hair look. I wonder what’s going to be next…natural hair maybe? From when women of colour started cutting let alone shaving their hair, that was making a statement since black women have been obsessed with length for years. When I went short, I think I almost gave my grandmother a heart attack! She had a huge problem with it; she kept telling to grow out my hair because a woman needs to have long hair. I don’t blame her for thinking this way since that’s what’s been drummed into her head for almost 70 years of her life but times have changed and to the younger generation, hair is just hair…right?

Like most women with relaxed hair, having a perm is all they know; I was as young as 5 years old when I had my first perm and have been doing it ever since (22 now). When I asked my mother why she relaxed my hair at such a young age she said that it was because I would cry every time she tried to put a comb through it and when she did, the teeth on the comb would break! That seems to be the main reason why many women of colour opt to keep a perm, ‘natural is hard to manage’. Other than that, let’s face it, natural hair has never been glamorous has it? I mean, there are loads of women of colour in the public eye who display their beautiful natural tresses such as Teyana Taylor, Corinne Bailey Rae and most recently, Solange Knowles. I personally think that women should embrace their natural hair and I admire anyone who does but it just has never felt like a good, or should say ‘comfortable’ option for me.

Corrine Bailey Rae

I believe that hair is just hair and like India Arie beautifully sang it, we are not our hair. But after watching a Tyra Banks show dedicated to natural hair, it made me realise that a lot of women and young girls passionately ‘hate’ their natural hair which I found quite disturbing let alone insulting to the creator. Especially the mother who appeared on the show (Click here after reading) that doesn’t like to introduce her daughter to people because she has natural hair…erm, WTF! This made me question if the main reason why we straighten our hair really is because natural hair is difficult to manage or if the real reason is that we want to conform to cultural pressures of what beauty is.

Whilst I have been contemplating on whether or not I should get my next perm, I have been asking other young women about their thoughts on natural hair and here are what a few of them had to say:

Jill Scott

Priscilla, 20: “I am currently natural…have been all my life! I straighten my hair on special occasion i.e weddings etc. It’s not something I do often as I’ve noticed it causes a lot of breakage. My hair is hard to manage sometimes especially when it lacks moisture; however my texture isn’t as tough as most. I think a lot of girls had their hair permed when they were too young to even contribute any feelings towards it. Many black girls i know appreciate the thickness and strength of natural hair but are not ready to deal with the demand natural hair requires. I think natural hair is given bad media but there are celebrities with natural hair that I’m feeling such as Angie Stone’s, Alicia keys, Jill Scott and  from the Noisettes.”

Chantel, 22: “I wouldn’t go natural because 1. It wouldn’t suit me and I cannot pull of that look as well as a relaxed look. 2. It would restrict my ability to try different styles. 3. It would be incredibly hard to maintain and manage and I would most probably have to keep it in extensions to avoid having to deal with it……. and the problem with extensions is that it is very time consuming to get it done and to take it out. I think most girls prefer relaxed hair because it is easier to manage, has diversity and versatility and relaxed hair is like the ‘norm’. I also do think that most girls may feel less attractive with natural hair so this also contributes to the reasons why they will rather go for the relaxed look. The media is also another factor since you hardly find black female entertainers, artists or actresses with natural hair; the majority have straight hair.”

Tam, 22: “I have always been natural and I’ve never relaxed my hair. I wore my hair in extensions for the majority of my life until I decided that it was too time consuming. One day I thought to myself, ‘this is the hair I have been blessed with and I WILL find a way to wear it in a way that suits me, and so that I feel comfortable.’ I straighten it now and again. I used to wear bond to add length, but it broke my hair! So the only time I straighten it now is when I want to trim the ends. I agree with the idea that many girls feel unattractive with natural hair or view it negatively. I heard a comment on YouTube that I will never forget; one lady said her friend thought she looked ‘like a slave’ with natural hair… now that’s deep! I also battled with how attractive I felt with my natural hair, but once you find hair styles and products that work well with your hair, you’ll love it! Like I do now! I don’t agree with those women who desire to have hair like someone else, because each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made and we should work with what we’ve got! If God didn’t think we could do anything with the hair he’d given us, He wouldn’t have given it to us! That’s my opinion anyway.”

Amel Larrieux

Natalie, 24: “I don’t straighten my hair that much; maybe about once a month just to alternate between straight and curly, plus I don’t want to damage my hair. My hair can be hard to manage because it can get quite wild but I find a good conditioner helps and I’m always trying new things to tame it. I think that the main reason people relax their hair is ease. However a common image of beauty that is portrayed in the media is straight hair. I’ve always loved Amel Larrieux’s hair, its part of her look and I can’t imagine her with straight or relaxed hair. Also one of my friends on my course recently stopped relaxing her hair and is making the transition back to natural and it really suits her. She says she washes it, then twists it and takes it out the next day; it looks great! She’s been experimenting with a lot more her accessories since going natural too!”

Ama, 22: “Afros have never really interested me but if I do go natural, I’ll probably braid. My reason for relaxed hair is that I’m lazy with my hair and its less work. I’m absolutely sick to death of the fact that most of the dialogue in the media concerning black women is limited to two debates. ‘Light skinned v dark skinned’ and ‘natural v relaxed’. It makes us all appear insecure, self-absorbed and self hating which is nonsense. I wish we lived in a world where black women could wear their hair how they wished without her hair choice being interpreted as a political statement. Just because a woman’s hair is natural doesn’t mean she’s any happier than the girl with Remy sewn to her head. Personally, I think with the myriad of (real) issues facing black women (e.g. the fact statistically we have shorter life expectancy, higher chance of contracting HIV/AIDs, higher rates of unemployment) perhaps it’s time people just let people do what the heck they wanted with their hair and focus on real problems.”

Well since I’m growing out my short hair, who knows, I might try out this natural thing…just don’t take my word for it! And what does my mother think about natural hair? Well, she asked me when I’m getting my next relax after noticing that it’s long overdue…I told her that I’m thinking of not relaxing it anymore- she gave me the side eye then said ‘don’t be silly’ So what’s your take on natural hair?

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