Popular Misconceptions About Natural Hair

June 17, 2015

Sophiestylish.blogspot.com, African American, Natural hair silhouette, Natural hair, popular misconceptions about natural hair, Hair, beauty Sophie David, @iamsophiedavid

I ran into one of my besties the other day on my way back from the market. I hadn't seen her in ages, so it was quite a shock for her to see me on my Natural Hair. She was like "Sophie! Gosh I love your hair, it suits you so well... I would have loved to cut mine too, but I heard it's very painful...." 

Pause right there! Painful?! Says who? 

You can imagine my shock. I decided to do a little asking around and mehn, you can't imagine the things people believe and say about Natural hair.
If you are a newbie Naturalista or you are Thinking of going Natural, it's best that you have a clear understanding of what it means to embrace your hair from the roots. 
Its time to clear some doubts ASAP! 

1. Natural Hair Is Painful
This one I just don't understand. How exactly is it painful? Is it when it's being cut or what?
Sweethearts, there is nothing painful about your hair. We all know that Virgin hair can be a bit disagreeable when it comes to combing, but we know better than to comb the hair when it's dry!

2. Natural Hair Makes Me Look Churcheous
Just because you happen to be a Naturalista doesn't mean you've turned into a Bible hugger. There are a million and one women out there rocking their natural curls and they look straight out fabulous. Take Janelle Monae for example. F.A.B!
No offence to my chineke-loving sisters. You want to live the life of a purist and that's fine by me. 
Your hair is as you style it. How You look, baby, that's entirely up to you.

3. Natural Hair Can't Be Combed
Duh! It's called Virgin Hair babes, you can't expect to comb or style it the way you would your relaxed hair. It's like buying a Techno and expecting it work like an iPhone. Mebembu! 
You have to get a whole new mindset.
I never comb my hair when it's dry. It's either wet, damp or well conditioned.

4. Natural Hair Is Only For Black American 'Sisters'
Now wait a minute. So what happens to the hair on my head?
This statement is not true. Just because afro American women in the 60s and 70s used it as a form of self expression doesn't mean that is the case now. Personally, I went natural because I was bored with the norm of fixing and relaxing and all that BS. I know most women feel the same.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with my own hair, so I don't see why I should always cover it up with stuff that eventually does more damage than good.

5. Natural Hair Is Unprofessional
Shuuu!
This totally depends on the wearer. Like I said earlier, your hair is as you style it. There are lots of ways to style up your Natural Hair to suit all occasions, work included. I suggest that you invest in styling your hair the same way you would spend time thinking about the next weave to buy or hair style to fix.

6. Trimming Makes Hair Grow
I used to believe this too. Until I found out that all it did was get rid of split ends. Trimming actually has nothing to do with the hair that grows out of your head, it only helps make your hair healthier.

7. Too Much Washing Is Bad For Natural Hair
I hear a lot of girls say going as long as a month without washing the hair is good because the dirt protects their fragile hair. This may be true for relaxed hair, but for us Naturalista's, water is our hair's best friend. Feel free to wash and moisturise regularly. How ever, using shampoo that contain SLS can be bad for both types of hair, as SLS contains chemicals that cause the hair to dry off and break easily. Try a co-wash instead.

8. Natural Hair Means Faster Hair Growth
Most girls tell me they want go natural so their hair can grow faster. This is wrong.
Growth rate is basically the same, Natural or no. It just depends on how well you are able to retain the new growth.
Many women who are natural wear their hair in protective styles to protect the hair and retain their growth. This can also apply to women with relaxed hair.
The disadvantage relaxed hair has in retaining growth is that over time, the use of chemicals makes the hair thin out.

9. Natural Hair Is Unmanageable
This could be true, only if you don't understand what your hair needs. But then, you have to define what 'Unmanageable' means to you. Take time out to study what works best for your hair, and it would be easy breezy as far as styling goes. As long as you can remember to listen to your hair instead of fighting it, you would be fine.

Stay Stylish ❤❤


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2 comments

  1. Am nice, Have left a comment. lol... Nice work you doing here!!

    ReplyDelete

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