Straight Hair, Don’t Care
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| My summer haircut! |
Here in Alabama it’s been nearly 100 degrees for the past week or so and it’s technically not even summer yet! This means I needed a haircut in the worse way because having that thick, curly mane flowing down my back was simply not working. So yesterday I had several inches of my tresses chopped off and, as you can see in the picture, I had my hair flat ironed straight as well (although I’m not sure how long that’s going to last in this humidity).
One of my favorite naturalista bloggers Nik G. of NikStar was here posted pictures of her straight look a few weeks ago under the title “Straight hair, don’t care. It’s all still natural hair.” Love it! But some, of course, would disagree.
I wrote earlier this year of this issue, that some folks believe that if you claim to be natural this means you should never straighten your hair. I understand the sentiment. It’s like being one of the X-Men but hiding your powers and the things that made you different from the rest of the world. But I define being natural as not using caustic chemicals to permanently alter your hair texture. My hair was straightened with a flat iron, not a relaxer, and I’m sure you’ll see my curls peeking out in a few days as they love to be the center of attention.
What I think is more important than bickering over whether or not a flat iron means you lose your natural card is examining why we wear our hair the way we do, be that curly or straight, natural or relaxed.
When I was younger I got relaxers very infrequently so I’ve never had an addiction to the so-called creamy crack, still I was obsessed with straight hair and constantly wrestled my curls into submission with the strongest hair appliances I could afford.
Then one day during a summer internship in Louisville, while on what was probably my third hour of doing my hair, my roommate at the time turned to me and said, “Maybe your hair doesn’t want to be straight. Why don’t you just wear it curly?” And something just clicked. Never before had anyone suggested that just letting my hair exist in its naturally curly state was an option. And with that I was free. I started wearing my hair curly and an amazing journey began.
Because applying heat to my hair had been something that I did because I thought it was the only way to be beautiful, after going natural I didn’t use any heat, not even a blow dryer, on my hair for about three years. I needed time to heal. But nowadays when I get my hair straightened, which I do about three times a year, I know it’s not coming from a dark place of self-hate. I just do it because I’m bored and want a different look or because I want to wear a cute hat that won’t fit over my curly coif.
So while I don’t think it’s wrong for a woman who’s natural to occasionally smooth out her curls, I do think she should be conscious of why she’s doing it. But I also think a woman should be just as aware of why she’s going natural. Is it because you find it empowering and the best fit for your lifestyle or is it simply because going natural is becoming the “in” thing to do?
Straight – Curly – shouldn’t matter. As long as you are comfortable, and your hair is healthy – I say go for it!