Whats the Natural Scene Like Where You Live?

[Barbie83]

I live in Kentucky, and everyone seems to want to follow what the next person is doing. Having your hair bone straight has always been the "must" and pretty much rocking the same hair style as everyone else. I have been very suprised at the amount of naturals I've been spotting around. I've been seeing more and more Locs, TWAs, curly dos and fros!!! I'm excited that people are starting to do their own thang lol!!!

Hey KY girl! I'm in Northern KY/Cincinnati

 

[so1913]

I'll start I live in NYC being natural here is very commonplace, widely accepted and often encouraged. You see people of all walks of life wearing their coils not just "artistic" types but on wall street and throughout the financial district.

My mom encouraged me to love myself fully since I can remember and she herself was natural 99% of my life....I've also been natural most of my life as well. Being natural is appreciated by men here tremendously....its pretty much normal for me, not something I have to consider in terms of career, social life or family reactions....the only thing I worry about when it comes to my natural hair is what style I'm gonna rock and how I'l do it lol.

So whats the natural scene like where you live?

I concur with this observation! Live in Northern NJ, work in NYC.

 

[Urban]

Where I live, there aren't many black people ... let along natural ones. Most I've seen are relaxed.

 

[lamaria211]

in fort pierce fl if your natural that equals nappy ********** ugly, broke they loooooove them some weaves

 

[tatiana]

I live in the DMV but on the VA side -- the most southernmost tip of the DMV so the natural scene is slightly different than MD/DC.

I see more and more BCs but they are doing everything in their freaking power to have their hair mimic type 3. Within 6 months to a year, they texlax it so it can look that certain texture. Well I notice this behavior among my co-workers.

 

[Duchesse]

I'm w/you BMP..naturals are all over here in NYC. In Brooklyn in particular, there are soooo many natural heads.

 

[discodumpling]

When I 1st went natural 3 yrs ago, I saw nappy heads everywhere in NYC. Now I don't look so hard & i have no idea if it's real, fake...whatever!

I'm married but even so I have no problem attracting men with my natural hair. There are 1 or 2 other women I work with who claim natural but they are weaved up and one is soooo self concious about her hair she wears a beenie (like Meg from Family Guy!!!) most times!! LOL!
Being natural is soooooo freeing! I wish I had done it YEARS ago!

 

[Britt]

@ the bolded VERY similar here in NY as well...relaxers are still big in the hoods of NY but in the yuppie upwardly mobile, neighborhoods natural is the way to be.

This is exactly what I notice, which would explain why you would see more naturals in corp America. I work in an investment bank and if I were to go natural, my job wouldn't be one of my concerns. I actually find that clear folks are a bit enamored and curious about natural hair. However, in the hood and just regular Black neighborhoods I rarely see a natural... actually, I don't see it unless the person has dreds. When I go to more trendy type /yuppie neighborhoods I see more naturals. I live in NYC and I definetely don't see a lot of naturals unless the person is 40+ or I'm in a certain neighborhood.

 

[Tene]

I live in Dayton, OH and I don't see too many naturals here. The most I've seen when I'm out and about is a total of 6 women with natural hair. Mostly everyone I see have braids, kinky twists, or relaxers.

 

[CaliDiamond]

I live 15 minutes from Oakland, CA (Northern California) and I see so many naturals that I am always on the eye out for a new cool hairstyle. Even in San Francisco, where there are not a LOT of black people, a lot of those black people are natural.

I see a lot of fros, wash-n-go's, and two-strand twists/twistouts. I love the Bay Area!

 

[arosieworld]

Here in ohio I see 1 about once a month it is not huge here but if you were to look you'd find a few. I see them a lot on campus or at the Multi cultural Market buying neem. I see the same 12 natural ladies just at different locations, its never anyone new.

 

[Janet']

I'm in ATL and there are a lot of naturals here. There's a lot of everything here--it's very easy to find your niche. haha

I agree! I'm in Atlanta, too and whatever you want to do with your hair...you can find your place

 

[ceebee3]

I live in NYC. I can only tell if someone is natural when I see their true texture. I have no idea if the hair is straight.

My mother and all of her sisters and most of my cousins have always been natural so it's not something new to me.

Most of my acquaintances are relaxed, none of my friends are natural.

Men have always loved my hair natural or relaxed.

 

[equestrian]

I live In Southern California( Los Angeles county area). Naturals are accepted for the most part, at least in my experiences. And theres plenty of them.

 

[Beverly Ann Properties]

I live in Atlanta Georgia and being natural is cool. My friends on the sidelines have watched me transition and finally cut off the remaining 4 inches of relaxed ends in September. They are now waiting for me to flat iron my hair to check the length. I will flat iron 1 day in July to check the length myself, but not until then. The health of my hair is at an all time high, no texlax or BKT for me.

 

[Diva_Esq]

Going natural is really growing here. There are a lot of people transitioning and BCing, and we have formed a small support group. I'm in Nebraska.

A lot of gay women here are natural (mostly braids in designs and locs).

 

[afrodeutsche]

@ the bolded VERY similar here in NY as well...relaxers are still big in the hoods of NY but in the yuppie upwardly mobile, neighborhoods natural is the way to be.

Yep. In Brooklyn, the further southeast you go, the worse the wigs, weaves and relaxers get.

 

[andromeda]

NYC. Lots of naturals across the city and tons in my Brooklyn nabe. To the point where it's almost as if being relaxed is one of the tip-off's that someone is a "poser" or "outsider" at all the local hip spots. That being said, in certain neighborhoods, the residents aren't as gung-ho about natural hair. They're still not as repulsed by it as other parts of the country but they'll only embrace it if it looks "just so", esp if it's highly-textured.

I grew up around plenty of natural women, including my mom, who's had locks, twa, long natural "loose" hair, braids, etc. For 4 types, TWAs and locks have always been popular and still tend to dominate in certain professions but I've noticed a growing number of women wearing their natural hair longer in recent years.

 

[honeybuni84]

Where I live it seems people are not relaxed unless you are relaxed .

girl yes...

but personally i haven't seen too many naturals.. some people give it a shot for a few months but then they go right back to relaxing.. of all the people i know, i am the only one.... i havent really gotten any hostility in chicago, but some people just arent used to it.

They are looking for what they are used to seeing and they mainly see some relaxed hair ( thats usually NL -SL in length


but they are also arent used to seeing someone who is relaxed with long hair that is theirs.. first comments i hear are " girl what brand is that"

 

[peachfuzzz]

... everyone seems to want to follow what the next person is doing. Having your hair bone straight has always been the "must" and pretty much rocking the same hair style as everyone else. I have been very suprised at the amount of naturals I've been spotting around. I've been seeing more and more Locs, TWAs, curly dos and fros!!! I'm excited that people are starting to do their own thang lol!!!

In Florida, I do not come across a lot of naturals. I would say maybe 30% are natural from what I've seen thus far. I could also be generous by giving it 30%, but not a whole lot.

in fort pierce fl if your natural that equals nappy ********** ugly, broke they loooooove them some weaves

All of the bolded rings true for where I live (Jax/Daytona, FL). I've seen an influx of naturals, but I live around 4 colleges (1 is an HBCU). A part of me thinks this is a trend that won't last too long. But I really hope this is a result of knowledge and a drive to produce healthier hair. Even with the the influx, the weave wearing is the style of choice for most.

Going natural is really growing here. There are a lot of people transitioning and BCing, and we have formed a small support group. I'm in Nebraska.

A lot of gay women here are natural (mostly braids in designs and locs).

I didn't wanted to rock flat twists and cornrows at first because of this!

 

[peachfuzzz]

Yep. In Brooklyn, the further southeast you go, the worse the wigs, weaves and relaxers get.

Keep going south! It just gets worse and worse!

 

[PeaceFlow]

UK here I see a lot of mixed race naturals that are 3c and above but no black usually

 

[supermodelsonya]

It depends on where you are in Chicago. If you are downtown, Hyde Park, or other upscale neighborhoods, you see lots of beautiful relaxed heads. I'm constantly drooling over them. (I'm lightly texlaxed btw)

But when you go to the west side and south side neighborhoods, relaxers and weaves reign.

 

[lexiwiththecurls]

In ATL it seems like everywhere you look someone is natural. I totally agree with the middle class, upper middle class women tend to moreso have natural hair...alot of the college students as well.I went natural when I was in school here at Clark and at the time (03-06) it didnt seem like that many naturals..now I go back and I see it more.
Im from VA- Hampton and when I was there or when I go back home to visit I didn't see much natural styles, but I bet at Hampton U. its probably a good number.

side comment- I thought alot of the black women in LA didn't have relaxers. EVERY girl I know from LA doesn't wear relaxers but they keep their hair straightened or wear weaves so you would never know.

 

[OneInAMillion]

In DC (esp. in my workplace) I see a lot of natural heads -- In fact, most of the women who were in higher positions were natural. I was often encouraged by that because there's often a lot of talk about how to do natural hair in the workplace. I'm originally from NY and really, none of my friends from home are relaxed. In general, its nice that people are interested in hair that has some texture to it. I'm not natural anymore (I texturized last month) but when my hair is cowashed and in a bun, I've had peole ask me how I maintain my natural hair--

I am starting to miss it...I'll go back one day

 

[Foufie]

In ATL it seems like everywhere you look someone is natural. I totally agree with the middle class, upper middle class women tend to moreso have natural hair...alot of the college students as well.I went natural when I was in school here at Clark and at the time (03-06) it didnt seem like that many naturals..now I go back and I see it more.
Im from VA- Hampton and when I was there or when I go back home to visit I didn't see much natural styles, but I bet at Hampton U. its probably a good number.

side comment- I thought alot of the black women in LA didn't have relaxers. EVERY girl I know from LA doesn't wear relaxers but they keep their hair straightened or wear weaves so you would never know.

Hey hampton girl, that's my city... and I agree with you. I actually in some apt near HU and alot of students live there as well and there are few naturals in my neighborhood.

 

[LadyPaniolo]

The scene is big and getting bigger by the day! Last weekend I went to the Picasso exhibit in Philly, and I saw several black ladies there and almost all of them were natural! One lady's hair was looking so awesome I had to restrain myself from running up on her and asking her about it She was trying to see the paintings and I was ready to grill her about her reggie lol I only saw maybe 2 women with relaxers.

And I got a great idea for a cute protective style! This natural girl had her hair in 2 thick curly Pocahontas style braids... but instead of letting her ends rub on her clothes, she had them pinned back and tied a lovely silk scarf around her head, protecting her ends. I think I might rock that style myself.

 

[SouthernBeauty]

I am in Macon, Ga and I am seeing alot more naturals! I have friends that were natural and I didnt even know it!
WE TAKIN OVAAAAA!!!

 

[Strangefruittree]

I guess it depends where you are... im in socal in the northern area and I the brown faces i see have curls... I just saw an ad in the neighborhood mag that had a coupon for a spa that specialized in "highly textured hair." Even people who dont have curly hair seem to smile at me and my curls... I live in a curl friendly town, I stand out a bit I think, but no shade is thrown on my curls

And my friends from the southern area of socal do wear alot of straightened styles and weaves... But under the weave is usually natural hair.... The air is really dry out here even in the rain... In NYC the humidity made me think I could not wear my hair straightened naturally... but out here... when my hair is in braids with product on it, it will actually prefer a straighter or more looser curl... I fight to put moisture in my hair out here... In NYC moisture was the bain of my existence... It used to take days for my hair to dry, out here... it dries in no time... and its hard to hold a drop of water... New york all i needed was oil and a gel of some sort... Now i run from gel and need creams and oil only to seal...

 

[peachykeen]

Atlanta: Everyone and their grandma is going natural. Its like a fad here.Especially women who considered themselves "elite" and in the know. If you are natural you are part of the click. But, of course everyone who is natural looks like they have a relaxer. And, they never bother to tell you they are natural until after they have at least shoulder length hair.