Are you still considered natural if...........

[Suerte]

Suerte, I understand what you're saying. But everybody has not accepted the word nappy. To many of us, it still has a stigma or negative connotation attached to it. And some people feel like Type 4's have ownership over it. Kind of like the other N word. Some people embrace it, and others don't or take offense.

So...is my hair not nappy enough for me to use the word nappy? I mean, I got what looks like a 4a section in the crown.

erplexed

(lol...I'm sending you a PM about something semi-related in a few).

 

[silvergirl]

i agree, that henna, colors, perms, all that stuff = unnatural hair.

but natural hair in the context that most black ppl are refering to is hair that has not been permed/relaxed.

 

[Mortons]

Well can someone please tell me what henna heads are cause apparently thats what I am? What are colored heads? How about heads with MTG in them? Horse booty heads? Where does the madness end

 

[DarkVictory]

How about heads with MTG in them? Horse booty heads?

 

[SUZIEq]

Now I am more confused than ever!!!

(DISCLAIMER: I AM NEW TO THE BOARD AND TAKING CARE OF MY HAIR SO PLEASE BE PATIENT AND GENTLE WITH ME - ALSO I"M SLOW ).

Are you all saying that if my last relaxer was over a year and a half ago that the hair on my head is "new growth" not really my natural hair?

Is natural hair that is B/C different from the hair that is not B/Ced in the long run? Or by choosing not to B/C I am not really experiencing my true natural hair texture?

I am scared now to B/C because of all the growth I have retained - I feel that B/Cing now and starting over from scratch would just be devastating?

Or do I just take everybody's opinion with a grain of salt and ignore them and continue living my life? erplexed

Thanks much for any patient and gentle responses!!!

 

[Blossssom]

i agree, that henna, colors, perms, all that stuff = unnatural hair.

but natural hair in the context that most black ppl are refering to is hair that has not been permed/relaxed.

Hey, what's up? Nice to see you, pretty girl

I agree with you... if you did anything to change your hair PERMANENTLY, the hair on the OUTSIDE of your head, you ain't natural and that's THAT!

 

[fluffylocks]

If you put lemon juice on your hair & it lightened it are you natural then?

(just wondering)

 

[Blossssom]

If you put lemon juice on your hair & it lightened it are you natural then?

(just wondering)

Is it permanent?

 

[Kurlee]

Suerte, I understand what you're saying. But everybody has not accepted the word nappy. To many of us, it still has a stigma or negative connotation attached to it. And some people feel like Type 4's have ownership over it. Kind of like the other N word. Some people embrace it, and others don't or take offense.

I agree with Bmore with the bolded, I don't like the word nappy and it has a negative connotation to me. Why? because if you are type 4 u are nappy if u are a 2 or 3, ur hair is "curly" and when people with type 2/3 hair gets unruly they refer to it as "nappy". Or when white people's hair gets tangly or puffy they say "my hairs so nappy?" say what?

 

[fluffylocks]

Now I am more confused than ever!!!

(DISCLAIMER: I AM NEW TO THE BOARD AND TAKING CARE OF MY HAIR SO PLEASE BE PATIENT AND GENTLE WITH ME - ALSO I"M SLOW ).

Are you all saying that if my last relaxer was over a year and a half ago that the hair on my head is "new growth" not really my natural hair?

Is natural hair that is B/C different from the hair that is not B/Ced in the long run? Or by choosing not to B/C I am not really experiencing my true natural hair texture?

I am scared now to B/C because of all the growth I have retained - I feel that B/Cing now and starting over from scratch would just be devastating?

Or do I just take everybody's opinion with a grain of salt and ignore them and continue living my life? erplexed

Thanks much for any patient and gentle responses!!!

Newgrowth is your natural hair texture. But people are saying that you can title yourself "natural" untill all of the relaxer and hair that is not newgrowth is cut off of your hair. You will still be labled "transitioning" untill you cut that relaxed hair off.

I dont think your hair is any different whether you BC or not, you just may be able to understand how your natural hair really acts when you BC because you wont have to deal with your relaxed hair and tend to it.
The only thing i know is some people say they have "scab hair" which is hair effected from chemicalsand can be more rough, dry, umanable and/or coarse and they see their real true texture later---like Bmore.

BC whenever you want, lots of people do it when they are finally comfortable with the length of their natural hair

Keep your opinion on your natural hair (IMO)

 

[Blossssom]

I agree with Bmore with the bolded, I don't like the word nappy and it has a negative connotation to me. Why? because if you are type 4 u are nappy if u are a 2 or 3, ur hair is "curly" and when people with type 2/3 hair gets unruly they refer to it as "nappy". Or when white people's hair gets tangly or puffy they say "my hairs so nappy?" say what?

Yea, nappy, universally, means BAD!

 

[kweenameena]

So do you all think that you can really see your true pattern/texture of hair with relaxed ends??

With my hair, my true pattern/texture didn't show with relaxed ends. I thought I knew my hair and just by cutting off the 2-3 inches of relaxed hair that was left, my pattern changed.

 

[LynnieB]

So do you all think that you can really see your true pattern/texture of hair with relaxed ends??

With my hair, my true pattern/texture didn't show with relaxed ends. I thought I knew my hair and just by cutting off the 2-3 inches of relaxed hair that was left, my pattern changed.

yea, that's why i agree with those who say you haven't fully completed your transition until you cut off the relaxer.

i thought i'd have soft, silky, wavy silvergirl type curls and waves..........hahaha, yea right.

when i cut those ends off my hair really showed out. Big, poufy, lawd hammercy only knows what it is , dang NOW i remember why i used to run under beds and tables when it was time to get my hair done - poufy!

so ummm, yea - i don't think your hair will really truly show it's true natural texture until you've cut off those "chemicalized" ends.

 

[Priss Pot]

What people are forgetting once again is that NATURAL IS SUBJECTIVE.

There is no real definition as to what it means, except for "without relaxer/perm." All the other add-on definitions are subjective. Everyone has an opinion.

If one can say that "naturals" who color their hair are unnatural...then I can say that "naturals" who straighten their hair so much to the point to where their natural curl pattern is permanently loosened, are unnatural. And you know heat damage can't be reversed. It goes both ways. You can't single out one set of naturals without singling out another.

So in the end, you can't knock someone else for claiming to be natural all because you feel that they aren't natural. If someone is going based off of natural texture alone, can't fault them. If someone is going based off of texture and color, then you can't fault them. Just keep it moving because it's YOUR hair and you're making it look good no matter what .

ETA: Oh and Suerte, I don't think that Nappity was speaking of problems she has in her life (the incest comments you brought up). She was giving examples of threads, not bringing in her personal issues. HTH.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

Now I am more confused than ever!!!

(DISCLAIMER: I AM NEW TO THE BOARD AND TAKING CARE OF MY HAIR SO PLEASE BE PATIENT AND GENTLE WITH ME - ALSO I"M SLOW ).

Are you all saying that if my last relaxer was over a year and a half ago that the hair on my head is "new growth" not really my natural hair?

Is natural hair that is B/C different from the hair that is not B/Ced in the long run? Or by choosing not to B/C I am not really experiencing my true natural hair texture?

I am scared now to B/C because of all the growth I have retained - I feel that B/Cing now and starting over from scratch would just be devastating?

Or do I just take everybody's opinion with a grain of salt and ignore them and continue living my life? erplexed

Thanks much for any patient and gentle responses!!!

Don't be scared and don't worry about it.

Continue doing what is best for your hair and label it whatever it is you want to call it.

Now with that said, in my not so humble opinion, because you have relaxed ends I'd say you are transitioning to natural, but not natural. It's like being on a diet, but not at your goal weight - you're on the way there, but not there yet. I transitioned for 14 months before I cut my permed ends off because that was the right thing for me and I didn't worry about anybody on another board saying that wasn't really a "BC", I just continued to do what I wanted to do. To avoid making yourself crazy I suggest you do what you feel is right for you, regardless of anybody else's label for it.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

What people are forgetting once again is that NATURAL IS SUBJECTIVE.

There is no real definition as to what it means, except for "without relaxer/perm." All the other add-on definitions are subjective. Everyone has an opinion.

There is a dictionary definition for the word natural. Natural means what it means, no exceptions. So I don't think it's accurate to say it's subjective. I think the word that people are really debating (but not saying) is napptural, which in my opinion IS subjective, because there are levels of nappyness implied.

With all that said, I think people get too caught up in labels. If you are rocking a purple twistout with golden highlights and wanna call yourself natural, then go ahead.

 

[silvergirl]

So do you all think that you can really see your true pattern/texture of hair with relaxed ends??

With my hair, my true pattern/texture didn't show with relaxed ends. I thought I knew my hair and just by cutting off the 2-3 inches of relaxed hair that was left, my pattern changed.

I TOTALLY agree! when i has almost done transitioning i had about 4 inches of relaxed hair and 11 inches of natural hair, my natural hair had texture comparible to type 3a. 3b.

it wasnt till i chopped off every one of those realxed ends that i came to find out my texture did a whole 180 to type 3.c lol.

even when i look back on my transitioning pictures, i still cant believe the difference a few relaxed ends make.

 

[Bubblingbrownshuga]

I just don't care anymore...

 

[kweenameena]

I TOTALLY agree! when i has almost done transitioning i had about 4 inches of relaxed hair and 11 inches of natural hair, my natural hair had texture comparible to type 3a. 3b.

it wasnt till i chopped off every one of those realxed ends that i came to find out my texture did a whole 180 to type 3.c lol.

even when i look back on my transitioning pictures, i still cant believe the difference a few relaxed ends make.

I absolutely loved watching you transition, BC and then be fully natural. Your hair is gorgeous!

 

[SVT]

I just don't care anymore...

This quote is hilarious to me.

When I'm on the hairboards, my definition of natural hair is hair that has not been loosened or straightened by lye-type chemicals.

I describe my natural hair as nappy waves. "Nappy" is generally not a negative term with me.

 

[glamazon386]

So...is my hair not nappy enough for me to use the word nappy? I mean, I got what looks like a 4a section in the crown.

erplexed

(lol...I'm sending you a PM about something semi-related in a few).

In all honesty, it depends on who you ask. It's subjective. Some people think my hair isn't nappy. Yeah the hell right. When I think nappy, I think type 4 hair period. But some people think that if they see anything that remotely resembles a curl, the hair is curly and not nappy. I would consider Type 3 curly and Type 2 wavy. And I would go by what the majority of the hair is since some people have more than one texture.

The word nappy doesn't really bother me anymore but I guess it depends on who's saying it and in what context. But I do agree that it universally means bad hair. I certainly wouldn't take it as a compliment if somebody said it to me.

 

[Vshanell]

See I agree with all of you....but my bestfriend says that she hasn't relaxed her hair in a year and it has fully reverted and it looks completely natural but I still don't consider her natural...but she considers herself natural. Makes me wonder about some of my hair idols on the board....j/k

Yeah but there's still chemicals in it so she isn't completely natural yet. My hair looked natural when I was relaxed (before hair boards) and I never considered my hair natural because my hair was still chemically treated.

 

[kweenameena]

bump..bump....bump..............

 

[kweenameena]

I thought about the orange juice analogy and I think it's not really about what you put in it but what you take out of it.

When you relax your hair....you break down bonds to make it straight. You change the properties of it.
With the orange juice, say you add vitamins to it. It's still orange juice but now it's vitamin-enhanced. But if you take away whatever is in it that makes it orange juice in the first place....then it's not really orange juice anymore.
I know I didn't explain that right but somebody somewhere will understand.....