Embracing Your Natural Hair

Have you fully embraced your natural hair?

  • Yes.

    Votes: 181 58.8%

  • No, but I'm working on it.

    Votes: 62 20.1%

  • No, and I don't want to embrace it.

    Votes: 7 2.3%

  • Some days are better than others....

    Votes: 58 18.8%
  • Total voters
    308
  • Poll closed .
jamaraa said:
Since horses were brought up here, I wanna say something about humans using horse products for their hair.

Horses are VERY sensitive animals, maybe more senstive than humans and other animals are when it comes to what products are used on them. Much of what a human can use on themselves would really harm a horse even in our human dosages. After all, w/ any animal you always risk them "eating" the product and horses seem to be prone to extreme negative reactions when things go wrong! However, products made specifically for use on animals are based on body weight, so even if the formula is one that would be considered very mild for horses, a human is getting far more proportionate to THEIR weight. Horses on average weight around 1,200 lbs (600 kg) so even if the product is gentle for a horse, on a human you're getting mega doses of whatever's in it!
 IOW, thos horses are more sensitive than humans are to many chemicals, when you take the body weight issue into consideration, a human is getting a HUGE BLAST of something (maybe 10x), far more than their weight can probably handle well.

People should ALWAYS keep this in mind when using products cross species. It can have serious negative side effects for humans. In the old days "Glover's Mange" (Now Glover's Dandruff Medicine marketed to/approved for humans and pet owners alike) was made for dogs, but widely used by people too because skin issues are skin issues, but dogs are much smaller than humans normally and we got proportionally smaller doses. This is not the case w/ horse products. Be warned and be smart!
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:thud:

WWWEELLLLL! :lachen:
 
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jamaraa said:
Maybe we should have a social group here at LHCF for sistahs who ride or are into horse (outside of tack shop hair products purchases, that is :lachen:)?! It might help heal the breach between natural and relaxed....horse and human! :grin:
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bahahahhaa

:rofl3:

you just killed this thread RIGHTEOUSLY!

high five mama! :lachen:
 
I agree that, as a natural, you should accept your hair in it's natural state, and that it doesn't mean you can never put anything in it, lol. It's funny how these debates can get...to each his own, I say.

I find similar thought-frames within the albinism community among blacks. Some are of the opinion that if you relax or color your hair, that you are trying to hide your albinism or trying to appear caucasian. Some say the same thing if you wear make-up that hides your eyebrow color or eyelash color. I do all of these things (except relaxing, since I am transitioning now). I don't do it to hide what I am, I do because I view myself as the perfect "blank canvas" for color. I love red hair, so I gave myself red hair.

I think that we often find too many things to divide us, whether it be hair texture, skin color, eye color, racial mixtures...I personally don't care why you love what you love about you. I do care/hope that you DO love you, regardless of why.

I will be natural again, and I will be a red natural :grin:, so I'll probably not be viewed as completely natural, anyway. BFD.:grin:
 
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jamaraa said:
Well alrighty now! This sistah told it like it is, was, and always will be IMHO. :yep: Rimshot! :)
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yeah and and how she said people do it amongst albino's over everything, hair , make up etc etc

just shows -thats all its about in the end-no matter how you slice it or the reasons

imposition/division

I like how she said BFD! I had to figure it out but once I DID :lachen:
 
jennboo said:
You seem upset about my preference for my own natural hair, lol. Why is this?
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I don't think anyone really cares that you choose to wear your hair natural. What is pissing people off is that you are making ASSUMPTIONS about other peoples psychological state and commitment to their blackness based on something as superficial as how they choose to wear their hair. First, relaxed heads weren't black enough for you. Now naturals who use too much product to define their curls--in your opinion--aren't black enough. The arrogance of your comments is absolutely astounding.

I am relaxed. However, when I wake up in the morning and look in the mirror I am not any less black. As someone who has gone through master's and PhD programs at PWI's and who has the experience of teaching at PWI's, I can tell you that my experience is no less a black experience than those who do not relax.

Your insistence on questioning the blackness of those who are not natural (or natural enough in your opinion) is divisive and unnecessary on a board that is supposed to encourage black women to shoot for healthy hair practices no matter what choice they make vis-a-vis relaxing vs. natural. I really wish you would take your BS to http://www.nappturality.com where your type of extremism is accepted. You are doing nothing here but causing confusion where there need not be any. This is EXACTLY why I called for a moratorium on these types of threads last month!
 
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:lachen::lachen::lachen::lachen:

tell it like it is girl

they dont wanna hear me tho!!!

hope they hear you!!!
SmartyPants said:
I don't think anyone really cares that you choose to wear your hair natural. What is pissing people off is that you are making ASSUMPTIONS about other peoples psychological state and commitment to their blackness based on something as superficial as how they choose to wear their hair. First, relaxed heads weren't black enough for you. Now naturals who use too much product to define their curls--in your opinion--aren't black enough. The arrogance of your comments is absolutely astounding.

I am relaxed. However, when I wake up in the morning and look in the mirror I am not any less black. As someone who has gone through master's and PhD programs at PWI's and who has the experience of teaching at PWI's, I can tell you that my experience is no less a black experience than those who do not relax.

Your insistence on questioning the blackness of those who are not natural (or natural enough in your opinion) is divisive and unnecessary on a board that is supposed to encourage black women to shoot for healthy hair practices no matter what choice they make vis-a-vis relaxing vs. natural. I really wish you would take your BS to http://www.nappturality.com where your type of extremism is accepted. You are doing nothing here but causing confusion where their need not be any. This is EXACTLY why I called for a moratorium on these types of threads last month!
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CelinaStarr said:
No megatek for my baby. Both of us KISS with our regimens.

Confucius's mane and tail is very straight and very coarse to the touch. Sometimes the way his tail feels almost reminds me of hay. I put baby oil in it and brush it to make it softer and remove the tangles. His tail is coarse. Smooth but coarse. His mane feels a little more silky and doesn't tangle as much.
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do you ever get the urge to cut Confucius' hair and weave it up? :lachen:
I keed!
 
If we mean naked by accepting its texture O.K. by me. But *my* hair gets thirsty for moisture needs a moisturizing product and then a sealant of oil of some sort. That to me is truly loving my hair for what it is because I love my texture and want to keep it the way it is...healthy and looking nice. It is sort of like a gentleman showing love for his lady. And when the lady is shown love, she responds in kind. Afro hair needs to be shown some love.:yep:
 
CelinaStarr said:
Are you at the point where you have fully embraced your natural hair and no longer compare your hair to others? Or are you still trying to achieve your dream hair?

It took me a while to get to this point, but now I think I am pretty much there. I know what my hair does and doesn't do and I've accepted it. For example, even though I adore Teri's hair from www.tightlycurly.com I realize and accept that my hair will never look like hers, and that's okay with me. No longer do I look for hair twins, because I realize that my hair is uniquely mine.


I really enjoyed Suburbanbushbabe's article on www.CurlyNikki.com today. Click here for the article!. The article inspired me to start this thread. Please share and feel free to post pics.
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In the beginning I had days where I had the "urge" to relax because I wasn't to having really short hair.I kept a relaxer underneath the sink in my bathroom. Fortunately at that time my ex was very supportive of my decision to be natural and encouraged me to stick with it(he had dreds). Also I had an older co-worker who was also natural encourage me to those days I needed it. Yes,I did have those dreams where I /or someone else relaxed my hair. I woke up in a cold sweat . It was then I realized being natural was what I wanted. That enabled me to accept the good and the bad. Bad hair days I have options slick into a puff, fluff it as best as I can and go on, or wear a wig(half wig). My hair is a joy for me to deal with. I obey it and we get along just peachy.
 
I haven't had a relaxer in 7yrs and my transition took about 1.5 to 2yrs. I've spent most of this time not know quite what to do with it. I did my first twistout in September and loved it, but I would like for my hair get alot longer so it could be bigger,lol. I have tons of shrinkage so my armpit length hair just lays on the bottom pt of my neck that meets my back and thats with strectching it out with plaits the night before i do my twistout. I'm keeping it under wraps till spring and hoping I'll be at brastrap....the longer the hair the more creative I can get with styling even though I have mucho shrinkage. This natural hair care thing is quite a journey.......:yep:
 
southerncitygirl said:
I haven't had a relaxer in 7yrs and my transition took about 1.5 to 2yrs. I've spent most of this time not know quite what to do with it. I did my first twistout in September and loved it, but I would like for my hair get alot longer so it could be bigger,lol. I have tons of shrinkage so my armpit length hair just lays on the bottom pt of my neck that meets my back and thats with strectching it out with plaits the night before i do my twistout. I'm keeping it under wraps till spring and hoping I'll be at brastrap....the longer the hair the more creative I can get with styling even though I have mucho shrinkage. This natural hair care thing is quite a journey.......:yep:
Click to expand...

I've only been natural a little over two years and look forward to shoulder length natural hair shrinkage included.

@ the bolded: Indeed it is and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
 
I truly embraced it 1998 before then I had natural hair but didn't have much support. I wish we had natural hair support groups in the early 90's.:ohwell:
 
laurend said:
I truly embraced it 1998 before then I had natural hair but didn't have much support. I wish we had natural hair support groups in the early 90's.:ohwell:
Click to expand...

ya know! I feel ya.
I did it in the late 80s and it was really tough. As a teen, I found it hard. I did it again in the 90s. I luckily had great family support though.
 
I also started my natural journey with no internet, information or support or knowledge whatsoever

I was all on my own with it too (1993-1994) first went natural the beginning of 93, relaxed again by the end of 93, and never relaxed again after that (dang I still remember how that sucked starting all over again too)

major accomplishment for those of us that didnt have all this and did it anyway
 
A very small part of me feels I should say something b/c I believe I MIGHT have started the flame in making the following comment:

Honestly, it's a work in progress because I'm not fully comfortable wearing my hair in a natural state (no product, no heat, no manipulation as in shingling etc.) at my current length.

Most people don't agree with this and that's OK. I've always been extreme which is a VERY personal trait, nothing cerebral/calculating about it, it just is:S
That's why I go HARD with my PS styling to grow my hair.

I love myself LOL
 
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