Is this normal for naturals?

[WhipEffectz1]

I had an interesting conversation with a girl at work. She has a beautiful head of coliy locks but she insists that she still relax her lower kitchen area and her front sides. She then goes on to say that by her doing this, it makes her sometimes unruly areas blend in with her waves when she wears a puff. I told her that by doing this, I wouldn't classify her as being a natural but she insists that myriad ladies do it. Is this a normal thing to do when people are natural?

 

[so1913]

I personally have never known anyone to do this or have heard of it being a common thing.

 

[Justice4alw]

I personally have never known anyone to do this or have heard of it being a common thing.

Uh ... me either ... erplexed

 

[Crackers Phinn]

I could see why someone would do it. Early in my transition, I was really considering just relaxing my edges, but I didn't want to get caught up in the 'touch up' game.

To me, natural is a label, not a religion - so if ole girl wants to call herself natural then ok. Think about it like this, this woman perms 5-10% of the her hair but has 90-95% natural and shouldn't be classified as natural, whereas someone who applies color to 100% of their hair is natural?

I'm not saying that the OP is saying this but I've seen the arguement elsewhere. I just think when it comes to the 'natural' label, there is leeway where chemicals are concerned.

 

[WhipEffectz1]

I just think when it comes to the 'natural' label, there is leeway where chemicals are concerned.

You made an excellent point

 

[NewYorkgyrl]

I know alot of naturals who do this. At this one salon in Philly I see alot of ladies get that done (the front edges). But then again these ladies get a press and curl all the time and always wear their hair straight.

 

[Enchantmt]

This is the first I've heard of it and I wouldnt consider doing it. My kitchen is actually finer than the rest of my hair, tho. I do know of relaxed folx who will touch up the kitchen and edges instead of doing their entire head.

 

[mermaid]

Umm, I've never heard of it, but it makes sense, I guess. My unruly area is actually the crown area (my nape is PERFECT, lol!!) but I ain't putting a relaxer on it, I just deal with it.

 

[Brownshugaz]

Highjack, Whip you look amazing in your pic

 

[Legend]

Many women I know do this to their hair. I've did it myself years ago. Where I come from, it's a fairly common practice. As far as calling themselves "natural," I agree with JCoily's comment.

 

[so1913]

So what areas are the people from that do this? Just curious if it's a "local" trend or more widespread. I seriously never heard of this.

 

[Legend]

So what areas are the people from that do this? Just curious if it's a "local" trend or more widespread. I seriously never heard of this.

I live in Boston, and have the constant weather changes to deal with. But, I can could see how women in the warmer and humid places might do this for more control. At least, that was why I did it. *shrugs* I could be wrong, though.

 

[shiningstar84]

I had an interesting conversation with a girl at work. She has a beautiful head of coliy locks but she insists that she still relax her lower kitchen area and her front sides. She then goes on to say that by her doing this, it makes her sometimes unruly areas blend in with her waves when she wears a puff. I told her that by doing this, I wouldn't classify her as being a natural but she insists that myriad ladies do it. Is this a normal thing to do when people are natural?

does she wear her hair straight a lot? if so then i could see why she would do it. but if she doesnt straighten her hair a lot, couldnt she use gel to control her "unruly" areas?

 

[Lucia]

No, I don't do this, never heard of this, my edges match my hair all around, I don't get it, why would she do this unless she's in-between relaxers.

 

[LipGlassHoney]

When I went natural I decided I would love WHATEVER came out of my scalp. I don't try to change it and I have never head of natural women foinf this. I have seen relaxed women touch up their edges only though.

 

[LipGlassHoney]

When I went natural I decided I would love WHATEVER came out of my scalp. I don't try to change it and I have never heard of natural women doing this. I have seen relaxed women touch up their edges only though.

 

[qtgirl]

I've never heard of someone who calls themselves natural doing this.
I know some ppl. quibble about naturals who color calling themselves natural, however I think when most black women are talking about "going natural" it is implied as not using a relaxer anymore, not, not coloring. Which is why some ppl. say napptural.

 

[Legend]

In the past, I think the choice to selectively relax sections of natural hair definitely has a lot to do with personal style and preferences. I remember relaxing just the edges mostly in the summer because I didn't care what my hair did as long as the edges were neat and in order which was very difficult with my wiry, coarse hair. If I chose to press it straight, usually the edges were the first to revert. By relaxing the edges, this was avoided (also avoided those nasty pressing comb burns!) . I'm a bit of a hair chameleon, you see, and I like styling flexibility. Now, I haven't done this in a long time, but many women I know do. I'm so used to this idea that I'm fairly shocked it's not such a common practice elsewhere.

 

[Super_Hero_Girl]

When I went natural I decided I would love WHATEVER came out of my scalp. I don't try to change it and I have never heard of natural women doing this. I have seen relaxed women touch up their edges only though.

I agree. And No, I've never heard of anyone doingwhat this lady is doing. Plus, I wouldn't call it natural either.

 

[firecracker]

I personally have never known anyone to do this or have heard of it being a common thing.

Someone from my job just told me she perms her edges also for blending purposes.

 

[sweetascocoa]

if i want to blend my edges, i have fantasia IC gel for that

 

[Crackers Phinn]

So what areas are the people from that do this? Just curious if it's a "local" trend or more widespread. I seriously never heard of this.

I'm not planning on calling anybody out, but I've seen what looks like relaxed edges in quite a few 'napptural' Fotki albums.

I think its something that people do but don't readily admit, especially in other forums.

 

[so1913]

I'm not planning on calling anybody out, but I've seen what looks like relaxed edges in quite a few 'napptural' Fotki albums.

I think its something that people do but don't readily admit, especially in other forums.

Wow...how can you tell? I know I'm able to get my edges to lie down pretty straight, as straight as they were when relaxed (If I'm wearing it slicked back and with the help of my trusty gel).

 

[balisi]

Wow...how can you tell? I know I'm able to get my edges to lie down pretty straight, as straight as they were when relaxed (If I'm wearing it slicked back and with the help of my trusty gel).

Same here.

Prior to this post, I'd never heard of this practice, so it's not normal for this natural.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

Wow...how can you tell? I know I'm able to get my edges to lie down pretty straight, as straight as they were when relaxed (If I'm wearing it slicked back and with the help of my trusty gel).

It's true that natural hair slicked back with gel can look straight. I've done that wearing my hair in a bun.

When a type 4 natural has straight 'baby hair' and straight flyaways along the edges while wearing twists or braids, it's more than a little suspect. I understand that some folks have more than one texture, but .

 

[lovelymissyoli]

When I went natural I decided I would love WHATEVER came out of my scalp.

My thoughts exactly! While I've heard of people (relaxed ladies) touching up their edges, I've never met a natural who has openly admitted to doing this, or condoning it for that matter . However, while I was transitioning I kept thinking: "...well what if I just touch up my edges.." Even though I never did it because I was determined to become natural and be chemical-free, I still struggled with accepting the fact that my hair is nappy with a capital 'N'. Once I got over that hurdle I accepted what God gave me and realized how beautiful and unique my hair is. And although I color my hair, it in no way alters my hair's texture as a relaxer would! However, I can see how I would be labled napptural instead of natural because it's not my natural hair color.

To the op, your co-worker/friend or whoever made that remark should really research what it means to be natural because if she feels as though she needs to relax to conform to having 'good'/'manageable' edges, then she's still got a relaxed frame of mind.

 

[hopeful]

If she wants to call herself natural I say go on girl. But I would say she's mostly natural (lol but not to her face ). I wouldn't say she has a relaxed state of mind but not quite completely natural either, somewhere in the middle. Personally I want to give up relaxers completely but that's me. That would get on my nerves touching up edges and such. I just bc'd again a few days ago so I can't be judging nobody, I'm just trying to keep myself straight, I mean keep myself nappy, kinky and coily! I know that was corny but I couldn't help myself.

 

[mermaid]

It's true that natural hair slicked back with gel can look straight. I've done that wearing my hair in a bun.

When a type 4 natural has straight 'baby hair' and straight flyaways along the edges while wearing twists or braids, it's more than a little suspect. I understand that some folks have more than one texture, but .

I have straight baby hair. Right now, my hair is in a bun, with heavy waves and my baby hair is flat on my forehead and neck- but only my nape and forehead, around the ears is curly and kinky. erplexed

 

[FlowerHair]

I can understand it if someone has dramatically different textures, and want to wear their hair straight all the time, although I've never heard of anyone doing it.
It's easy to "straighten" or flatten hair along the edges with water and a little brush (or just smooth with your fingers) and a tight scarf for a little while. Voilá, straight edges.
Personally, I love frizzy and unruly hair. That's part of the whole charm...

 

[Legend]

Hmmm. It seems that I am the only responder so far that has first hand experience with actually relaxing edges only. I have to tell you, even when I wore 100% natural hair (absolutely no chemicals), I never referred to myself as a “Natural.” I’ve never referred to myself as a “Relaxed” either, to tell the truth. Or a “Dyed” if I colored my hair.

If someone says “Natural”, it’s a label that may mean different things to different people. For example, I don’t eat meat. Plain and simple. People always ask me “are you some type if vegetarian?”. I say “No, I just don’t eat meat.” (This usually causes confused looks, but whatever! ) But, someone else may choose to call themselves "Vegetarian." I’m an Independent, but tend to vote Democrat. Does that make me a Democrat? To some people, it does. To me, I’m still an Independent.

I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. It just is. What we label ourselves is more important than what others label us because it is all about Personal Identity. Do I, personally, think the woman in question should refer to herself as a Natural? Probably not, if I want to be technical about it. But if she does, it’s her personal hair choice and identity and I wouldn’t disparage her for it either.

To use some wittiness here, if one get’s really, really technical about it, relaxed hair is certainly natural (it grows out of your body, doesn't it?)…it’s just been altered. Just because wheat has been harvested, dried, ground, and cooked, doesn’t stop it from being wheat. :wink2: