Natural ladies....

[glamazon386]

Did you find that your family came around (those who didn't particularly care for your hair post bc) once your hair started to grow out?

My mother hated it for a while but I think she's finally coming around. I mean I guess she had no choice anyway Did the negative comments turn to compliments for you at some point?

 

[Nice & Wavy]

I've never experienced negative reactions to my BC. Maybe they just kept it to themselves

 

[glamazon386]

I've never experienced negative reactions to my BC. Maybe they just kept it to themselves

I've only gotten them from family members. I actually got compliments from strangers. Go figure?

 

[felicia]

Not yet. It's been over a year and they are still trying to pressure me to press it. Maybe it's b/c I don't see them that often and they haven't had the chance to get used to it (it was a big change/difference).

 

[divya]

I'm transitioning but my family is very pro-natural...

 

[blazingthru]

no more negative comments since it has gotten longer, No compliments at all except that is thicker and healthier and not to ever perm it again. I guess thats a compliment

 

[Southernbella.]

Not really. The only people who weren't totally on board in the begininng were my dh and my mom. Everyone else loved it right away.

 

[bluebearfanatic]

My mom hates it and still does but I never really cared. I think she's definitely more accepting of it, because at least now I don't hear the negative comments. However I do notice she never gives me positive ones. My friends however constantly compliment me and say nothing but nice things about my hair. Even other family members tell me and will be like never put perm in your hair again.

 

[shocol]

I don't think so, but at least I don't hear my mother's mouth much anymore. Right now I don't really care what anyone thinks.

 

[Riverwalk]

Not really. In fact, my mother became natural almost immediately after I became natural. My aunt soon followed suit.

 

[LiberianGirl]

I just recently BC so I am still taking it all in. My dad and brother are oblivious to hair--at least mine. My mom likes that I went natural but likes me to keep my hair long..and so do I. My sister disliked me going natural from the beginning and was always telling me to relax my hair. She doesn't say anything bad about my hair now--just that it takes "too long to do". I think she is kind of jealous of my hair though, so her opinion does not count.

 

[mahoganee]

I've never experienced negative reactions to my BC. Maybe they just kept it to themselves

I didn't either but that may be because they knew that I was ready for someone to say the wrong thing since I'd already had to break a foot off in a couple of my coworkers butts.

 

[ImFree27]

yup since it got longer, they all make compliments now, instead of asking, what is that?

 

[growth2come]

At first my one of my older sisters was like.... nope that aint for me....3 years later after seeing just how easy it can be to manage natural hair she has followed suit...also when my young sisters went into remission when her hair started growing back I showed her a few tips and simple styles and tips for keeping the natural her soft and managable she has decide to see how things go with the natural hair. The rest of my sisters and nieces like there hair permed and I dont mind that but I am still working on getting them to change their bad hair care habits!

 

[Desarae]

I'm no longer natural as of 6/10, but yep, when I first BC'd, friends gave me negative comments, as soon as it started getting longer, it all stopped.

Back then they didn't want me, now it's longer they all on me!

 

[spacetygrss]

Once I figured out a working routine I was in love with my hair. My mom never really says anything about it. My sister and brother love my hair and give compliments. My dh loved it from the start. He can't stand relaxed hair and was glad when the relaxer was gone. Go figure.

 

[zzirvingj]

As for my mom: She was always pretty much supportive of me going natural and kinda nonchalant about it because she didn't see it as a big deal. She doesn't say much about it but every now and then I'll get a comment from her like, "You've got hair like Joann from Girlfriends!"....or..."Your hair really has gotten longer since you went natural."

As for my cousin who's my age, when I first went natural she thought I was gonna lock my hair. I don't think she cared for it much but she never made many comments about my BC (at least not to me). But now that it's gotten longer, she has actually gone natural and made a comment to me one time that she did it after seeing how my hair had progressed. I try to encourage her with her hair whenever I can. She wears it in better styles that I do---her twists/twist outs are really cute on her

As for my aunt, she never really said anything to me about me going natural. She did make the comment once that I've had curly hair ever since I was a girl. And I know that whenever I send out pics of my hair, she does take an interest in viewing them but doesn't say much. After I went natural she also decided to loc her hair but I'm not saying she did it because of me; I'm not locked so I don't know if I had an influence on her doing that or not.

Long story short, family members didn't say a 'whole lot' to me about my hair when I BC'ed and in the first like...2.5 years when it was still short. But they say alot more now that it's grown out. When I wear it pressed they are so surprised to see how it looks. My uncle said to me once that he "liked my hair much better long and straight..."...that he, "didn't like those twist things I used to wear"

It's kind of funny cuz I didn't expect people to really "care for my hair" when I BC'ed....and I figured people would come around once they saw where I was going with my hair and that I made progress. Which is cool....but what if it wasn't a goal of mine to grow my hair long and press it every now and then? It 'would' be nice if people/family members admired my hair in chin length twist-outs and shrunken fros as much as they admire it pressed straight and hanging around midback.

So nowadays even though people seem to have "come around" to liking my hair more, it doesn't mean much to me because I've come to realize that me liking my hair and accepting it for what it is....long or short....nappy or straight....is what matters most.

 

[vlucious]

my family is pro natural, my mother and sister are natural. they were happy that i laid off the creamy crack. (i was on it for 2 years.)

 

[ladylibra]

my mom just didn't like it short. my grandma still doesn't like it unless it's straight, but that's a whole nother story...

don't care anyway

 

[LadyEuphoria007]

My family was supportive from the begining but most of the older ones are already natural they just keep it in a TWA style.

I got one negative comment but they next time I saw them again the told me it was cute.

I'm glad your Mom is coming around.

 

[mscocoface]

If they did have a comment they kept it to themselves. I have not asked for their opinions and they know I don't want their opinions.

It may sound a little cruel or insensitive but I am doing this for myself so I determined early on that I would not let anyone get in the way of me reaching my goal. So no ones opinion matters except my own.

Even my mother, sisters or closest friends. Something my uncle would say when someone was in his business would be....You have a chance to stay out of this one!

 

[glamazon386]

My family was supportive from the begining but most of the older ones are already natural they just keep it in a TWA style.

I got one negative comment but they next time I saw them again the told me it was cute.

I'm glad your Mom is coming around.

Thanks for your responses ladies! I was just curious if you ladies had experienced the same thing. To the bolded - I am too. She was the only person who ever really despised it. And she was very vocal about it. Her and my brother would make jokes. Then my mother would always make these stupid comments when we got around friends or relatives like she was apologizing for my short nappy hair. It was like a preface or something. It would drive me crazy. We would get in arguments about it and I told her to just not comment at all if she didn't have anything nice to say.

My mom did like when I wore it in a bun or a puff but my hair looks shiny/wavy when it's pulled back so I'm assumed that's why. She said it looked cute and I should keep it like that. Who wants to wear a puff all the time?

My father never really said anything. He was the first one to see it when he popped up at my house one day to pick up mail. He came in and I was on my way out and he said Oh so you went natural huh? I said yeah. And that's all he said.

When my granny saw it the first time she said what happened to all your hair? I said I cut it all off. IDK why she said that because she's always kept a short hair cut as long as I've known her. My mom said she only knew her with short hair but she saw pictures of her with long hair. I'm guessing she made that comment because it was short and nappy. The second time my granny saw it months later it was out and styled in a wash and go. She touched it and said I like this girl! This looks nice. I was surprised.

But for the most part, they've all come around in the past year. I get a lot of compliments from strangers. More than I've ever gotten on my relaxed hair. I had my hair out in a fro with a headband last week. We were going to a baby shower for my cousin and I mentioned that I was going to pull it back in a bun (we don't see this side of the family often. we don't really deal with them and I didn't know how receptive they were going to be to my hair so I figured I'd pull it back. Too hot for a wig.) and she said why? I think it's very becoming. Once you put your little lip gloss and stuff on you'll be fine. I was like . She really caught me off guard with that one.

Then when we saw our cousin at the baby shower she complimented my hair and mentioned that she was thinking about chopping all her hair off and wearing a TWA but her mother was against it. She had a wig on (and did the last few times I saw her). She said most of her hair has fallen our from stress hence the wigs and weaves and she doesn't know what else to do so she's thinking about chopping it off. Then my mother was going on and on about how I chopped mine. And how I had this big fro earlier but I pulled it back.

It was just really weird. I'm just glad the negative comments have stopped and she's coming around. Another day I had a wig on and she asked why since it was hot outside. I do wear wigs often but I had gotten to the point that I would make sure my hair was covered when I saw her if it was not styled to avoid the negative comments.

 

[AsTheCurlzTurns]

I've only gotten them from family members. I actually got compliments from strangers. Go figure?

Yep, this is me to a T!! But I could care less, because I was doing this for ME, not them! So they can just kick rocks for all I cared. But strangers have stopped me and asked me who did my hair and such, and I would tell them me, and they'd asked if I had a texturizer. I'd be like, "yeah in another life, but this is my natural hair".

If they did have a comment they kept it to themselves. I have not asked for their opinions and they know I don't want their opinions.

It may sound a little cruel or insensitive but I am doing this for myself so I determined early on that I would not let anyone get in the way of me reaching my goal. So no ones opinion matters except my own.

Even my mother, sisters or closest friends. Something my uncle would say when someone was in his business would be....You have a chance to stay out of this one!

On the above bolded, I feel the same way, and I don't care if it's a little cruel or insensitive neither. Some people just don't know when to mind their own business, so it's best that if they have nothing NICE to say, then it's best to say NOTHING at all! Nuff said!

 

[lilsparkle825]

not yet, they just say "i wanna see it when it gets longer." they've always acted like my hair was made of gold anyway even though i did the same crappy stuff to my hair that they did to theirs. my mom and sister's transitions didn't get as much support from my aunt and cousins, especially my sister; any time they saw her without braids in her hair they would yell about getting a relaxer and putting it in her hair themselves. my response was to give her the BC. now she's a natural 4b and they still hate it.

just today i accidentally said something to my cousin about me not liking stylists with jacked up hair (accidentally cause i vowed never to talk hair with her again); she was like "your mom's old stylist had jacked up hair and your mom came out looking ok. matter of fact, she needs to go back to her."

that's why she has a bald spot and no hairline, but my sister's bald spot has completely regrown and my hairline is full again. trick. but i digress.

 

[LayneJ]

Not really.

The only person who didn't like my hair was my mother. I don't mind, because I already know her MO. She doesn't hate natural hair, she just doesn't care for my texture. If I blow my hair out, or wear it in a bun, she'll tell me how nice my hair looks.

Everyone else in my family is okay with my hair. My sisters are even transitioning.

 

[Ms Lala]

Yeah , my mom hated it at first. Now she's amazed at how long and thick it is. I wore a fro puff like in my siggy last Christmas and she actually complimented me on it!!! My dad doesn't like it much unless it's straightened out but he doesn't really say anything because he doesn't care too much. My brothers and sister are pretty indifferent about it I think.

 

[Lucky's Mom]

My dad thought that braids were just not "for me" back in 1998 and then.......... when we took Xmas pics in 2006 - he was amazed by the health of my hair.

 

[GoingNatural]

As soon as I BCd my parents came around. I think they were just against it because they didn't think I'd do it and that my expectations would be too high. I was always like "I'm going to go natural and my hair is going to grow, grow grow."

And they were both like, "hmmm good luck with that "

Now they are seeing growth and my mom always compliments me.

 

[Country gal]

My family had to get use to it. I got some comments early on like perm your hair, are you Africa now, and other comments. Once my family saw how much my hair has grown and gotten thicker, they are really supportive now.

 

[felicia]

Some of you are lucky My parents always have something negative to say about my hair. It has made me question my decision, but I'm trying to not let it get to me.