Warning: Controversial Topic about being Natural

[greenandchic]

I mean, if folks just wanna be anal and ridiculous then being natural means the way your hair grows out of your scalp. So don't be bringing up combs & brushes, please don't apply products to your hair. You weren't born with a container of KCCC or EcoStyler. Stop doing those twist outs, braid outs, roller sets... please don't talk about stretching your hair. Oh, and you weren't born with dreds either, so you can't have those. Braids are out of the equation. Bantu knots? Please. Ain't nobody here natural.

... no, but seriously...

Natural is whatever somebody wants to make it for themselves. If a woman is heat trained and says she is natural, then she is natural. If she colors her hair and says she is natural, she's natural. I can't tell anybody else what it should mean to them and nobody can tell me what it should mean to me.

 

[BraunSugar]

That looks so heavy!

 

[koolkittychick]

Dayum! Point taken!

 

[virtuenow]

Just by the title of ur thread u haad to know this would not be a completely positive discussion, "WARNING: Contoversial topic". You had to warn people just going into the thread. Now to the question: Natural hair to normal people is non-chemically altered hair. To nazi naturals and extremists its not natural. I use enuf heat and have tried to heat train but my hair shrinks back to same tight coils. Either way it is natural hair...no perm, bonds or no bonds--its natural

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[MaylaMae]

Natural, to me, denotes one's natural hair texture, so I would not consider the altered texture of heat trained hair to be "natural". I choose to define the term "natural" in the context of which it was most frequently used to describe our hair. Black people didn't start rocking "a natural" to protest chemicals, they did it to affirm the beauty of a racial feature that had always been degraded. However, I couldn't care less what someone else considers their hair or mine (as long as they keep their opinions to themselves). I really don't see why it matters.

 

[Renewed1]

Eisani I so agree. Sometimes when I see certain women have a strong opinion about natural hair. THEIR hair is a HAM.

Based on popular opinion, if "natural" hair is considered NO chemicals on your natural texture. Then I don't think anyone hair is really natural, because we add conditioners, moisturizers, oils, etc to our hair on a daily basis. Most BW natural hair grows from the root dry and curly. So I find it interesting that people try to define natural hair with conditions of X or Y. Based on "popular opinion".

But MY personal opinion is that natural hair is from however it grows from the root to direct heat training.

Tex-laxing is in-between natural and not. I don't bark if a tex-laxer say they are natural. More often than not, I can't tell if they are tex-lax....so....

Relax is not, because it changes the texture of the hair too much.

Hopefully this thread can stay civilized. It's never been that serious to me and actually thought one of the perks to being natural is versatility. If more people worried about what was going on with their own heads, the better off they'd be.

*waits for responses*

 

[Renewed1]

I personally give this natural hair movement another 3 years. Soon you will be hard pressed to find another nappy head. Many are already dropping like flies.

I so agree. But that is the joy of our hair texture. We can go from curly to straight to braids to weave all in a stretch of 6 months.

I mean, if folks just wanna be anal and ridiculous then being natural means the way your hair grows out of your scalp. So don't be bringing up combs & brushes, please don't apply products to your hair. You weren't born with a container of KCCC or EcoStyler. Stop doing those twist outs, braid outs, roller sets... please don't talk about stretching your hair. Oh, and you weren't born with dreds either, so you can't have those. Braids are out of the equation. Bantu knots? Please. Ain't nobody here natural.

BraunSugar i SO AGREE!!! I just posted the same thing. Why do women let something like "hair" to divide us and give each other the screw face. SHEESH~~~

 

[lsw29]

So is her stance that using heat one time just say, you are not natural anymore? I didn't think straightening your hair on occassion altered your curl pattern that much or even at all. I thought it was the constant use of heat that has the potential of eventually breaking it down.

Her opinion is that any use of heat has comprimised my hair to the point that I should not claim to be natural. She said that my hair was too straight and that my texture surely had been altered. Keep in mind, she had never seen my hair prior to that day.

 

[*Frisky*]

Her opinion is that any use of heat has comprimised my hair to the point that I should not claim to be natural. She said that my hair was too straight and that my texture surely had been altered. Keep in mind, she had never seen my hair prior to that day.

ok well she has issues IMO and shouldn't be coming to conclusions about other people's hair especially if she don't know them.

 

[Solitude]

SolitudeShe owns a salon here in the Atlanta area called "The Damn Salon" - they do these new age kinky twists & braids & weaves & specialize in transitioning/natural hair. They don't do heat services.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheDamnSalon?feature=chclk#p/u/6/LDfrZty4zkU

I stand corrected on the title. "*itch Your Hair is not Natural"

Thank you. I'm on my phone, will check it out when I get home.


Sent from my iPhone 4 using LHCF

 

[JudithO]

I've been up n down in my mind about this topic.. When I say "I'm natural", I use that term loosely to mean I don't have a relaxer.

In reality, any hair (regardless of state) that grows out of your head.. is natural. If you bought it from a BSS... It's not natural.

People that argue (and I used to be one of them) that they want to rock their hair the way God made them.. well.... If we apply that same logic, we would never eat cakes, cooked food etc (afterall, God didn't make ovens and stoves). We would never shave our underarms or use deodorant... Logic is flawed...

Others argue that relaxers are harmful (because it burns etc)... well relaxers can be harmful... Same way hot oil can be harmful if it spills from the pan.... If used properly, relaxers won't burn...... So that logic is flawed as well.

Truth is.. God made science for us to use to our benefit ... of course, as human beings, we use it for bad things too .... God made all of us with different hair textures because of the beauty that lies in variety... If relaxed hair works for you.. so be it.. Else.. stay natural.

Being natural is such a touchy subject because of the association of straight hair with us trying to be like our slave masters.. It's okay for one to go natural if they have an ongoing aversion towards slavery.... (Same way I probably wouldn't eat Oatmeal if it killed my whole family)..... I don't have the same connection to slavery as most of you guys do, cos I was born and raised in Nigeria... I can't relate as personally as you guys.. + There are "slaves", "house-helpers" in all parts of the world, so slavery is quite normal and still in existence..... However, I agree this is much worse as we were automatically slaves in this country as a result of our skin color. IMO It's the same in India with the whole caste system of discrimination (topic for another day though)

Relaxers... if applied properly.. are okay.

I'm not relaxed, only because I'm not sure whether or not relaxers are carcinogenic (I try my best not to bring anything near my body that can potentially kill me) ... + My hair is much cheaper to care for by myself.

 

[lesedi]

Not right.

 

[discodumpling]

The texture of my hair changes with the wind...it's can be coarse, it can be smooth, it can do some AMAZING things with or without heat. As long as I am not altering my texture PERMANENTLY with heat or chemicals...i'm gonna keep calling myself natural.

 

[B_Phlyy]

Natural hair is and always has been hair absent of altering chemicals to me. I flat iron my hair and still consider myself natural. I want to do a color rinse on my hair. If I do, I would not consider myself natural.

 

[nakialovesshoes]

Eh? You would only need to cut your hair if you've got severe heat damage surely? Most naturals here just seem to wash their hair and their curls come back!

LushLoxThis was part of my reason for starting the thread. I've been trying to figure out if I could ever be a long haired natural sans the heat. My hair is easily heat damaged & the 1st time I was natural I had straight pieces & my stylist wasn't using extremely high heat. I really would like to know what my texture actually looks like without any altering.

Just by the title of ur thread u haad to know this would not be a completely positive discussion, "WARNING: Contoversial topic". You had to warn people just going into the thread. Now to the question: Natural hair to normal people is non-chemically altered hair. To nazi naturals and extremists its not natural. I use enuf heat and have tried to heat train but my hair shrinks back to same tight coils. Either way it is natural hair...no perm, bonds or no bonds--its natural

Sent from my SPH-M920 using Long Hair Care Forum App

virtuenowJust because it's controversial doesn't mean it has to be negative. I made the warning & further went on to say that I wanted to keep it positive. I wanted it to be a thread where people could give their opinions (like most have) without there being any arguments/attacks.

When I was natural a few years ago, heat training wasn't really a topic. As far as I was concerned, natural was relaxer free. But now (i.e. the video that sparked this topic) there seems to be different definitions of what constitutes natural hair.

I know this board is about talking hair & I just wanted to hear what other ladies had to say about the subject.

 

[nakialovesshoes]

Natural hair is and always has been hair absent of altering chemicals to me. I flat iron my hair and still consider myself natural. I want to do a color rinse on my hair. If I do, I would not consider myself natural.

B_PhlyyWould you consider yourself a natural if you colored with something like henna/indigo or do you think changing your natural color negates your "naturalness"?

 

[SUPER SWEET]

SolitudeShe owns a salon here in the Atlanta area called "The Damn Salon" - they do these new age kinky twists & braids & weaves & specialize in transitioning/natural hair. They don't do heat services.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheDamnSalon?feature=chclk#p/u/6/LDfrZty4zkU

I stand corrected on the title. "*itch Your Hair is not Natural"

thanks for the link i wanted to try city twists for 3 years but now I heard 3 reviews of the salon being unprofessional and not in an ideal location.

 

[nakialovesshoes]

thanks for the link i wanted to try city twists for 3 years but now I heard 3 reviews of the salon being unprofessional and not in an ideal location.

SUPER SWEETI've been wanting to try them, too. But someone posted a thread on here about it some time ago & I was scared of the Natural Nazi-ism. The poster said they were trying to pressure her to go ahead & chop her chemical ends & end her transition.

She also told me that it doesn't last long enough for the price. As for location, unless they've moved, they were in the basement of Mushiya's home in Douglasville (last I heard).

 

[SmileyNY]

*peeks in* This thread is still going?

I think part of the problem is that a lot of people think the term "natural" means healthy. They think that if your hair texture differs from how it grows in... your hair is unhealthy & therefore unnatural.

All natural hair isn't healthy & all healthy hair isn't natural

If someone's natural hair texture is altered due to heat damage or neglet... That doesn't necessarily mean it's not natural.

Natural hair can healthy or unhealthy.

Heat trained natural hair can be healthy or unhealthy.

Relaxed hair can be healthy or unhealthy.

At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what someone wants to call their own hair.


Sent from my iPhone. It does EVERYTHING ... except make calls

 

[B_Phlyy]

@B_PhlyyWould you consider yourself a natural if you colored with something like henna/indigo or do you think changing your natural color negates your "naturalness"?

Hmmm, it's not the color change itself that makes it not natural (for me), but how the color change comes about. Henna/indigo are natural so while they would change my natural color, I would still consider myself natural because no chemical was involved. My hair is naturally black but my ends are dark brown because they faded from the sun. So even though a permanent change was made to my hair, nature did it, so I still consider myself natural. Henna/indigo are in the same boat to me.

 

[Bublin]

I'm having a strong sense of deja vu...hasn't this topic been discussed very recently - i swear some of the posters have cut and paste their comments from another thread into this one. I also remember that same picture of the free-form dreadlock.

 

[05girl]

Better yet, why is someone "natural" if they apply product to improve/alter their curls but they are not if they straighten the curl?

 

[nakialovesshoes]

Better yet, why is someone "natural" if they apply product to improve/alter their curls but they are not if they straighten the curl?

05girlI don't think styling products would make someone not natural. Styling products may change a curl pattern temporarily but once they're washed out, you're left with the original hair.

Though I'm not agreeing with the video that was posted, I could see her side of things. Once someone's hair is heat damaged, though it wasn't done with chemicals, the straight pieces will not revert back to the original texture. Therefore the hair has been permanently altered & so the YT poster feels that makes them no longer natural. I think.

 

[Iluvsmuhgrass]

IMHO, natural hair is any hair that's not chemically relaxed to a lesser degree. The new definitions and all of the hullabaloo surrounding natural hair is a bit ridiculous if you ask me. Believing what you want is one thing, but forcing that opinion on others is tacky, sad, and oppressing. Appreciating the diversity of our natural is what I thought the original movement was about. Now, it seems to serve as yet another divider among us.

 

[Solitude]

Okay, I wanted to reserve my comments until I watched the video. That woman doesn't know what the h*ll she's talking about. I am not natural, but I am sure that I will transition whenever I so choose. I would still wear my hair the same ways that I wear it now as a person who is "texlaxed" aka relaxed - in a bun, a braidout, straight, or the occasional wash-n-go. I have made funny little comments in these threads before because there have been so many like this, but let's be real...most women refer to "natural" hair as hair that does not have a relaxer. For those outside of hair care and hair boards might need a more detailed explanation or a clarification between natural and "no weave."

Very few people would consider women who use heat occasionally to not be natural and if they do, they need to relax (no pun intended).

Back to this YouTuber:

1. First off, there has to be a better way to promote your salon than making a video with "b-tch" in the title to purposely insult other black women, some of whom are her clients.

2. Her natural hair is quite thin and whatever style that she has going on looks a hot mess. No offense to anyone who has patronized that salon, but she wouldn't touch my hair. I'm relaxed and use heat and my hair is thicker and healthier-looking than hers, although she says that any kind of "pressing" - blowouts, flat-ironing, etc. thins your hair. I'm sorry, but that is not necessarily true.

3. She is the type of person who contributes to the negative stereotypes of women with natural hair and black women in general. Does the world really care if someone presses their hair one or two times, or whatever? No. But, to call a woman who presses her hair such an inflammatory word is just not necessary.

If your hair looks good and you take care of it, it will flourish. People will compliment you. You will enjoy your hair, whether relaxed or natural, heat user or not. Just stay away from stylists like this one.

 

[virtuenow]

virtuenow[/URL]Just because it's controversial doesn't mean it has to be negative. I made the warning & further went on to say that I wanted to keep it positive. I wanted it to be a thread where people could give their opinions (like most have) without there being any arguments/attacks.

When I was natural a few years ago, heat training wasn't really a topic. As far as I was concerned, natural was relaxer free. But now (i.e. the video that sparked this topic) there seems to be different definitions of what constitutes natural hair.

I know this board is about talking hair & I just wanted to hear what other ladies had to say about the subject.

Okay, no problem. I just think its an interesting topic. Some people are so serious about their natural hair.

 

[coolsista-paris]

Well to me natural is: hair without chemicals, and thats it.
i am natural and have been using no heat for the first years. Then this year i decided to try heat , or heat training (i flat ironed it and wore straight for a month).
When i was young my aunt kept hot combing my hair (it was beautiful at that time and long), i still consider it being natural.

But then...each person has their opinion. I think naturals who are no heat should not critisize those whose choice is to put heat. Each person has the right to do what they want with their hair. its supposed to be a free world

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Wrong! to the bolded statement. Simply ask someone from the '60s, when the afro was popular, what their definition of natural is/was. Prior to the black power movement most women hot combed their hair and very, very few used chemicals. The afro was called 'the natural'. Hot combed heads were not considered "natural'.

Since when was pressed hair not considered natural in the 60s? This doesn't sound right to me. My family wore both styles in the 60s. Pressed hair is just another style option. I just don't get why this woman felt so free to call women out their name because they want to have strait hair without a relaxer. Truth be told, your hair doesn't come out your head in an afro, either. That style must be manipulated, just like her urban twists. This is just another needless division.

 

[chrisanddonniesmommy]

As long as you're not using relaxers, texturizers, or texlaxing, you're natural to me.

Coloring and using heat are fine, if done healthily.

 

[Embyra]

In the REAL world no one cares about black peoples crazy definitions for what is natural

white girls STAY moussing.. gelling.. backcombing etc etc their virgin hair i never heard the Caucasian committee asking them to hand back their virgin card

black people talking about your not natural after ONE flat iron session GTFOH