Why is flat ironing natural hair such a big deal?

[LadyRaider]

I'm not arguing with that, but you said it was the "most unnatural "natural" style on the planet." I just don't get how conditioner makes hair or a style "unnatural".

Most people don't use just conditioner though. Right? Yuck... all the gel mostly. Or even all the conditioner that really is supposed to be washed out. I wrote that just after I watched the washngo tutorial that was on the front page here. To me it's not natural even though it is considered a natural style. As for the planet part.. well, I have been accused of hyperbole in the past.

It doesn't matter though. I don't really sit in judgment of other people's hair. I was just talking for me.

 

[greenandchic]

Most people don't use just conditioner though. Right? Yuck... all the gel mostly. Or even all the conditioner that really is supposed to be washed out. I wrote that just after I watched the washngo tutorial that was on the front page here. To me it's not natural even though it is considered a natural style. As for the planet part.. well, I have been accused of hyperbole in the past.

It doesn't matter though. I don't really sit in judgment of other people's hair. I was just talking for me.

Actually, I honestly don't know what most people do. This is the first WnG I've seen where that much product was used. I know that's not a very sustainable style for me due to the tangles and potential breakage, (which could be why some people use a lot of products in the first place).

 

[Chameleonchick]

These natural hair "nazis" (which really is a very horrible thing to say) seem to say more online or to people they know really well. I have yet to meet anyone that is actually this strong in real life, let alone to a person they don't know. I love my natural hair but I like healthy hair in general so if you want to be a straight style nappy who cares do you.

 

[Valerie]

I have always wondered that myself, people get so angry on forums and you're not really natural, if you flat iron your hair or if you colour it. Some people need to get a life.

 

[empressri]

as someone with a looser curl and a longtime member of nappturality....i havent seen these so-called militant folks either.

yes the site is against heat and relaxing and i do understand the reasoning behind it completely. and for those that cant dig it, then it's just not the place for you. nappturality is a place for those who are against using heat and relaxing because they want to wear their hair the way it grows out of their scalp, without being associated with the stigma of the nap.

and as someone who flat irons her hair occasionally, i just never speak out it when im on nappturality, there are other boards i can discuss it if i wish.

would you go on a dieter's forum and start posting recipes of triple layer fudgy chocolate cake? no. and if you do, dont get sensitive and not understand why folks are cussing you out and giving you the e-finger.

 

[naturalTAN]

as someone with a looser curl and a longtime member of nappturality....i havent seen these so-called militant folks either.

yes the site is against heat and relaxing and i do understand the reasoning behind it completely. and for those that cant dig it, then it's just not the place for you. nappturality is a place for those who are against using heat and relaxing because they want to wear their hair the way it grows out of their scalp, without being associated with the stigma of the nap.

and as someone who flat irons her hair occasionally, i just never speak out it when im on nappturality, there are other boards i can discuss it if i wish.

would you go on a dieter's forum and start posting recipes of triple layer fudgy chocolate cake? no. and if you do, dont get sensitive and not understand why folks are cussing you out and giving you the e-finger.

 

[BreeNique]

Perhaps this entire thing is a symptom of the sickness, not the disease itself?

I understand why someone would care about what someone else does to their hair, if the person caring feels there's an underlying microaggression or internalized oppression system at work. otherwise, a hair style is just that--a style. Take it all with a grain of salt, and if a person with natural/ altering chemical-free hair wants to rock it straight for a day or a week or however long, they should go for it.

and if, upon searching one's motives, one finds an underlying, possibly psychologically harmful desire for straightening, one shouldn't fear the possible answers.

natural does not equal militant (which doesn't equal bad/ negative!), and straight doesn't equal unsatisfied or unaccepting.

it's protien, keratin that sprouts from our heads. lets have some fun with it, explore, cut, grow, cut, grow, and accept it in all forms.

just keep it in perspective.




lest we forget, in the words of India Aire,

i
am
not
my
hair. *say it with me, all!!*

 

[silenttullip]

It may be due to the fact that they may feel like being natural makes them belong to something so they feel they have to go way beyond what it really is about. It's america
here if someone is different we shun them unless they're famous

 

[Southern Belle]

Really??? People trip off this?

I'm one of those naturals that have never straightened my hair. Not because I think there's anything wrong with it, but because it seems like too much damn work!

If one of Niko's cousins offered to straighten it for me, I'd probably jump at it.

 

[OsnapCnapp!]

Most? Really? erplexed

I'm on multiple hairboards. I respect each has it's own vibe so I just roll with it being sure to take note of info that's useful for me.

Well see, that's just since I've been here. Kimmaytube threads get started then u guys shut them down because they go haywire, the heat training thread got shut down (not the support one), hairtyping threads go haywire and the list goes on. But its not all bad though not enough to look at the site in disgust like one would with nappturality.

 

[greenandchic]

I understand the reasoning behind it too, (I am a natural who never uses heat), but I just couldn't dig that extreme censoring (words that are not cuss words). NP.com just had too much anger and protesting to the point it was no longer a safe place. IMO.

 

[Raine054]

I'm relaxed and I completely understand why some natural women are against straightening, relaxers, heat training, etc. We've been told since we got to this hemisphere that our hair is ugly, unmanageable, and can't grow. We've been told that we are ugly as well. For some women, being natural means going against every disgusting euro-centric meme that has been passed down from slavemaster to slave, slave to indentured servant, indentured servant to free man/woman.

I don't think a lot of people understand how warped our subconscious and unconscious minds have become since slavery up into the modern era. We are bombarded with messages every day about what is beautiful and what isn't. In this country, almost everytime, those messages don't represent us. So I can understand why someone who is fully aware of the history of Blacks in this country and abroad may frown on someone who shares that same legacy propagating said image. On the other hand, I think that wearing hair straight is just another option for so many of us and it would be crazy of me to assume that I have the right to tell another adult woman how to wear her hair.

No matter one's opinion, we should all remember that no other women on the planet have hairs like ours. It is unique and should be taken care of whether relaxed, natural, locked, etc.

 

[Imani]

I have a family member who is like this, but definitely not rude or militant about it. They have not straightened their hair since the 80s. Think they have blow dried it a few times. She feels that if you straighten your hair all the time you are not "really" natural.

The funny thing about the militant ones on the boards are you look at their pics and their hair is always in twist outs or braid outs with two tons of product in it, so they are not showing their "real" texture either if they wanna get that deep with it.

 

[reeko43]

Raine054, I think you hit the nail on the head. I too can understand why a person would be adamantly against a forced standard of beauty. I can understand why they would want to express how they feel, thus the need for sites like Nappturality. However, just like these people don't want a standard that is not their own forced on them, I feel they should respect the rights of others to make the decision of what they do with their hair. I think these people need to work out their need for payback and the real reasons behind their need to control the actions of others instead of masking it with a "cause". On the flip, I feel just as strongly about relaxed and/or other heads who also try to control the actions of others. It would make more sense to advocate for freedom of choice as opposed to exchanging one set of chains for another.

 

[Kindheart]

as someone with a looser curl and a longtime member of nappturality....i havent seen these so-called militant folks either.

yes the site is against heat and relaxing and i do understand the reasoning behind it completely. and for those that cant dig it, then it's just not the place for you. nappturality is a place for those who are against using heat and relaxing because they want to wear their hair the way it grows out of their scalp, without being associated with the stigma of the nap.

and as someone who flat irons her hair occasionally, i just never speak out it when im on nappturality, there are other boards i can discuss it if i wish.

would you go on a dieter's forum and start posting recipes of triple layer fudgy chocolate cake? no. and if you do, dont get sensitive and not understand why folks are cussing you out and giving you the e-finger.

I understand your point,isnt this avoidance and denial in allowing members to chose other styles or God forbid mentioning the word "straight or press", considered bullyism ?
You re contraddicting yourself by saying you ve never found any militants in that forum , then admit how strict the forum rules are and how you would feel is inappropriate to even discuss straightening your hair.Supporting an idea by indoctrinating people and bashing other's ideas is not healthy as it encourages "discrimination".
The fact a forum clearly states rules and principles doesnt make them automatically right,fair or respectful .

 

[EllePixie]

I used to post on NP and they even got in heated debates about shingling. I remember one poster stated, "The natural's mantra should be conditioner and shea butter," and I was like erplexed because my hair doesn't even like shea butter by itself. And that was where I took issue - on this site, I feel as if sometimes people get offended regarding other's opinions about their hair when a person starts a thread ASKING FOR OPINIONS (ie, if I wore my hair straight 100% of the time I would not call it natural, but if you want to, go ahead), but they were giving blanket statements to apply to everyone...no bueno. So then, they decided about there should be two different names...napptural vs. natural. I agree with @empressri that someone would just be plain silly to get on NP posting about the best way to get that silky swang from a press, but many of them are certainly militant and judge women harshly regarding their hair choices. But that is the tone of the site, and they know it and celebrate it.

 

[LadyRaider]

I didn't like "needing" a relaxer. If there's a militant strand to my personal beliefs it comes from that. I don't need a boob job, I don't need false eyelashes, I don't need weave, I don't need a relaxer. I wish I didn't need make up (heh.)

It's freeing for me.

And Greenandchic, I think I was a slightly miffed at someone saying that if you flat iron, you don't like your texture. So I was just riffing on all the things "naturals" do that are really altering/hiding texture as well. I wear my hair in updos a lot. So technically I'm hiding my texture when I do that.

White people flat iron their hair too. Those folks you see with straight hair? More than half of them flat iron cause they don't like their wave or curl.

 

[empressri]

I understand your point,isnt this avoidance and denial in allowing members to chose other styles or God forbid mentioning the word "straight or press", considered bullyism ?
You re contraddicting yourself by saying you ve never found any militants in that forum , then admit how strict the forum rules are and how you would feel is inappropriate to even discuss straightening your hair.Supporting an idea by indoctrinating people and bashing other's ideas is not healthy as it encourages "discrimination".
The fact a forum clearly states rules and principles doesnt make them automatically right,fair or respectful .

who isnt allowing other folks to choose what they want to do with their hair???

then those natural nazis but be getting bullied back if you're bashing them because they dont WANT to press their hair or relax it.

no one is bashing anything. the point over there is for women who have been told they have to fix their hair, that it's unacceptable and an insult to society for them to show their naps, to come to a place to meet other like minded folks who've been told the same thing.

now if you get someone calling other folks stupid or whatever because of hair choices they make...then does that make then a natural nazi? cause ive seen worse on this site. in fact i havent seen folks go in on a person hard until i came to this board and even it made me go damn, it's that deep??

ive never seen a lynch mob over on nappturality like i have on LHCF.

 

[greenandchic]

I didn't like "needing" a relaxer. If there's a militant strand to my personal beliefs it comes from that. I don't need a boob job, I don't need false eyelashes, I don't need weave, I don't need a relaxer. I wish I didn't need make up (heh.)

It's freeing for me.

And Greenandchic, I think I was a slightly miffed at someone saying that if you flat iron, you don't like your texture. So I was just riffing on all the things "naturals" do that are really altering/hiding texture as well. I wear my hair in updos a lot. So technically I'm hiding my texture when I do that.

White people flat iron their hair too. Those folks you see with straight hair? More than half of them flat iron cause they don't like their wave or curl.

Many of the Latina women I see with straight hair in a lot of cases have 3b/3c hair, but no one is giving shade to them about not liking their curl. We only do that to ourselves. My God, even twist outs are taboo now, LOL. As EllePixie mentioned "conditioner and shea butter only" Really?? I guess if they want to play that game, shea butter can be used to slick down curls and kinks -so there!

Maybe its because of our history as a previous poster mentioned, IDK...

 

[ashleymichelle1]

I see militant naturals ALL THE TIME. I've been on the boards and hair websites for about 4 years..I think the militant natural trend has died down somewhat because of the backlash it recieved but its still there . Just the other day I was on a hair board...I ain't even gonna say the name cause ya'll already know lol..but there was a thread on there where a person started complaining about naturals who straighten for length checks & special occasions. She was ranting & raving about how stupid it was and how we should wanna wear our hair in it's natural state all the time...most of the posters agreed but one came on and said I think ya'll should MYOB!!...I wanted to comment and give her a piece of my mind..but I didn't and figured it would just be a waste of time.

On one hand I see where people come from...yes this certain standard of beauty is being pushed on us and I believe we should fight back in certain ways. But at the end of the day Black woman are diverse. I love that everyone has their own style and look...I wouldn't want every single black woman with an afro, or every single one of us w/ straight hair because we would all look alike. I'm happy that more woman are going natural and finding out that straight hair is not the only option. But militant naturals take it to a new level and state ALL black women need natural hair..and not just relaxer free hair but no straightening, no color, twistouts or any type of manipulation just water, oil and an afro pick. When it gets to that point it's just out of hand and ridiculous...

Like I said I love the diversity. Natural, Relaxed, Texlaxed, loose curls, waves, tight curls, braids, twists, locs, blonde, red, jet black, purple, pressed, blow dried. As long as your hair is healthy and looks good that's all that matters. PERIOD

I guess I just don't get the big deal about worrying about other people's hair...is it REALLY that serious? like really? If people ask me for hair advice I will gladly tell them what I know...but for me to try and force **** on people? no thanks..I got enough stuff on my plate. In my opinion these militant folks simply do not have a life..that's the only excuse for sitting around worry about OTHER PEOPLES hair..

ok i'm done.

 

[Guitarhero]

 

[lovenharmony]

It's not - to me that is

 

[**SaSSy**]

I could care less what other women do to their hair, but for my hair I have no problems straightening my hair with heat and a flat-iron. I only do it once a year around my BC anniversary. I don't care what the "pro-natural" or "anti-heat" ladies say.

 

[NikStarrr]

Not a big deal, in my book. The last thing I planned to do when going natural was to be "boxed in" by all of these parameters, opinions & ideas of what natural hair is suppose to be.

 

[kittikat24]

Am I the only one who checked out the Nappturality website after hearing so much about it in this thread?
Talk about PEAKED interest!

But seriously y'all.
What's the first graphic you see when you log into LHCF...our header features four beautiful women of color. Locked, wavy/curly, straight, afro..it's all beautiful, and its celebrated here

To answer the question, there's nothing wrong with flat-ironing natural hair. When I flat-iron, I never think for a moment that I'm not natural...sheesh, half the time I keep wondering whether my curls will bounce back or not!

 

[AuNaturalMaMa]

I think on here it can turn into a big deal because of the damage that heat can cause, and we see a lot of threads about heat damage, heat training, ect. On other sites it may be because some feel by using heat you're not embracing your texture. But I dont think thats the case here. I think a lot of ladies voice their opinions against heat because maybe they experienced some heat damage by not using the proper techniques and they are warning others. Just the same as if someone says "Oh dont use that product it made my hair horrible." They're just giving their opinion on that particular product not bashing those who use it. So I think that ladies are just giving their opinion on heat (based on what it did to their hair) and not bashing anyone in particular. Thats what I believe.

 

[EbonyCPrincess]

I don't consider hair 'natural' if the person in question straightens their hair the majority of the time.

Apparently this is only a forum idea, but I can't think of anyone in real life (personally) that would call themselves natural if they straightened their hair the majority of the time.

Everyone I know in real life calls themselves natural if their hair is un-relaxed...and 80% of them wear their hair straight ALL time, and the others do on occasion. I've only heard THIS notion on forums.

 

[Kindheart]

I see militant naturals ALL THE TIME. I've been on the boards and hair websites for about 4 years..I think the militant natural trend has died down somewhat because of the backlash it recieved but its still there . Just the other day I was on a hair board...I ain't even gonna say the name cause ya'll already know lol..but there was a thread on there where a person started complaining about naturals who straighten for length checks & special occasions. She was ranting & raving about how stupid it was and how we should wanna wear our hair in it's natural state all the time...most of the posters agreed but one came on and said I think ya'll should MYOB!!...I wanted to comment and give her a piece of my mind..but I didn't and figured it would just be a waste of time.

On one hand I see where people come from...yes this certain standard of beauty is being pushed on us and I believe we should fight back in certain ways. But at the end of the day Black woman are diverse. I love that everyone has their own style and look...I wouldn't want every single black woman with an afro, or every single one of us w/ straight hair because we would all look alike. I'm happy that more woman are going natural and finding out that straight hair is not the only option. But militant naturals take it to a new level and state ALL black women need natural hair..and not just relaxer free hair but no straightening, no color, twistouts or any type of manipulation just water, oil and an afro pick. When it gets to that point it's just out of hand and ridiculous...

Like I said I love the diversity. Natural, Relaxed, Texlaxed, loose curls, waves, tight curls, braids, twists, locs, blonde, red, jet black, purple, pressed, blow dried. As long as your hair is healthy and looks good that's all that matters. PERIOD

I guess I just don't get the big deal about worrying about other people's hair...is it REALLY that serious? like really? If people ask me for hair advice I will gladly tell them what I know...but for me to try and force **** on people? no thanks..I got enough stuff on my plate. In my opinion these militant folks simply do not have a life..that's the only excuse for sitting around worry about OTHER PEOPLES hair..

ok i'm done.

well said sis!i agree

 

[ms-gg]

I'm an active member of NP and have been for almost 5 years now. I love NP because I know it is the one place on the internet that I can go to to discuss nothing but natural hair and it is full of so many women with hair that is very similar to my own. What I do not like is that some people are taking the most extreme cases they have seen, and are using it to define a whole group of people, you know, stereotyping. Would we want white people to look at this hair forum, see one post about cooch cream and assume that all women are using noot noot cream to grow their hair long? I don't think so because it is not true at all.

Yes, on one hand I can count the extreme extremist who believe that the only way you are truly natural is if you wear your hair in a shrunken fro and anything else is trying to change your texture. But guess what? Those people got the side eye from the majority of posters too. There are extremist in political parties, there are extremist in religious groups, and there are extremist in probably any other group that you can think of, including our own racial group. But are all of us (black people) defined by the most extreme? That is the problem I have because everyone would be up in arms if a white person made mass generalizations about us based off of a few bad experiences they had with some black people.

 

[nappystorm]

at people claiming not to see militant naturals here. I can think of one that only post in natural vs relaxed threads off the top of my head. I don't know many IRL though.

Flat ironing is not a big deal to me as long as my hair revert and I'm don't get that burnt hair smell.