Don’t Believe The Hype: 6 Untruths About Natural Hair
Dianne is the co-founder of Natural Haircare News and Coils To Locs.com. She's been blogging about natural hair ever since she made the decision to break free of the creamy crack in 2012.
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There are so many misconceptions and untruths out there about our natural hair:
- Natural hair is hard to manage. Of course it is if you have never learned how to take care of your hair. Like anything, understanding your hair is half the battle. Take the time to understand your hair. What are the best shampoos and conditioners? How long does your hair take to air dry? What does it look like when you “wash and go”? What are the best detangling methods. Educate yourself and apply what you learn. You’ll soon eliminate “hard to manage” from your vocabulary when it comes to your hair.
- Natural hair is not attractive or professional. Says who? Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Anyone who thinks that natural hair is unattractive or unprofessional just because natural hair isn’t straight needs to clean their glasses, check their contact lens prescription or maybe just get an attitude adjustment.
- Natural hair is really hard to comb. No, our hair does not glide over a comb like straight hair because our curly strands naturally wrap around the prongs of a comb. Coily/curly hair needs more TLC than straight hair so use other detangling options such as finger detangle or combing the hair while wet and highly conditioned with a smooth, rounded wide tooth comb on occasion to prevent breakage.
- There aren’t as many styling options for Naturalistas. Natural hair has many styling options. You can bun it, braid it, twist and curl it, pin it… the options for styling are limited only by your imagination.
- My man/partner/family/friends won’t like my hair natural. It is fine to respect the opinion of others but should we be trying to adjust our lives to suit other people’s preferences when it comes to our hair? I say, “absolutely not! If someone doesn’t like your hair, it is their problem, not yours.
- My hair won’t look like my girlfriend/sister/cousin’s hair. Some women are either caught up in the “straighter” curl pattern dilemma or just lack confidence and think that their hair will never look as good as another women’s hair that they admire. Don’t always strive to look like someone else. Let’s appreciate our own beauty by learning to appreciate our own hair. Wear your hair with confidence and you will be the person whose hair others admire.
Helps us to banish misconceptions and untruths about our hair! What are some of the untruths that you’ve heard or experienced over time?
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