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.
Latest posts by Dianne Austin (see all)
There are a number of factors that pushed me towards going natural back in 2013.
When I relaxed my hair, I always admired the look and texture of black women with natural hair. In the early 2000’s, there were not as many women strutting their natural hair as there are now, so when I saw a sister with natural hair, I’ll admit – I couldn’t stop staring. They looked gorgeous and confident.
The second impetus for me, and it was a strong one, was that I hated going to the hair salon. It never made sense to me that I should make an appointment for 9 a.m., only to be kept waiting an hour before they sent an assistant over to put a “bib” on me to have me wait yet another hour before the stylist even sat me down in a chair. My time was valuable and it seemed like such a disrespectful customer business model. My reward for spending my whole day and a considerable amount of money at the salon: Straight limp hair with scalp burns to boot! It never quite seemed like a fair trade off…
I look back on those days in a bittersweet way now. I’m on my journey of re-growing my hair since I recently lost all of my beautiful afro kinky hair due to chemotherapy. I now wish that I had some hair so that I could wait for hours to get my hair ‘did’! (I know, bad joke, but sometimes you have to look at the glass as half full rather than half empty).
Fast-forward to 2015 and you will see black women with beautiful, natural hair everywhere you look.
Some of the more concrete reasons that black women go natural are similar to mine: Love of their own natural hair, frustration with the time spent at hair salons and concerns about scalp and hair damage. The shift towards embracing natural hair is affecting the black hair industry in a major way.
In the article, “Chemical-free black hair is not simply a trend”, the writer highlights some very interesting facts:
- Sales of relaxer products have decreased from $206 million to $152 million between 2008 and 2013
- Natural hair related product purchases have increased within the same period
Natural hair is not a phase, trend, fad or whim. It is a styling choice that has created a huge social, political and financial culture shift. Natural hair is the new norm for many women. It is a styling, no, lifestyle choice that is here to stay.
Author: Dianne
 “Changing attitudes about natural hair” is what we do at Natural Haircare News. Through informative articles, podcasts and videos, we go beyond just sharing the latest advice and tips on kinky, curly, wavy haircare – We shake things up and focus on the realities of wearing our hair natural. |
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