sometimes Naturals do WAYYYYY TOO MUCHHHHH!!!!
I truly believe that with the "new wave of naturaldom" , more women will end up being deterred from going natural, more than attracted to it. Between an overwhelming amount seeking to convince every natural that they need to rid themselves of shampoos, twist their own hair every single day in a protective style, henna weekly, make your own products, deep condition for days, co-wash every other day, and preach against heat styling, it's too much. In fact, it's overwhelming to someone who's considering transitioning or BCing, in order to become natural.
The secret to natural hair really is that less is more. Many women that I see with the EXTRA long flowy natural hair do so little to their hair. Take Curly Nikki, for example. She'll go a full month wearing the same twist out set, unwashed, and is still walking thick, vuluptuous curls.
Contrary to popular belief, there's no magic cure for getting hair down to your butt in 2 days. There are ways to not retain your growth, thus making it seem like your hair isn't growing, BUT sucess can be obtained without having to stare at your hair every day waiting for it to grow.When I first went natural, I "tricked" myself into thinking that I had to do all sorts of things since I was natural, and now I'm seeing that more success is occuring now that I'm relaxing when it comes to my hair... no pun intended. lol
Don't let natural hair consume you! The moment you leave it alone will be the very moment you begin to achieve the results you want!
LOL I have to laugh at this because everything you marked in yellow (just about) I do. I've been natural for almost 6 years but never knew exactly how to care for my hair other than flat iron it straight.
ReplyDeleteSo, all of the stuff you mention is new to me and while it probably is over the top, I actually enjoy most of it. I am however scaling back on the number of products I use. It's not that it's way too much. It's just way too expensive!
I will say however that in the 2 months that I've been doing these extra things, my hair actually likes it. The henna treatments and the protective styling has helped me to retain a couple of inches in just a short time. I guess it's time to scale back now though because my hair could get used to it all then just take a vacation.
OK, now I'm rambling but couldn't help it because i love these kind of posts :-)
LOL I wasn't trying to convey that those things aren't necessary... they certainly have their place in the "natural hair world". I just feel like, there are multiple routes to success.
ReplyDeleteOftentimes, people make it seem like those methods are the ONLY way to grow your hair/maintain natural hair, and that attitude is what pushes people away from wanting to be natural. In addition to it being overwhelming at first, to have to completely change your hair methods in such drastic ways, if you're unaware of why.
Jameka, you are right about that. I started doing some things (while learning) that I was doing just because everyone else was doing it then I was think why? for ex: pre-pooing. What is the purpose of that if I use a sulfate free shampoo anyway? I just did it because everyone said you should. I'll tell you 1 thing. My hair was a tangled mess when I did it LOL. I was fine without it so I'm not planning to make this a part of my regimen.
ReplyDeleteFor now, I'll stick to one day a week washing, deep conditioning and twisting. Oh and my monthly henna session :-)