What’s This Whole “Natural Hair Thing” about anyway? By Belinda Bullard

If we are honest, rocking our natural hair is not exactly new.  In my lifetime, I can remember 70’s images of Pam Grier as Cleopatra Jones and Teresa Graves of “Get Christy Love” fame.   I can also recall Cicily Tyson’s gorgeous cornrows, which are about as much the “Bo Derek” look as big bottoms can be attributed to J-Lo.    So, why the focus on natural hair?   I will share my own perspective, and some of the reasons that I embarked upon this journey, and perhaps in doing so I will touch upon something that resonates with you.

Health.  Rarely have I seen a more graphic image of the damage that sodium hydroxide, the primary component in chemical perms, can do than in the movie “Good Hair.”   Producer/ narrator Chris Rock engages in light dialogue with a scientist, who simultaneously conducts an experiment of soaking a soda can in sodium hydroxide.    Within minutes the soda is irreparably damaged; in hours there is no can.    Of course, hopefully none of us allow chemicals to remain on our heads for that long—few of us could stand it!   Yet, the image, and the images of scalp burns following this experiment are all too real for me.   I can remember my first experiment with a “bad” perm in middle school, and how I felt and looked as multiple burns began to leak pus, gluing my hair together over the next couple of days.   My mother was not one to allow to us to miss school for any reason, so I had to face my classmates on what redefined for me the meaning of a ‘bad hair day.’   It might be a function of age, but burns, especially around my scalp line, were becoming more and more of a regular occurrence, and it did not seem to matter how much water I drank prior to my retouch.   Moreover, it could not have been a coincidence that my normally full hair line was thinning in these same areas.

There is another, more simplistic, health-related reason that I decided to transition.    A naturally curly friend stated it plainly when she advised me, “I don’t put anything in my hair that I can’t eat.”   It sounded strange at the time, but it makes perfect sense.   Skin, regardless of where it is located, is porous.  We use certain soaps and lotions to give our skin moisture; we use hair serums and oils for the same reason.   Why introduce chemicals into our bodies through our hair, and for what reason?    So that we can be deemed acceptable by someone else’s standard of beauty?    Over the years, I have changed many facets of my lifestyle in order to preserve this vessel just a little longer.   I have cut pork from my diet.   I eat red meat at most once per month.   I eat more raw foods and drink far more water.   I read labels extensively—on food, on cleansers, and on body care products.   Dare I overlook the hazards I place on my skin every six weeks when I straighten my hair?     Sorry, I have lost too many close friends and relatives to various cancers to let that continue to slip by me.

  

Product knowledge. Treasured Locks. Naturally Curly.  Nappturality.  The Mane Source. Natural Sunshine.   And let us not forget about the 100 or so ladies on YouTube who have approached natural hair education with missionary-like zeal.   These are just a few of the resources available to help women who are either caring for children with natural hair, women who want to take better care of their own hair, or those like me, who are making different decisions about their hair.   I began my own natural hair journey through my two girls, and taking an honest look at their long, full, yet dry and tangled hair.   It was two years ago when I realized that their hair could not thrive on the same products that I used for my own permed hair.    I did not know how much information was on the web at that time, but I did get the slightest peek into the natural hair care product industry, and what a huge business it has become.    When I grew up, petrolatum-based products like Ultra Sheen were the oils, or, as we called it, “grease” of choice; a newcomer like TCB was considered a walk on the wild side.    Now, there are multiple product lines for the woman who chooses to embrace her God-given tresses, and those figures do not account for a growing population of women who scrap the manufactured versions altogether and head for the kitchen pantry shelves.   Anyone who even thinks they might toy with transitioning to their natural hair can easily find the support, the expertise, and the how-to’s to grow and maintain a head full of healthy hair.  

Embracing our heritage.   I often see women refer to their natural hair as “God’s plan A.”  Simply put, whatever you have is what He meant for you to have.   For too long, we have been sold a bag of goods that says we should have something else—the hair on our heads is not sufficient, not acceptable, and not worthy of the crowning glory that is spoken of in Proverbs 16:31 and 1 Corinthians 11:15.    That kinky-curly texture is the most villainized texture on the planet; we even refer to hair that is straighter or curlier as “good” hair.    In the midst of an era where we laugh about the wig or weave that is ours because we paid for it, there exists a critical mass of women who have said, “Enough is enough.   I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and God’s work in me is marvelous (Psalm 137:6).”    Mind you, embracing what is ours is not about hating what others have.   Nor is self-love of our kinky-curliness meant to divide us from our sisters who are equally resolved to chemically straighten their coifs.    But, after years of thinking otherwise, God’s original plan is good enough for me.   If you think so, too, I pray that you will seek after knowledge and wise counsel, and then join me.