30 Days of Natural Hair: Loving Myself As-is (Week 2)
Recently, in utter frustration with my hair I decided to go completely natural. That meant that I wasn't going to do any more protective styles and just wear my hair as-is. One would think this is a simple task but for me, it wasn't. I have been so used to manipulating my natural hair that leaving it be was something that to be quite honest made me feel nervous.
As a woman who has been wearing her natural (intermittently) since 2001 when few women were, I have mastered many of the techniques employed within the natural hair community. Twist outs, coils, flat ironing, braids, you name it, I have done it or had it professionally done. The difference in what I have been doing versus what I've adopted as of late is that I don't do anything with my hair other than comb it, put moisturizer in it and leave for work. Sometimes I blow it out a bit just so it's easier to comb.
I just concluded my first week of wearing my hair "as-is" and it was enlightening. I was nervous to go to work with nothing more than a moisturized fro. So, I put my hair in two cornrows going straight back. Initially I felt foolish. I felt like I should have been an extra in The Color Purple. Then I dismissed my insecurity and just well, worked! There were no reactions. There was a compliment. The day continued as if it were any other day. I had to laugh at my initial concerns.
Since the cornrows worked and I'm wasn't feeling very imaginative, I continued that for about 3 days out of the week before they got too raggedy at the edges and I needed something else. So I redid the cornrows and did an off center part. So much for something new. Either way, my hair must be thanking me for the break.
I think my greatest challenge has been figuring out how to do styles without manipulating my texture with twists, rollers, or a flat iron. Owning your hair without that $15 miracle product in it each day isn't easy. I just want to know who I am without the bells and whistles. I want oils in my hair, and comb thru my hair, and a good day. It's not much to ask for but in a "community" where hair texture is broken into categories of A, B, and C grades the stress to get the look of a style that may not work with your texture is high. I get annoyed when people get caught up in the texture categories. Aside from assisting in product purchasing, it just seems like yet another way to divide a community of people that started this journey to overcome division.
At this very moment, I am typing this blog with a fuzzy afro. I'm not sure how others may feel about it but the say I see it? Any woman who has her hair out and combed is ready for work. The way her hair looks out and combed has nothing to do with her grooming. My hair looks the way it will always look when I wash it, comb it out and place a hair band at the front of my head. I don't need to manipulate it into something that puts people more at ease. I'm not sloppy, I'm not defiant, I'm a woman who wears her hair in it's natural state.
While it is a challenge for me, I am enjoying the experience of wearing my hair without texture manipulation of any sort (minus a warm blow-dry for combing. I know... I need to cut that out.). I'm looking up new styles and I intend to try them this week. You know what else? I think I am going to take my fro to work with me on Monday.
Want to take the "as-is" challenge? Go ahead and get started on your thirty days and be sure to hashtag #asisnaturalhairchallenge
Embrace who you are, without the frills!
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