I remember reading a blog post by curlynikki about why black men don’t like natural hair. Her answer was one I was already familiar with: beauty standards. So black women and girls used perms, relaxers or, if they didn’t care for chemicals, heat. Then a movement started that valued curls and crinkly hair. Now it’s an "in thing."
That’s what kills me. Hair isn’t supposed to be a trend. Hair is a part of us, something we care for so it doesn’t become frail and broken. There should be no reason why people change their hair to fit beauty standards, and, on that same note, there is no reason why hair should become a tool for social activism.
Bigoted and insecure people are very good at playing the population. They’ll make us think that hair should look a certain way, and if it doesn’t, then you aren’t real or pretty enough. Why can’t hair be our own personal possession to style outside of these influences?
It’s because we don’t understand that all hair styles and textures have unique beauty. All we see are the inconveniences. White people have fine hair that has to be washed every day or else the oil will build up and make it clunky. It has no body. However, It’s still soft and nice to play with though. Black people have thick, tight curls. We need oil or else it breaks off. We can’t get it wet without it poofing up, so we either have to improvise or think poofy is good. Asian people have smooth, sleek hair. One Chinese girl I knew hated how fine it was because she couldn’t do anything with it, but it was still gorgeous and soft. I could talk about others, but you know where I’m going with this. With all of hair’s imperfections, we miss out on what we adore because of what we let shallow people and ethnic purists make us think. All people need to know this, especially black people, because we’re a people at war with everyone else and ourselves.
All hair is beautiful. Yeah I said it. My mother always told me that if someone upkeeps their hair, it can make them look so much prettier, and now I see that it's true. I’ve seen plenty of women with bushes, some were messed up, but some were on point. That’s all. Keep your hair neat. Throw in some flowers, clips or combs, or just leave it without the decoration. See how beautiful it can be outside of pressure. Also, hair isn’t pretty because of its texture. If a girl with curls had broken hair, is it still pretty? Finally, if you do decide to straighten you hair, do it because it’s a style that you like. I straighten my hair mostly out of convenience, never because I want to be pretty like women with straight hair. It’s because I think it's a pretty hair style on me, same as curls. Same as crinkly hair.
