Not long ago I made the switch from braids, consistently confused for dreads by the hair illiterate, to rocking my short, incredibly curly natural hair. In the last four or five months I’ve gotten a lot of questions. From the constant questions to the curious fro patting, it’s obvious that in a white washed world, curly black hair among many other things isn’t something many people know a lot about.I don't blame you, I’ve had it on my head for 18 years and yet I’ve been more or less lost trying to understand the entity atop my scalp. In the last 5 months of this alien invasion I’ve come to understand the specimen on my head and I'd like to try demystify the strange thing that is my hair.
Why did you do it?
I get it. Black hair, that is the kinky curly variety commonly referred to as the fro, has long been considered bad hair. So, it comes as no surprise that many people were a little thrown when I chose to embrace my own. My goal wasn’t to fit in, but rather to accept and explore this part of myself that I’ve always more or less avoided because it was too “difficult”. It was always too curly, too coarse, too fragile and in many ways to different. In an effort to rebel and also “find myself” (because duh, college) I decided I was down with being different. It felt more authentic and feels more authentic now to sport my own natural hair. So, long story short, I did it to become more of myself and to further endorse the importance of loving yourself in spite of a world telling you that everyone else's way is better.
Do You Like It?
It took a while to get to a place where I could appreciate what I once referred to as the “curly monster” on top of my head. It's not entirely monstrous, but much like teenage me, it can get a little testy. Sometimes it’s it gets stubborn and refuses to do what I want it too and other times I get lazy and don't take care of it the way I should. We both get fed up with each other and then don't talk for a while, which is probably good because it's hair. I’m certainly no stranger to bad hair days and frustrated evenings. But, I did the same thing with my braids and I did the same thing when I straightened my hair for prom. The only difference is that now, even on a bad day, I remind myself of someone far more hipster and quirky than I actually am and it's much appreciated.
What is it?
A lot of people just don't get my hair. Why does it feel that way? Why does it look that way? Why do you have to do that? Well welcome to black hair 101, take a seat. My hair is essentially just very very curly. Curly hair has a lot of trouble getting the essential oils it needs. This means, without proper hair, curly hair can get kinda dry and fuzzy. When it feels dry, that's often because it is. This is why if you've ever run into me past midnight, I've got that weird pink cap on my head. No, I'm not trying to channel some weird 1920's fashion, I'm just trying to make sure my hair isn't reminiscent of a bag of potato chips in the morning. It's also the reason I don't wear it in a fro everyday or at-least shouldn't wear it in a fro everyday. My brand of kinky curl hair is also incredibly fragile. It'll break easy and even the rubbing of my hair against my t-shirts for too many days in a row can render me bald. Well, okay, not bald.
Bonus: When my hair is pinned back and short looking, I didn't cut it over night, I just used a massive amount of bobby pins and pixie dust.
Will you go back?
Will you go back? I changed my hair I didn't move to the moon, folks. I will not be leaving my homeland and family behind, so everyone can take a chill pill and breathe. I like change and the braids I wore for much of the last three years are slightly more doable in the summer months with my more carefree “I don’t want comb my hair today” lifestyle. So, yes, I’ll probably do that and other things with my hair, but I’ll probably always come back to the fro I’ve come to know and love.
