Natural Hair: Fad or fixture? - Pt.2

Most everywhere the eye can see, from television commercials, films, print ads to your favorite community hangout it seems kinks and coils are gaining more prominence when it comes to hair fashion. Whether as a salon styled rod set, a curly sew in, lace front wig or as the result of “going natural”, textured hair seems to be all the rage in the 2000’s and many are riding the wave, pun intended, helping to place the beauty of twisted tresses in the spotlight.

When it comes to natural hair, the curly boom calls to question whether the current rise in napptural numbers is nothing more than a trend. On one side of the coin, because more information is coming to light concerning the dangers of chemical processing, many who have transitioned disagree that “going natural” is a fad. From their perspective they see the increase as representative of women, and sometimes men as well, choosing to live a healthier lifestyle and turning away from allowing their systems to be compromised by such toxic processes. On the other side of the coin, natural veterans like Columbus author M. Michele George marginally disagree.

“I’ve been natural almost [ten years] and I noticed TEN years ago that most commercials used women with textured hair. I think we come into that awareness once WE decide to let our texture out,” George states in her comment on the first article in this series. “For now, sadly, [going natural is] a fad. It takes a mind transformation to embrace hair that grows up and not down. At the minimum that takes [one to three years] to grow into. How many women in this microwave society can commit to themselves to wait for growth?”

Many other naturals who have undergone the transformation by transitioning or performing a BC and got past the initial awkward phases of the process echo Michele’s sentiments. All in all, no matter how you choose to begin cultivating your natural texture, if you’ve grown used to the “ease” or caring for relaxed hair, dealing with coils and curls can be rather taxing. With most woman having been subjected to chemical relaxers between the ages of eight and twelve – sometimes as young as four or five – for many the time they choose to “go natural” is the first time they have dealt with the authentic quality of their hair and find their expectations of the progression do not meet the reality the change presents. First there’s getting rid of the internal prejudices against ethnic hair which are latently adopted due to subtle hints from society that kinky hair is “bad” and straight hair is “good”. While a lot of women are complimentary when it comes to the textured tresses of others, learning to apply that same positive image on oneself can be a bit tricky. Next there’s wading through the myths that surround tightly coiled hair and allowing yourself to learn your hair on its own terms instead of lumping it into a certain universal type. Once all the mental legwork has been done the work of styling comes into play, and many find that there are discrepancies between what can be done with natural hair versus what has been able to be achieved with chemically altered hair. And when you add in the factor of growth expectations, the contradictions natural hair can present to what is considered feminine, and not being able to fit in time to deal with their hair and balance life responsibilities, it’s no wonder many who start out with good intention oftentimes return to perming shortly after starting the journey. Angel Jones of TRW Credit Group provides an example of this cycle in part of her comment to Curly Nikki’s Blog post on the topic.

“[I’ve] had chemicals in my hair [ever] since I was [five] I think, so that's all I knew. [When] I did my first BC I gave up [because I] didn't know what to do… Felt ugly ‘cause everyone in my area [looked] down on Black woman, and a black woman with napptural hair...OMG its [worse]. I [got] no support from no one but my children.”

Angel found her way back into the nappy fold in January 2009 after preforming a second BC, but her story is just one in a host of many of rebounding back to chemicals when caring for their kinks became too tough.

KCurly of NewlyNatural.com has another view of what makes natural hair a trend which comes from a styling perspective, as Tonya from the New Naturalista Blog shares in her post on the same subject matter.

“Let’s face it: There are those of us who change our hairstyles like we change our underwear. Also, some ladies just don’t view being natural as something that is deep and meaningful. Therefore, going natural is not a lifelong decision for them.”

But even with that being the case for some, many are hopeful that the perming exodus will take root because of the abundance of shared experiences and information available to natural newbies. So when the question was posed on Twitter as to whether natural hair is a fad, a good number of respondents provided a resounding no.

“No! It's become a movement and women are seeing it's okay to be natural!” exclaimed Carmen, a Sisterlock professional and owner of Tomoka's Twist’s, a company that creates handmade natural hair accessories. “There are too many Blogs, Websites, hair shows, products [and] videos for it to be! “

Twitter user MissLeggz agrees with Carmen, citing the wide spread information about how to safely transition as well as achieve beautiful styles available on the World Wide Web as being one of the components that will ensure longevity of the most recent textured hair movement.

“I think the Internet definitely helps spread the message. At one time most naturals either had an Afro or locs. But people are learning that natural hair is much more versatile.”

So there are those who do believe it’s a trend for all but a few who remain resilient and those who believe natural hair is here to stay thanks to the saturation of knowledge via new media sources, making the debate appear to be a black and white, either/or sort of subject on the surface.  But several naturals have managed to discover a gray area of compromise when it comes to answering the nagging question of whether natural hair is a fad or a fixture.

“I think for some it is a fad, but maybe they will fall in love with their naturalness!” offered Lisa Cox-Wade during an open discussion on the Columbus Natural Hair Examiner Facebook fan page.

And MissLeggz agrees.

“I think even for women who go natural because it's trendy, once they find out how to take care and love their hair it will stick. I think the key is education. We have to educate people that natural hair is beautiful and versatile.”

There seem to be as many possible sides to the debate as there are naturals to engage in it, with no definitive answer that accounts for everyone. As with any fashion trend there will be those participants who take the relay baton and run with it for a short while simply because going natural is the “in” thing to do. Others may begin the journey and intend to cross the finish line with crowning curls but veer off into chemical pastures, making it appear that they were only in it for the duration of the fad when really they just were ill prepared. And lastly, there are those who remain resolute and thwart the notion that their decision is anything less than a lifestyle choice that expresses who they are. While it is true, textured styles are most definitely a growing trend in terms of fashion and beauty culture, the increase in women making the leap to achieving a naturally textured state may or may not be a fad based on each individual’s reasons for and commitment to wearing their hair as it originally sprouted from their scalps.

So the answer isn’t as straightforward as most would like to believe.  However what is becoming clear with each natural hair convert, while there will probably always be those who choose to relax their tresses, the increasing number of women who take up the napptural cross and stick with it prove that this movement won’t be fading anytime soon. Even after society’s love affair with curls is usurped by the next style darling.

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