(ThySistas.com) Hair has always been a hot topic within the black community. Years before full head sew-ins, black women were rocking pull off ponytails, french rolls, finger waves and braids down our backs. That’s back when a stylist had to have a creative flare, there was no room for faking. Talent stylist would have women in the salon for hours on Saturday’s. No doubt we’ve always been trending where hair is concerned! As women of color we’ve always strived to find a style that required little maintenance and that could weather the storm.
Many of my clients who go “natural” end up wearing weaves and wigs simply because they aren’t accustomed to the time that’s required to care for your natural hair on a daily basis. Hair has it’s own personality! Our hair quickly let’s others know when we’re happy, pregnant, worried, stressed or taking medications. The relationship one has with their hair is the difference between being natural and relaxer free.
Relaxer free means that you haven’t had a relaxer, or as many say “perm”, in over 6 months. FYI: Women of color get relaxers to “relax” the curl pattern in our hair while women of other races with straight hair get perms to add curls and volume to their hair. Many women who are relaxer free opt to use hair products that contain 
nearly as many chemicals as relaxers. I know it’s tricky! Many hair care lines are throwing the term “natural” around with no code or standards. We have to read hair care product labels like we do food labels, and if you can’t pronounce the word, don’t even bother using Google. Put the bottle down and move away from the product!
The key to maintaining healthy, vibrant and strong hair is limiting your hair care products to items that can be used in the kitchen. This gets much deeper than healthy hair, think of the purpose of hair. What is your hair covering? If you can’t digest a product orally, you probably shouldn’t be applying it to your scalp. If lotion seeps into the skin, it’s safe to say that the products we use on our hair and scalp dissolves into our brain.
While I have been natural for over 15 years, I’m constantly learning new things on a regular basis. I’ve learned so much about whipping up concoctions in the kitchen like a hair scientist but more importanly I’ve learned about myself. Self-acceptance is a common lesson that many women mention. Learning to accept your hair and then learning to accept the way your hair looks on you. It’s a process! Having to relearn how to care for your hair is a commitment, it’s a process of self discovery mainly because hair has it’s own personality…. Remember? What works for the next woman might not work for you so like any other relationship, you have to try some things out and commit to giving it time to begin working.
I applaud you on the commitment and I truly look forward to bringing you more natural hair care articles with recipes, tips and lessons.
Staff Writer; Dina Tuff
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