Good Hair, bad hair debate

I’ve been a product of the brainwashing regarding what constitutes as good and bad hair. And with this, came me not liking my natural hair because its curl pattern is very tight (more coily than curly) and thus I’ve rejected my hair for a lot of my life. About a year ago, despite me having “bad hair” as my husband reminded me every opportunity he got – I decided I wanted to be natural and it was my final answer. With this decision, came a lot of research and ‘studying’ and it was at this point that I was enlightened. How blasphemous of us to call something bad; especially when this “thing” is apart of our body…a body that God created. A creation that was deemed “good” by God from the beginning of time. Of course this stems from slavery and pop culture moreso than a rejection of God’s creation but it’s wrong nonetheless!

Now that may be a lil deep for the average person, but this did leaps and bounds for my self-esteem and the way I looked at myself, my hair and ultimately what I see as beautiful! Yes, my hair may take longer to comb and thus be more difficult to manage. Yes, its prone to dryness and doesn’t naturally shine. Yes, it grows big (fro) rather than hanging down, thus looking “short” even when there may be some length. But its mine...long or short, curly or straight. I was born with it and I cannot deny that it’s beautiful, because it’s apart of me and I’m beautiful. I have the right to choose to include chemicals (relaxer, permanent colors) to my hair when I want to but I know that this does not make me beautiful. What it does do is give me a different look and possibly enhance various aspects of my facial features but that’s pretty much the extent of it.

My goal was to then learn the correct product and styles that will compliment my coily, dry, thick hair. And that’s what I’ve been doing…obsessively!!!

So to my surprise and annoyance, I’ve been getting comments about having “good hair” since I cut my hair. Why? Because my hair looks good. And it looks good, because I’ve invested in learning about proper hair care techniques, various styles, and complimentary products that will moisturize my hair and on rare occasion, give it lil bit of sheen (cause it will NEVER shine)

I don’t ‘correct’ the individuals because it’s a moot point and unless they are open to it, will only hear me but probably won’t “get” what I’m saying. So I just give a tense smile and keep it moving (K.I.M.).

I do proselytize anyone who listens though only when they bring up the topic, sincerely, I try to share a bit of what I learned so that others can be enlightened as I was.

Ok..i’m off my soapbox. Although I do hope that people would lay off of this debate…(in my dreams!)

my growing fro last month

smooches!