R/NaturalHair | Bye bye “straight naturals” 👋🏾

[@cctv318]

“You Hate your Type 4 Hair?? Then CUT IT OFF 🗣️”: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHPUlKx_rs-ehs0si=mr5TJSl5HabBs3sZ

[@niabrionne]

Nobody else is expected to wake up and shake their hair and go but us. Hairstyling is NORMAL and doesn’t speak to a self hatred

[@cctv318]

@@niabrionne I think by wake up and shake they meant take off your bonnet and shape/ fluff. basically meaning styling shouldn’t take forever bc afros are a simple and easy hairstyle!

[@krh6239]

@@cctv318 Afros are deceptive symple. It depends on the curl type, how you prepped your hair before bed, and the type of afro. I've got long, thick 4C hair. If I am wearing a twist-out afro (a very fluffy twist-out), I can get away with that. But if I am wearing a proper picked out afro, that's a tie investment. I gotta take the time to pick it out and reshape it on top of periodically reshaping it throughout the day because it's so big. Ironically, it's a high manipulation style. Now, if you have a TWA, to or your hair isn't as thick, you might be able to get away with that. Same if you aren't a 4C girlie. Every head is unique.

[@PenumbraInsights]

I think OPs viewpoint is a little extreme. Some textures do grow faster when straight because there isn’t as much manipulation or detangling after its been straightened. At the end of the day tho idk why its such an important thing for people to comment on what others are doing with their hair.

[@cctv318]

@@PenumbraInsights i feel u. I’ve been seeing a lot of discourse on curly naturals “divesting”. i might do a deeper dive

[@joyceg7859]

Because a lot of ppl are doing things that work against the hair health and others blindly follow them just to end up in the same spot. I might follow a girl with long hair n stop blow drying my hair cuz she said so. Her hair is long BUT IS IT HEALTHY THO ?!?! That’s the thing.

[@PenumbraInsights]

@@joyceg7859 this same question can also be applied to curly naturals though. Just because someone doesn’t apply heat doesn’t mean that they are properly caring for their hair. Because again, curly hair is actually higher maintenance to maintain health due to the shape of the hair not allowing natural oils to travel down the shaft, people not moisturizing according to hair porosity, dye, etc. the problem you’re alluding to boils down to people taking influencer advice over that of professionals in the field.

[@cctv318]

⁠@@PenumbraInsightsI like this take. I actually like both of y’all’s points and I think they’re both correct. I know ppl (including myself ) can form perisocial relationships with people’s hair and use that to follow their routine (whether curly or straight) whole time we don’t know what their hair is really like. Bc that relationship I think we tend to take it personally seeing girls go from curly to straight. Does the responsibility lie on the creator or the consumer? Maybe both sides take blame ?

[@joyceg7859]

@ correct. Most ppl try to do hacks rather than ever thinking to see a professional especially if the person they are watching has the desired or admired result.

[@SummiIce]

I see OP’s point with straight naturals, even tho I don’t really agree with her. Now HEAT TRAINED girlies, that’s what gets me. They also be the main ones going “I heat trained my hair and now my curls won’t revert, what do I do? 🥺”

[@cctv318]

@@SummiIce yesss I keep hearing the heat trained vs straight. i might do a deeper dive bc i always assumed they were the same !!

[@krh6239]

@@cctv318 Heat training is systemically heat damaging you hair so it stays straight without frizzing. Straightening your hair doesn't necessarily include damaging your hair. For example, you can get a silk press, but it will revert once it gets wet. Heat damaged hair can't revert.

[@cctv318]

@@krh6239 thank you for this!! you’re the only person to ever actually make that make sense to me. I assumed to be a straight natural you have to starting heat training journey… but now i think you can keep your hair fairly stretched/straight without completely damaging your pattern. I’m gonna do more research cuz now i’m interested lol.

[@krh6239]

@@cctv318 No problem. I'm read up on the science behind hair. Once you understand, even the most "unruly" hair is easy to manage. Also, fun fact. The hair typing we often use isn't scientifically based. It was made by a black man to sell hair products in the 90s. 4C wasn't even part of the original line up. If you really want to go down a rabbit hole, look into the history of black hair. It will fundamentally change your life and understanding of the natural hair community.

[@cctv318]

@@krh6239 Yes! I do know a tiny bit about the bogus typing system and the tignon laws of Louisiana. I’d love to do a deep dive right in time for BHM 🫶🏾

[@krh6239]

I'm a natural girlie. I've been natural for about 11 years now. I have been in the natural hair community since the beginning. I remember the discourse around if dying your natural hair makes it no longer natural. I remember the discourse around silk presses and braids being an attempt to look more Eurocentric. These conversations are extremely counterductive. Sure, we can have a conversation about internalized racism and how certain hair products damage your hair and your health. I don't straighten my hair except for the occasional trim or for certain elaborate cornrow styles. I don't like how I look with straight hair. But I'll never dog on a straight natural girlie as if the way I'm doing my hair is the best way. It's not the style that's the problem. It's the ideology of the person.

[@cctv318]

@@krh6239 Yes! from your perspective i’m sure you’ve seen the same recycled conversations being rehashed on different platforms. i’m glad you spoke on that bc we should be working to break these issues down for the next gen!! I agree that within the community we should just allow our hair to just be.

[@Hairbytyra.s]

If any girly is afraid of heat/ mechanical damage, is dedicated to their hair journey and is a “stretched natural “ ; a roller set paired with some rollers, mousse and LIGHT leave-in conditioner (or find a tutorial on here for reference, I will be doing one in the near future!). YOU WILL BE AMAZED Side-note : Pls make sure you are deep conditioning and doing protein treatments (as needed) before doing anything that could put your hair/scalp at risk! Happy holidays

[@cctv318]

@@Hairbytyra.s I love this advice because there’s nothing wrong with wanting to stretch or see your length imo !! But I love to promote healthy hair so this is a perfect example. Happy Holidays ❄️

[@Hairbytyra.s]

@@cctv318 the aesthetic of blowouts are alright, but it’s the benefits (for some) that makes me such an advocate for them (if your hair/scalp is healthy enough of course) . Three strands twist were the closest I was getting to a wash n go and even then, I still struggled with single-strand knots a bit. I wish I could wear my hair in its curly state sometimes without the worry of single-strand knots. I do everything I can to prevent it from happening, there’s not 100% percent way to avoid it but, keeping it stretched is pretty dang close 😂😂😂😂.

[@Hairbytyra.s]

Personally, idc what others are doing 😂? But over here, we’re doing a blow out AND retaining length cause my hair WILL knot up on it self if I try to do a fro or even a wash n go. It’ll just get brittle. That’s just me 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@cctv318]

@@Hairbytyra.s period that’s so valid !! I love a good blow out moment. There’s no wrong answer if it’s what your hair wants imo 🙌🏾

[@BlackNella]

Same, I also I can’t see when my ends are split when it’s curly all the time. Ironically I end up with more damaged hair when I only wear it in natural curls. I don’t think there is anything wrong with switching it up sometimes. There is beauty in our hair’s versatility.

[@cctv318]

I was fighting for my life with the punctuation errors 😭

[@IMITZU]

Ughh the "you're not natural" debate is so stupid. You don't tell white women that them using extensions or curling irons on their hair is them not "being natural" because no one caresss!! I personally keep my hair straight when I know i'm entering a busy time period where I cant nourish my curls with creams, oils and leave-ins. Sometimes I'm just too tired to do all of it, which makes it dry up and tangle-which in turn makes me wanna do it even less. Straightening my hair is such a saver for when I have so many jobs to do, ppl rlly dont get that our hair takes time and not all of us have that to SPARE. Also, MONEY. Sometimes I'm running tight on funds and i'll have to wait a couple weeks till my next salary so I can buy those (way too expensive compared to straight hair btw) products. In that time window I pick up the iron to make it so that I can look presentable.

[@cctv318]

@@IMITZU I totally see your point on the price difference of maintaining natural vs stretched depending on your wash schedule. I know i go through a good amount of product. I also think the convo can be redundant but I did choose that story because it even made me do a double take (as a curly/coily natural who mostly stays on the coily side of the community)

[@seppo532]

Commenting for the algorithm!!

[@cctv318]

@@seppo532 🥹🥹🫶🏾