Its been several years now since I chopped off my chemically processed hair and decided to go natural. To be honest, short natural afro hair is very manageable but once you decide to grow it out....its a whole different story! It takes a lot of work to maintain it especially when you discover that the salons in the country you live do not 'do that type of hair'.In spite of this, I have never been tempted to go back to the 'creamy crack' and just relax my hair. Relaxing afro hair is a way of permanently straightening the hair chemically.
Natural afro hair comes in many different textures just as there are many different skin tones even within the same racial groups.It ranges from the very tightly kinked thick curls to the very 'cottony soft' textured waves. Why did I let go of the relaxers? Well, for starters, the mere fact that I was constantly exposing myself to harsh chemicals and frying my hair every so often just for the straight look was a good enough reason. Besides if I needed it straightened I could always use a hot iron. Remember the 'stretching combs' back in the 80's? For the sake of my younger readers ,these were iron combs which were usually heated on a stove plate and used to straighten vaseline coated afro hair. This was usually done in sections (just like you would do with a hot iron). You could literally smell your hair being toasted or rather fried to straightness in all that petroleum. The last thing you would want after that was the rain or any sort moisture as this would take your straightened afro straight back to its natural kinky state.
The risk of scalp irritations or even burns was another push factor and I also didnt like the greasiness from regularly oiling my hair. Thankfully it wasnt as bad as the oiliness of the Jheri curl which was again very popular in the 80's and looked glossy and very wavy since it had to be lardered with greasy curl activator to keep it from drying out. In case you are wondering, no, I never had the jheri curl but I know a bit about how the hair was permed using perm lotion which had a really strong smell since my mum at one point owned a salon. The stuff had a strong pungent smell and unsurprisingly this chemical concoction was responsible for many scalp burns. These burns were quite common to the extent that they were not really given much notice. In fact it was considered as part of the price one had to pay just to look good.
I know there's a more recent documentary film, 'Good Hair' which I havent watched yet but remember Darryl and his family in the movie, 'Coming To America'? They all sprayed on so much curl activator on their jheri curled hair that they left a large amount of the grease on their host's sofas. If the curls had earned them points with their hosts Im sure the cleaning of all that grease was enough to cause a substantial dent in their points balance. This was a sharp contrast to their rival, Akim, who claimed to the barber that he only used 'juices and berries' on his soft short afro hair. I'm not sure which juices and berries they used in 'Zamunda' (the country which he came from) but they must have been really good.
Generally speaking grooming long natural unprocessed hair can be time consuming and it requires tender loving care especially if its of a finer texture. Some years ago I lived in a very hot and humid area up the North end of Australia and it didnt take me long to discover that afro and humidity do not go well together. I resorted to weaves and wigs and while they really looked good, they were just not for me so after much pondering I ditched them altogether and didnt mind looking all 'too African'.Just as we were preparing to leave Australia I thought I would try out a lace weave and my scalp itched so much it lasted just one week exactly. How ironic that even though I do realise that for someone who is not gifted in hair braiding (ie me) and struggles with just doing plain cornrows on my own hair, I still feel a lot happier, freer with my very African looking natural and sometimes short pressed hair....maybe because thats exactly what it is.
Indeed the very hairs on everyone's head are numbered and so whatever your style or texture, straight, coarse, curly, tightly kinked, permed or natural....embrace and love yours for each strand was purposely placed there and even when some of it falls off, the remaining strands are known to God. Wear it with pride....its a gift.
To all my friends from a diversity of backgrounds, what are your hair-stories in your history and present?
Happy hair days to you all....
Disclaimer: No responsibility will be taken by the author for any decisions taken to chop off chemically processed hair in order to resort to 'just juices and berries'. She will also not be held liable for any regrets arising from difficult to manage and stubborn knots and kinks (in the case of afro hair that refuses to co-operate)
