Wednesday, November 29, 2006

NATURAL VS SYNTHETIC


Woop woop!!!! I was walking home to discover that a natural afro hair salon is opening up in Hackney!! How good is that!? There is nothing more personal to a girl of any ethnic minority than her HAIR!!! Every boy knows not to fuck up no black girls hair. When I was kid i used to have pretty long hair. Im half Indian so it was sorta wavy, but still really thick, more like candyfloss than true Coolie hair. I used to have a fat plait with a red velvet scrunchie around it and i'd cry everytime my Mom had to wash it and comb it out. Fast forward to when I was 13. The combination of me having to get up crazy early for school and not being able to manage my hair alone, along with peer pressure from my older cousin doing it first, led me to RELAX my hair!! Oh lawd! What the hell was I thinking? It took two relaxer kits to wither my hair down to a flat, lifeless, straight surface. Yeh, I loved the ease with which i could do my hair but it was never the same since. Fast forward again to aged 21, and i'm wondering why my hair wont grow past shoulder length when it used to be so long. Hmmmm, maybe its the hundreds of potent CHEMICALS i put on my scalp every month?! So in Jan 2005 I stop relaxing my hair. It took a while of trimming the ends and looking after the new growth, and about a million headscarves and bandanas to cover my nappy roots but now my hair is allll natural. Except for the fact i got bored and dyed it ginger, but I'm not even gonna do that anymore. Its taken a year and a half to grow to the length it is now, but I'm very very happy and hopefully in a few years time i'll have some thick ass long black natural hair. If any other girls are thinking of doing the same thing, but are unsure, lemme give you the positives and negatives of growing out your relaxer.

POSITIVE - You have more choice!

If i want my hair curly i wash it, if i want it straight i get my Yardie hairdresser to press it out for me. When she presses it out its straighter than i've ever had it when i used to relax it which makes me wonder why i ever relaxed it in the first place. I got way more choice with natural hair whereas with relaxed hair it never has any volume, or character.

STRAIGHT OR CURLY? U DECIDE!



NEGATIVE - You can sweat out your style.

Oh my days! On a few occasions i have actually sweated out my hair straightening from going crazy on the dancefloor in a packed club, and one time i had a fringe. can u imagine that! an afro fringe with a straight ponytail!! Oh dear! However it just forces you to be more creative. On that occasion i pinned back my hair and wore the closest dude's New Era and carried on shaking my ass on the dancefloor.

DON'T SWEAT OUT YOUR HAIR!



POSITIVE - Your man will love it

You know that funny scene in like say a Wayans Bros film when some black chick is bing f*cked doggy style and her hair piece comes off in the dudes hands? THAT SHIT IS NOT COOL. Having natural hair means you never have to worry about being in bed with a guy or having someone running his hands through your hair and it coming out. Plus it says something to the opposite sex about you being strong minded to not follow the crowd.

DO YOU WANNA PUT YOUR HAND IN THIS HAIR?!



NEGATIVE - It needs maintenance

If your hair is thick you gonna have to go to the hairdressers and get that shit steamed and treated so it remains soft. If i wash my hair and go to bed without doing anything to it, it looks like a big ginger tennis ball got stuck on my scalp.

GET SEEN PROPERLY!



POSITIVE - You feel part of some secret club

Every girl and their cat has hair extensions these days. With even Posh Spice hanging up her fake hair, being natural is the minority. Don't be part of the masses!

THE SECRET AFRO CLUB



NEGATIVE - Ummmm...

I cant think of anymore negatives. Having natural hair is lovely. Don't get me wrong, I get bored quickly so i'm partial to the odd single plaits or cornrows every now and then, but they are just temporary! Its taken me a long time to get here and now my hair is healthy and strong!! No chemicals girls!

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

2 comments:

bisola said...

hahaha i'm only about a year or so late, but i loved this post! i've struggled like you from hair down my back to relaxed hair burnt crispy looking like a had a bob (ear level) because it broke off so much. now i'm at about bra strap level and even when i don't what to deal with my hair because it's so high maintenance i remember when it was shitty and breaking, then i appreciate it (even though i hate that it has so much volume)!

matt williams said...

natural is always better. You have more style options this way.