Is going natural ‘in’ now?
March of last year I closed my eyes and did the Big Chop - BC. For those who do not know what a BC is, it’s what we in the natural hair world call the moment when all of the relaxed hair gets cut off (bye, bye). I will be honest - I did not transition, I did not mull over the decision for a long period of time, nor did I talk it over with family and friends. I did my research, the decision, and finally chopped off all my hair within less than a 24 hour period.
Months later I began to notice that everywhere I turned there were more girls that looked like me. I was in college at the time. Granted, my school was in the city of Atlanta (which may have something to do with it since people in Atlanta are city folk with ‘free-er’ spirits and tend to follow trends) but it seemed like every black girl had natural hair. It was eerie to me.
Perhaps it was since I had natural hair I just began to notice others with natural hair more. Although, last night as I was surfing the web I noticed a headline saying: “Is natural hair the newest trend?”
I would not go as far as calling it the newest trend. I think it’s the newest movement amongst women of color. Just think about this for a second: some black women like myself have never seen what their hair looks like without a relaxer or some other chemical treatment, weave, or wigs. We have been using all the previously mentioned methods to look pretty and have straight, long “good” hair. Now all of the sudden, black women everywhere are realizing that they don’t need chemicals, wigs, or weave to have “good hair” and look beautiful. I consider women cutting their hair into bobs, creating layers, or getting highlights a trend because it is a superficial means of beautification.
Going natural, on the other hand, is the conscious decision to go from having one texture of hair to another and in some cases have much shorter hair than ever before - much too drastic of a move to be a trend. So no, I don’t think there are more women out there with natural hair now-a-days because they are following a trend. I think these women are finally putting themselves and the health of their hair above trying to be what society considers beautiful by perpetrating the “good hair” stereotype. To boot, I could not be happier to see more women like me in the limelight (i.e. Chrisette Michelle and Solange Knowles).
-Live life with your eyes open, S.
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