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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Natural Hair: The Stigma

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Too often do I hear, “natural hair isn’t for everybody,” and I always find myself explaining why it can be. We are born with our hair in its natural state and our parents, mostly mothers, choose to apply chemicals to make our hair “manageable”—I use that word very loosely. My biggest concern is why we as African American, Black, Mixed, and Caribbean don’t feel comfortable in our own skin? We allow the term “good hair” to permeate our existence and steer us clear of how we were born. So many cultures have made billions of dollars off this very insecurity, and for me that’s a problem. Capitalization from our pain, but we can embrace who we are and cultivate others on the journey.

We criticize Karen for wearing weave, we talk about Jenny for wearing a fro and chastise Kim for dying her hair platinum blonde. Hardly ever do we take a step back and look in the mirror and ask are we happy with self. Let's break the stigma, natural hair is not a style choice, it's a lifestyle. Encourage your friends and family that seek the journey back to where it all began - don't deter them with frowns and talk of how their hair is not made for that "style". Be a beacon of hope and not a cloud of darkness. Natural hair is socially acceptable because that's the way God made us!

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