Why Going Natural Isn't Always Best

For those that don't know, "going natural" is a term used to describe women in the black community who have decided to no longer permanently alter their hair texture.

 I think there are different reasons people go natural. Some women go natural because of the versatility. Others are more political. I like being natural because it rebels against our society's Euro-centric standards of beauty. 

 I used to feel hurt about statements like "natural hair isn't for me." How could your God-given hair texture not be for you? Does that mean my hair is ugly? But now I realize there is a difference between blanket statements like "natural hair doesn't look good on everyone," and just "natural hair isn't for me." I’m also realizing that encouraging others to go natural is a slippery slope. 

Where is the line between trying to help others, and society once again telling women how to live their lives?

The thing that helped me put things into perspective was my journey towards weight loss. Before I started losing weight, I wasn't “fat” but you could definitely see where I could lose a few pounds. I researched the heck out of weight loss. I ate healthy, I exercised, I checked in with my doctor. Yet everywhere I turned people kept trying to  shut me down. They kept reiterating that I was fine the way I was, and I was small, and I was fine. It just made me even more agitated. Couldn't these people see that I was doing what was best for me? 

I thought the body acceptance movement was great, but wasn't part of body acceptance allowing me to make my own choices regarding my body? Me wanting to lose weight wasn't me saying that skinny is better. It wasn't me saying that the Euro-centric standard of beauty was better. It was me saying that I want my body to look a certain way, and I would do what it took for it to look that way. I wasn't judging those bigger than me. I was making a personal choice.

While talking with a friend this weekend, a light bulb went off. The same idea could be applied to the natural hair movement. 

People can acknowledge that their natural hair is beautiful. They can acknowledge that natural hair is beautiful on other people. They can acknowledge that straight hair is still closer to what society prefers. But that doesn't mean that they need to go natural because of it. They are supposed to be making choices about their own hair, and their own body. By now they have probably heard the same comments that I heard in regards to my weight loss. They aren't necessarily self-hating women because they chose to straighten their hair. They are women taking control over their own bodies. They are making a choice that they feel is more aesthetically pleasing for them, and them alone.

I also think it would be naive of me to not acknowledge the consequences of going natural. I know that my hairstyle (and now color) could be seen as "unprofessional." It could inhibit my chances at being considered for certain jobs. For me to judge women who are afraid of that, would be selfish. There’s also a level of pretentiousness. Am I suddenly more pro-black because my hair is in a fro? Wouldn't that be irrelevant if I still had an anti-black attitude? I fight so hard to not be judged by my appearance, and instead by the merit of my work. Wouldn't focusing on my hair be counter-productive? Why was I correlating my hairstyle with my level of social activism? 

At the end of the day, going natural is awesome. Keeping your hair straight is awesome. Any hairstyle is awesome if it’s the one you want, and not one that you were pressured into.

-Kristina