#TexturedChats

Last night (or early this morning) I took part in a twitter conversation lead by YouTubers and Natural Hair advocates and vloggers Mahogany Curls

Subscribe to her youtube channel y'all!

and Jouelzy.

Subscribe to her channel too!!

Things like this are why I love today's society and social media. During another insomnia laden night, I was able to sit and discuss my hair, fears and issues with these women so far away from me but experiencing the same things. No matter where you live, a lot of Natural hair issues are the same.

Misconceptions about Natural Hair looking unprofessional lit a major spark in conversation. Women were commenting that in the Southern States, it was more likely to be other Black people most likely to give you a side eye if you walk in with big hair. Someone else said it was like people could only deal with Afro hair if you have perfectly defined curls so that they can compare you to Beyonce and 'understand' you and your hair this way. 

The idea of this Natural Hair movement being a lifestyle rather than a trend was an interesting topic. 

Jouelzy ‏@Jouelzy

Even if you view being natural as a lifestyle, you have to remember to not let it define u. Hair is versatile @MahoganyCurls#texturedchats

I guess for myself, it is a new way of life as it's ushered in a new way that I think about and see myself. I look in the mirror and what I see is different from what I've seen over the past 19years. But I'm growing more confident in knowing that it is all me.


The key idea was that whether it is a trend or a lifestyle, to all of these women working with their hair in its natural state was important enough that they invested real time, money and interest into discovering this element of themselves they, no, we've been fighting for so long: our hair. Just because it's not straight doesn't make us ugly or unprofessional. It's not something to stare at in confusion or disgust. If your hair stylist tries to put you off transitioning from relaxed to straightened hair - time to change stylists. If your hair stylist complains they can't do anything with your curls, tell them to subscribe to any number of YouTube channels showing which products to use, how to use them and styles to try. For me and many others I discovered, finding hair tutorials on YouTube was pivotal in my deciding having curly hair WAS something I wanted and having pretty styles WAS something I could achieve.

Most importantly, we're doing this so that our daughters will grow up seeing women with beautiful curly hair and will learn to love theirs instead of aspiring for straight blonde hair like I did as a girl. Took me a while to get here, but I'm so glad I'm here now. And I'm super glad to know that I'm not alone.

                          

                              Gotta learn to love your hair so little girls watching you will love theirs too.

Karla