Do You Only Wear Your Real Hair Because You Are Broke?

I guess we Naturalistas are broke as heck for daring to rock our real hair, right. My fiancé tagged me in a post on Instagram so that I could see the ignorant views some women have on wearing their real hair. The post is of a screen shot of a woman’s twitter message. It implied that the reason why we natural Sistas go natural is because we are broke and can’t afford weaves. She explained that her weaves* are expensive and because we cannot afford it, we have no choice but to wear our real hair.

 My weave* is expensive. I guess if you’re a broke basis b**** you got no choice but to wear your real hair

Clearly her level of intelligence and grammar is another story all by itself. We won’t go there. But, can you imagine the ignorance of this woman? Her prized hair is not the one that grows from her head but the hair that she paid lots of money for – that came from another woman’s head! How does this even make sense? I must state that I do not know if she was talking about natural hair or relaxed hair that is not in a weave*. Wearing relaxed hair is surely not cheap, so I don’t know. Either way, it is still a very ignorant thing to say.

The words in this post struck a nerve with me because I know that this is what a lot of women think. A lot of our black sisters look down on us nappy headed sistas for wearing our hair the way God made us. I remember when I told people I was going to go natural. Some asked me why? What’s wrong? Ummm, nothing is wrong. I didn’t know going natural was going to be a lifestyle change – which I love btw. I simply wanted to not burn my scalp anymore to get straight hair that I was not born with.

Nor did I want to get my scalped pulled and sewn anymore to get long straight hair that came from someone else’s head. I was just tired of it all. Was it a money problem? Hell no! I been perming since I was 7yrs old and weaving since I was in high school and knew that it is just a part of a black woman’s life and so you had to pay for it the same way you pay for food. It was a ritual known to most of us black women.

We as black women need to rebuild confidence in ourselves.

That woman’s ignorant rant is evidence that there, under those expensive weaves* that she so gloriously praise, lies deep self-esteem issues  She cannot see the beauty and power and luxury of wearing the hair that grows from her scalp. She cannot fathom the idea of learning to care for her real hair so that her crown can always sit high on her head with brilliance.

We need to change how we think and help other black women to open their eyes to the beauty that is our natural selves. And trust me, everything you need to help you on your journey is here on BlackHairInformation.com whether you are on a natural hair journey or relaxed healthy hair journey.

Accept your hair for what it is and embrace it hunny!

Another woman’s hair is not better than your own; even if it’s wrapped in gold and has a ‘luxury’ price tag. The hair that grows from your scalp is a prized possession and with care it can be better than any hair you can buy in a beauty supply store.

Learn to care for your hair

Achieving long healthy hair whether you have relaxed hair or natural hair is not as hard as it seems. You just need to learn how to care for your hair and build a hair care regimen.

➜ Cleanse properly. The start of healthy hair begins in the scalp. Keep it clean and free of old oils* and product buildup. Shampoo your hair with a sulfate-free shampoo. It is also best to apply shampoo to your scalp and clean your scalp first. During the rinsing process the shaft of your hair will get cleaned. If you are a co-wash person then do that, but make sure all of your conditioner is rinsed off of your scalp. If not, you can develop scalp conditions.

➜ Deep condition your hair with every wash. Skipping the deep conditioning* step is suicide to your hair. This step is vital to overall health of your hair. Find a good deep conditioner* or simply get into the kitchen and make your own DIY Deep Conditioning Treatments.

➜ Moisturize effectively. Keeping your hair moisturized is the key to maintaining healthy hair. Find water based moisturizers that promote softness and are free of petrolatum. Moisturize daily or weekly (whatever best suits your hair)

➜ Style with care. Handle your hair with care. Do as much low manipulation hairstyles as you can so that you can retain length and minimize damage.

What do you think about this woman’s message?