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Having "nappy" hair is not easy.
Yes, I know that no one wants to hear the word "nappy" in association with their hair, but I say embrace it.
If you can't comb your hair when it's dry, let alone when it's wet, then your hair is NAPPY. Accept it.
I have been napptural for six months and there are recurring annoyances in response to my hair. Here are some things that those of us who are natural DO NOT LIKE.
1. People always come up to me and say, "Aww you're going natural."
No, I am not GOING NATURAL. I AM natural.
Natural simply means you have no perm in your hair, and you do not partake in any chemical process to alter your hair texture.
"Going natural," is called transitioning.
You have decided to stop using chemicals and have begun letting your natural hair grow out before cutting off all of your relaxed hair.
2. Another pet peeve of mine is when people"smush the bush!" This phrase refers to when people run up to me and touch my hair.
Especially guys. I don't know why, but people like to dig in my hair with their whole hand and make my afro uneven or dented.
It sounds funny, but it's annoying because it takes a long time to pick my afro to make it how I like it.
3. Although I think it's kind of funny, every day people compare me with famous people with natural hair.
Apparently, I look like about 12 different people who don't look alike, but have one thing in common. An afro.
I have been compared to Angela Davis, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, India Arie, Foxy Brown, and the list goes on.
It is ironic that having an afro makes us all look alike, but having a weave doesn't make us all look like Beyoncé and having a short cut doesn't make us all look like Rihanna.
4. People always think that being natural means that you have an in-depth life-changing reason for going or being natural.
The first question people ask is, "What made you go natural??"
Sometimes people do things just because they feel like it.
I don't ask you what made you choose pepperoni over cheese pizza.
For some people, going natural is just a simple choice that they make for no reason.
5. When women have natural hair, this doesn't mean that they are anti-weave.
Just like any black woman, a natural women might want to switch it up or simply give her hair a break by weaving it, curling it, or flat ironing it.
We like to have versatility too and this doesn't mean that we don't love our natural hair, because underneath the long 18-inch tresses, is a happy nappy bush.
6. Don't get me wrong. I love all of my natural sisters and I love for us to talk and help each other out.
But for random girls to come up to me and ask me a zillion questions about natural hair and assume I'm some sort of natural hair expert is a mistake.
I am still learning every day and having natural hair is a common ground, but we natural girls aren't an illuminati!
It's good to remember that we really don't know each other.
To all my natural sisters, your hair is beautiful. To be different takes courage and strength.
Love yourself, love your hair, and keep those bushes moisturized.
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