Natural is in! Or is it? It has been noticed that when females enter college, mainly African American race, they decide to go natural and stop putting chemicals into their hair; however, how does this affect their love lives? How do the men perceive natural hair? Does it make them stand out, or does it lead to their demise? Finally, from a man’s point of view, natural hair is addressed.
Natural hair is still awaiting its approval in this harsh society. Society has out casted natural hair and deemed it to be perceived as “nappy.”
“I went natural 4 months ago,” Sophomore, Nnemoma Chukwumerije began. “It’s so much harder for a guy to take a second look at me, but I love it and I’m embracing it.”
But what, may we ask, be the reason guys say no to natural and yes to straight hair? Charles Walton, 22, has an answer:
“It’s something about straight hair that turns us men on.”
Walton continued by explaining that it's so much easier to run his fingers through straight hair than an Afro.
"Now, if she's natural and she straightens her hair all the time, that's a different story! I just don't wanna deal with tangles when I simply wanna play in my girl's hair: that's a problem."
But not all men feel this way. Surprisingly enough, a Caucasian male thought differently. Jordan White, 19, loves to see a woman rocking her natural hair. He went on to say that its an important trait when looking for a woman that she is comfortable in her own skin and that she embraces everything God gave her and that she loves herself for it.
Hairdresser Alicia Jones has been doing hair for years now and can recall the many debates that have gone on in the salon addressing natural hair and relaxed hair. Jones, having been both natural and relaxed, can play the devil's advocate in the situation since she knows the pros and cons of both.
"It's important to know the good and bad of both sides. I always say don't knock it until you try it."
Jones has been natural for almost 12 years but used to get relaxers faithfully. Her mother began perming her hair when she was 9 years old and had Jones known what this would do to her hair, she says she would have not gotten it because the intensity of the relaxer eventually made her hair fall off in 9th grade, which began her journey back to natural hair.
Jones never knew that she had curly hair until going natural and now she loves it!
"Taking care of permed hair is way more stressful than natural hair. I can pretty much do what I want with my hair now. Straightened or curly, I get the best of both worlds! Relaxed hair is very tricky, you must get relaxers every 6-8 weeks, can't wash it as often, and because it's chemicals, your hair is automatically weaker. But if someone is getting a perm, it should be when they are confident in hair maintenance. I personally don't think children should get perms which is why I don't allow perms on children's hair in my salon."
This concept of natural or straight hair goes back to the classic concept of beauty being in the eye of the beholder, however, media has a lot to do with this issue. Media often times instructs society on what is beautiful or acceptable in terms of physicality. Whether people see straightened hair as convenient or conformity, it's a preference nonetheless.
So does this mean that the majority of the African American Male population is supressing the Black woman by encouraging her to Either straighten her hair or style it with a weave instead of embracing what she has? Society must face that hair is much more than just follicles, but rather a being!
