There is so much more to natural hair than the eye can see. Having natural hair is truly unique and very special. There is no one person that can say that having and growing your natural hair is wrong. I have been natural for over 5 years and here are some of the misconceptions about natural hair that I have came across. Brace yourselves for this read...
1. Natural hair is for lazy people who don't want to be bothered with their hair.
This misconception has been stated by a lot of people who feel to believe that going natural is just a way to not want to style or take care of your hair. Transitioning and even having natural hair takes patience to grow and to take care of. Natural hair is not for lazy people at all. Natural hair is more than just a preference.
2. When you have natural hair you can only use products that are geared towards African American Hair.
Being a hair product reviewer I have used numerous of hair products in a five year span of being natural. I will say that having natural hair actually opens many doors for trying a wide range of hair products. Having natural hair sparks your curiosity to want to try many hair care brands. No matter if you are a natural who loves to color, bleach, or even heat style their hair their are countless of hair care brands that can quench the most thirsty of curls.
3. Natural hair can't be washed too often, so that makes your hair stink.
This misconception started years before my 23 year old self was even thought about. What makes this statement a misconception, is that natural hair can actually be washed often! I know a lot of naturals and transitioners that love to co-wash their hair weekly. I don't love co-washing, but I do love to use a sulfate-free shampoo nowadays during the week to cleanse my hair and scalp. A lot of naturals love co-washing mid-week and using apple cider vinegar to cleanse their scalp of all the unwanted residue that can build up on their hair and scalp. Natural hair can smell like a tropical getaway vacation or even a fresh batch of cookies. Lol! Don't sleep on our clean hair and scalps boo-boo.
4. Whenever you grow out your natural hair staying away from a hair salon will save you from the lost inches of hair and tears.
Okay, now this can be a touchy topic for some naturals who rather not ever go to a hair salon. I know the horror stories of getting a lot of your length chopped off or having your natural hair mistreated is scary! I will say that this misconception is not the case a whole lot in the natural hair community. The misconception is 'trusting any and everyone' with shears, good reviews, and photos of their masterpieces on other people's hair or weaves. Going to salons to get a trim every once a blue moon can actually help many naturals to retain their hair growth and to even help them better manage their hair. I'm just saying in other words to do your research and don't trust everyone in your mane.
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| My 1st year of being natural. |
5. Dying and bleaching your natural hair bold colors will bring you more compliments, followers on social media, and likes.
My God, this misconception is one that I will stan for forever. I use to be one of those naturals that felt like people would only give me compliments, accept, and love my natural hair only if I rocked bold and eye catching colors. I thought that coloring my hair would make people follow me on social media and even bring me more likes. (I'm just being honest with you, even if you don't believe me.) Being natural is more than just about dying or even bleaching your hair just because you think your hair will stand out in a crowd. You don't need to even dye or bleach your hair to get people to say, "Oh my God, your hair is so cute." Accept your hair for how it looks first then think about what you want to do to make your hair stand out. Not every colored treated natural has healthy hair, remember this.
6. You have to rock protective styles in order to grow your natural hair out.
This misconception truly is not the case for many naturals. You do not have to rock protective styles once a few months to grow your hair out. Besides rocking protective styles doesn't always mean that your hair will grow faster, because you have your real hair braided or crocheted away. Rocking protective styles is a preference. I do not recommend protective styles to anyone who doesn't or do not know how to care for their natural hair either.
7. Your hair doesn't look like it grows, because of the shrinkage.
I am not going to assume that you know that salt looks like sugar. Shrinkage is not the devil when you are natural. Shrinkage is very misleading, but it also shows the health and elasticity of your hair. Some of the most bounciest and healthiest curls start from shrinkage. Embrace it, accept it, and learn to eventually love it.
8. A lot of naturals don't have edges.
Okay, this is misconception started from a lot of naturals who don't know how to properly treat, style, and care for their edges. A lot of naturals don't have edges from wearing tight protective styles, over use of heat styling, and even not babying their edges enough. More naturals are now becoming more aware of caring for their hair from the inside out and are on the road to healthier and thicker edges.
9. You have to stay away from hair grease and non-natural hair products.
Not every hair product that's all-natural will work for every natural's hair. To be quite honest with you I have a very difficult time discovering all-natural hair products that work well on my natural hair. Discover products that are not all natural and give them a try. You don't have to be a cookie-cutter natural that never tries something new.
10. It's a competition for likes, sponsorships, and followers.
I'm going to tell you like this about this misconception, natural hair is not a competition for likes, sponsorships, and followers. Although, it may seem like going natural and posting photos of your hair will bring free hair products, likes, and followers you shouldn't want to base your hair journey around these things.
Hopefully, you took something from these common misconceptions and apply it to what you know and are still learning about your own natural hair or if you are even transitioning to become natural.
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