Look Ma, No Fears!

Look Ma, No Fears!

During my time as a natural hair advocate, I have run into a number of naturals who are still afraid to wear their hair just as it is. I understand! I am not exempt. There are times when I fall under the spell of needing to "do my hair" before I can walk out the door. But, it is something that I have been working on since I started growing my hair. My mama always said I was a wild one, so it may be easier for me to adjust to my unruly mane but I also want to encourage my other curlies. So, I want to share with all of you what I share with them.

     I love being natural, because I feel like it is my middle finger to the world. I mean to say that I feel like it is my way of telling others that I do not need to conform to any standard of beauty in order to feel beautiful. I do not need to comb out my naps, nor do I need to flat iron or shove them into a rubber band. God gave them to me in this big puff because that is how she decided I would look best. If women with flowing tresses do not have to be ashamed or alter the way their hair grows out of their scalps, then why should we?

     Now I know, it can be a lot to deal with, on those days I like to get out of bed, give my fro a little tug back to life and get on with my day. I want all women and men who choose to go down this journey to be able to feel the same way. It isn’t easy with people constantly in our ears saying "When you gone do your hair?" or the side eyes of disgust shooting through our fros trying to lay them down. But, who cares? If it’s not your hair then it will be your outfit or your makeup or anything else that someone can find to criticize. You will never be perfect enough for this world, but you can always be perfect enough for yourself.

     I want to challenge all my fearful naturals to just wake up one morning and fluff out that fro, give it a little shine and walk out the door (after you get dressed, of course). Feel the freedom running through your coils from not trying to make your fro fit in. It’s a fro baby! Once you started down this road, you left fitting in behind! Don't use that scarf to hide your fro anymore, use it to accent it!

     Please, keep taking care of your hair. But, don’t be afraid to just let it be sometimes! The point of being natural is to be natural!

P.S. I also worked on my fears! In my hand below are the clipped ends of my fro! It only hurt a little! I’m so excited about the growth that I made room for! And yours too ;)