Earlier this year, with non-essential businesses closed, many of us were forced to do our own hair – maybe even for the very first time. The thought of having to do your own hair may be intimidating, especially if you have natural hair. But why? Why are we so hesitant to tackle this hair of ours?
Here’s what I think: it has everything to do with our perception. If we think our hair is too difficult to manage, that will more than likely become our experience. As I’ve progressed on this natural hair journey of mine, I’ve realized that certain misconceptions I held about my hair kept me from fully appreciating my hair and also kept me from feeling comfortable doing my hair on my own. So, to hopefully help you change the way you think about your own hair, and then to begin loving the process of styling it on your own, here are three misconceptions I had about my natural hair – and the truth that cleared them up.
- “My hair is always dry, and that’s just how it is.”
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There was a time when I hated even touching my hair because of how dry it was. It seemed like no matter what I tried, my hair would only stay soft and moisturized for a hot second, and by the end of the day, it was zapped of all its moisture again. At some point, I gave up, thinking that my hair was doomed to be dry and brittle forever, thinking, “that’s just how natural hair is.”
Yes, it’s true that natural moisturizing oils from the scalp don’t travel down curly stands as easily as they do straight strands of hair. But this certainly doesn’t mean that natural hair can’t maintain at least some level of moisture. I simply had to persist through trial and error until I found the right products and a moisturizing regimen that work best for me.
- “Detangling is pretty much impossible.”
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Listen, I know how hard it can be to comb through a tangled mess of curly hair. For a long time, I absolutely hated this part of my wash day. Detangling my hair took way too long and even with all the effort I put in, my hair never felt like it was fully detangled, just detangled enough to get by.
But I’ve learned that it really doesn’t have to be that way. Much like the first point, detangling natural hair is all about finding the right detangling tool and method that works specifically for you. Whether it’s a Tangle Teaser, Felicia Leatherwood Brush, or just a regular ol’ comb, finding the best tool makes detangling a much faster, easier process – I promise.
- “My hair can’t do ____.”
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I have thick, type 4 curls. For a long time, I thought that my texture could never look good in certain styles. I thought wash n go’s and slick-back styles only worked for people with a looser curl pattern or silkier texture than mine. This would leave me feeling discouraged and unenthusiastic about my hair, not wanting to do anything to it at all, because “nothing looked good”.
More recently, however, I’ve realized that my texture doesn’t necessarily limit my options, I just have to approach certain hairstyles in a way that will work best for me. Using products that have just enough hold for my specific texture, I can wear almost any style I want.
As you can see, changing the way you think about your hair and feeling more at ease about doing it on your own has a lot to do with figuring out what works best for you. This can take time, and definitely requires a lot of patience, but I assure you, once you figure it out, doing your natural hair becomes so much more enjoyable.