USF student Ashley Jean-Baptiste visited an Orlando hair salon to get a haircut in May of 2011. Unlike most routine haircuts, this trim changed her life.
After years of permanently straightening her hair with chemical relaxers, Jean-Baptiste decided to “go natural.”
“Going natural,” a term defined as stopping the use of chemicals to alter one’s hair, is a phenomenon that is gradually becoming popular within the African-American community. Afros, twists and dreadlocks are becoming desired hairstyles.
According to a report made this year by Mintel, a consumer spending and market research firm, the sales of hair relaxer kits have declined by 26 percent since 2008.
Jean-Baptiste remembers when she told her hair stylist that she wanted to go natural.
“She looked at me like I was crazy and kept asking me ‘Are you sure?’”
Jasmine Stephens, a licensed cosmetologist and natural hair specialist at Premiere Hair Designs in Tampa, Fla., has her own thoughts about the growing trend.
“As a hairstylist, it’s just another outlet for hair styling options,” said Stephens. “I think that going natural is strictly about personal preference.”
Jean-Baptiste, an English major who now sports an afro, begs to differ. “It’s not just a hairstyle,” said Jean-Baptiste. “It’s understanding and accepting who you are.”
For many African-Americans, having natural hair is counterculture. Often, extremely curly hair does not meet mainstream culture’s ideal of silky straight hair.
Jean-Baptiste reports that she went natural for the acceptance of natural hair styles.
“I didn’t really want to be a part of that anymore,” Baptiste said.
Melaine Buxton, an elementary education student at USF, remembers getting hair relaxers at a young age, and how advertisement for relaxers targeted toward young children played a crucial role.
“I remember the little girls on the relaxer boxes for brands, like Just for Me, in stores and wanting my hair to look straight like that,” said Buxton.
But last year, Buxton stopped using chemicals for the overall health of her hair. “I don’t think my hair was doing well with relaxers,” said Buxton. “It broke off and wouldn’t grow.”
Hair relaxers have been widely noted to damage hair, stunt growth, cause breakage and irritate the scalp.
A study published by the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2012 also reported that chemicals that enter the body through lesions and scalp burns from hair relaxers may be linked to uterine fibroids in African-American women.
Since her lifestyle change, Buxton has seen a dramatic change with her mane. “My hair is back to its fullness and growing fast.”
Buxton and Jean-Baptiste both agree that the health benefits of ending chemical use on their hair solidified their decisions to go natural.
Outside of USF, many celebrities within the media have also joined the trend. Academy Award winner Viola Davis and singer Solange Knowles have made news by sporting natural hairstyles.
Jean-Baptiste states that celebrities embracing natural hair in the media “are assisting the new image of beauty.”
As the image of beauty changes and the natural hair trend grows, many manufactures of hair products have finally began to design and sell natural hair products. Pantene and L’Oréal are among the most popular and recent.
Support groups have also formed in response to the natural hair trend. On YouTube, there is a large natural hair community where many gurus offer advice and share their journey with their natural hair. At USF, a new group called For Natural Girls that meets at Einstein’s Bagels in the Marshall Student Center has also emerged.
Jean-Baptiste believes the trend reaching USF confirms one thing: natural hair rocks!