Natural Isn't So Natural
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Natural isn’t so Natural My natural hair has become a form of expression. I’ve worn bow bow’s, afro puffs, french braids, wash and go’s, box braids and the list goes on. My hair and its significance have altered over time. When I was a newborn, I attended KinderCare which was a predominantly white daycare in Santa Clarita, California. While at the daycare, kids would yank and pull at my afro. Looking back now, they’d probably never seen a black girl or a head full of curls before. They were curious and I resented it. There have been many times throughout my life where people have touched my hair, curiously and without consent. It’s disrespectful and indecent. During elementary, I disliked my hair. I felt like it was unmanageable and too wild. While viewing television,magazine covers, and commercial advertisements, they displayed women with porcelain skin and long flowy hair, neither of which were me. Black women shown in the media were similar with fair skin and straight hair. If fair skin women with straight hair are deemed beautiful why would I be considered as such? Why isn’t natural hair media worthy? Growing up, I didn’t know many women who wore their natural hair . One of the first times I saw someone confidently wear their natural hair was in the fifth grade. A classmate of mine wore gorgeous braids, I asked her, Who did your braids? She said she had braided her own hair. I envied her but most of all admired her confidence. So I asked her to teach me how to braid my own hair and twice a week over facetime she taught me the basics of braiding. In a few weeks, I had completed my first braid. My classmate turned friend recommended I watch hair tutorials for black hair. That's when I found out about the natural hair movement. The first wave of the natural hair movement began in the 1960s, coining the term “Black is Beautiful”. The natural hair movement encourages black women and men to take pride in the natural state of their hair. The most current natural hair movement picked up momentum in the mid-2000s. Numerous black-owned natural hair care lines such as TGIN or Thank God It’s Natural, Carol’s Daughter and NaturAll Club, have gained notoriety due to the movement. Unfortunately, while many black businesses have been born due to the natural hair movement, there have been many franchises that have capitalized and exploited the business of natural hair. According to Sierra Club, “more than 1,100 hair products marketed toward black consumers revealed... Less than one in four products tested “low hazard” for the inclusion of dangerous ingredients, with most containing toxic chemicals that can potentially cause cancer or developmental and reproductive damage, disrupt hormones and trigger other adverse health effects” In 2016, black consumers spent over $2 billion on the products. A study by the Environmental Working Group found that over 70 percent of products marketed for black hair contain dangerous ingredients, compared with 40 percent of hair products that are made for the “general public.” In 2017 African-Americans carried 86 percent of the ethnic beauty market alone, accounting for $54 million of the $63 million spent. Time and time again the black community has been dismissed until found profitable. Marketing hair products towards the black community that is putting their health in jeopardy. I’ve never permed, bleached or majorly cut my hair, due to my mother’s experiences with perms or “creamy crack”.I have consciously made the decision to wear my hair in its natural state. I want to preserve the natural texture, growth, and essence of my hair. So I don’t use chemicals, or so I thought. A couple of years ago, I found out through my father that all hair products deemed “natural” wasn’t. He had listened to the Tom Joyner radio show which did a segment on how badly hair products advertised to black women had led to Cystic fibrosis. Surely these women must've had a perm, or bleached their hair? Nope. After researching on my own, I found that many natural hair products had toxic chemicals such as parabens, a preservative that has been linked to breast cancer and phthalates, which damage the liver, kidneys, lungs and reproductive system. I felt betrayed. How can “natural” products have so many chemicals? Seeing the word natural on my hair products used to put me at ease, I thought I was doing the right thing, no chemicals, nothing to worry about, right? Except for chemicals like parabens, phthalates and many more toxic chemicals. These “natural” hair products are killing women, killing their chances to have children and eroding their bodies internally. I had taken natural hair products at prima-facie but I can’t anymore because it might cost me my life. Natural isn’t so natural anymore. Due to the natural hair movement. I’m able to go online and find women of my hair texture and complexion teach me how to style, grow and take care of my hair. I love seeing women who look like me not only care for their hair and themselves. During my hair journey, I’ve learned not to tame, hide or be ashamed or my natural hair but embrace it. As a fourteen-year-old freshman from North Minneapolis, my hair has become a source of confidence and importance. Black women and black hair are to be celebrated. The great Singer-Songer Lauryn Hill said,” I had to confront my fears and master my every demonic thought about inferiority, insecurity, or the fear of being black, young and gifted in the Western culture”. If I were to try and measure up to western beauty standards, I’d live my whole life believing my hair and I weren’t enough. If I didn’t research natural hair products, I could've put health and body in danger. My experience with my hair is shared with black women around the world, our hair and health are to be acknowledged and valued. Read and research your hair products, it’s truly worth it. .