What is natural hair?

Hmmm, as for this topic...it's definitely a little dicey. Just like how some caucasian women eventually forget what their natural hair colour is, there's many a black woman who eventually forgets what her natural hair texture looks like. Why is that? Well the answer lies in the fact that just like women all over the world, we are trying to live up to certain beauty standards that have been set by some other people years and years ago. The standard here in my part of the world is straight flowing hair that flies in the wind as opposed to kinky/curly/nappy hair as some people call it or natural hair.

It's funny, I was just about to define what natural hair is when I decided to do a search for the definition and  boy did I come up with some stuff. Some definitions I agreed with while some were pretty radical and even scary so I decided I'd rather put out a very basic definition so nobody comes to beat me up. For me, natural hair is hair that has not been altered from its original texture by a chemical process. This includes, perming, texturizing and sometimes even dyeing the hair.
Now when it comes to this, my friends from other races may have a hard time understanding what I'm talking about. Let's take the perm for example: With caucasians, when a person applies a perm, it means they want some curl in their hair. For us black people, it means our hair releases itself of the original curl pattern or the kink and becomes straighter thereby looking longer than what we started out with. Alternatively, some people prefer to go with texturizing because they feel it less harsh than the chemicals for perm and doesn't completely straighten hair. In fact, texturizers actually make the natural hair softer and produce more curl for those who feel their hair is too kinky.

Now the reason I said this topic was a little dicey is that people have varying opinions of what they consider natural and will even fight you for thinking any different. For example, some people feel that if you have never put a chemical in your hair but use a straightening iron to press the hair, then your hair isn't natural. Others also feel that if you dye your hair at all even without perming or texturing it, then your hair isn't natural. Now I respect these people's opinions, but I prefer to be a lot more laidback when it comes to what I consider as natural. I feel that as long as the hair texture you were born with remains the same, whether you choose to dye it or straighten it from time to time, you're still a natural head and I applaud those who have the guts to keep natural hair in Ghana especially 'cus chile (child), it ain't easy'. Next, I'm going to tell you about my own journey to self-discovery. Maybe you have guessed by now or haven't but I have natural hair and I'm proud of it so check back and you'll see how I eventually got to where I am.