For many Black women, managing the coils and kinks of their natural hair is incomprehensible; one head of hair could possess several different textures and coil patterns. This may be why 70 percent of black women chemically relax their hair, a treatment that takes all or most of the curl out of the hair strand. The numbers of women who wear their hair naturally are few and even those who are tackling the trials of their hair encounter discouragements from their peers and society.
Noelle Green, a third year political science major at the University of Florida, has kept her hair relaxer-free for her entire life. She says, the idea of permanently straightening her hair never occurred.
“People would always say I have such beautiful hair, so it wasn’t an issue,” said Green. “They told me to never relax.”
As a kid her mom put her hair into little twists that she loved at the time. Now she only remembers the pain of having them done. However, Green says that her hair was so manageable even her dad would help with its care.
Today Green still rocks the kinky twists, but with a touch of auburn color added in.
The story for freshman Emily Smith is slightly different. Smith recalls the hours spent at night detangling her head of natural hair only for it to be matted in the morning.
“Growing up, it was really hard to manage my hair,” Smith recalled. “After the third grade I had to learn how to take care of it by myself. It always stayed in a ponytail or bun.”
Many of the women in Smith’s family kept their hair natural, especially on her dad’s side. It was his choice to keep her hair without a relaxer but her classmates in middle school caused her grief over her natural locks.
“I was the only girl in my class that didn’t have a perm,” she said. “They would always say ‘girl, when are you going to grow up.’”
Smith’s older half-sister would also remind her of how much better she would look with a relaxer, claiming she would look older and more mature. Her dad, however, refused to let Smith get the treatment.
Living with natural hair is not relax free. Green and Smith have had different relationships with their hair. For Green, her natural hair is a constant reminder of how unique her hair is in a sea of relaxed heads. Green has learned what products work best for her texture of hair and what styles she can and cannot work with.
“I’m a huge fan of the Mixed Chicks line, along with hair mayonnaise,” she said. “And using a silk scarf helps keep my hair moisturized during the night. It’s all a matter of finding what works for your hair.”
Smith also said that she likes the versatility of natural hair, but says the time it takes to detangle is a major frustration. On ‘bad hair days’ it might take Smith two hours to fully style her hair.
Smith is also apprehensive about how her natural hair will be received in the corporate world. As a Telecommunications major she fears being rejected for certain opportunities due to her hair.
“You don’t see many black women in the news that have natural hair, or a weave for that matter,” Smith added. “I don’t want to compromise my standards for myself for a job. It’s come down to whether I am going to keep my hair or accelerate my career?”
While society has certain perceptions of how black hair should look, both Green and Smith agree that natural hair is a part of who they are. Being able to wear the hair they were born with, with its tangles, coils, and kinks, is somewhat empowering.
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