If you’ve been thinking about going natural, here are a few things you might not have heard about the natural hair lifestyle.
The natural hair movement has been an exciting phenomenon for women who’ve long felt marginalized by Western beauty standards. While embracing your natural hair texture is empowering, the experience of effectively introducing yourself to your own hair can be a complicated event. If you’re getting your natural hair information from popular beauty influencers and vloggers, here are a few things a lot of natural hair gurus consistently fail to mention.
NATURAL HAIR GURUS RECOMMEND LONG, 10-STEP HAIRCARE ROUTINES BECAUSE… IT MAKES THEM MONEY.
If you’ve felt overwhelmed by the elaborate natural hair routines you’ve seen posted on social media, you are completely normal. Home detangling, washing, conditioning, and styling shouldn’t take a full day and gallons of products. And deep down, the hair gurus that promote these techniques know that.
Popular natural hair vloggers need new routines to keep them relevant. This is why they promote hair clay one week, then rice water the next week, then “naked hair” after that. The reason there are so many video tutorials showing natural hair routines that are so long and complicated that you’d have to take a day off of work to complete them, is because vloggers need to keep uploading new video content to promote their brands. The YouTube algorithm rewards the constant production of long-form videos from content producers by placing them higher in the search results, which gets the videos more views, which earns the producers money.
Now, some tutorials are helpful. Some might even introduce you to a styling technique that gives you great results. Just keep in mind that when a YouTube video promises “The Best Wash & Go Regimen Ever” the vlogger’s goal isn’t results, it’s views.
YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING RIGHT AND STILL NOT GAIN THE LENGTH YOU ANTICIPATED.
You cleanse gently. You moisturize regularly. You protect your hair constantly. And your hair still barely grazes your collar bone. What the…?
If you’re going natural with the hope of achieving coily, spiral curls that cascade past your waist, you might want to adjust your expectations.
Naturally curly/kinky hair is very fragile, so sometimes even minimal manipulation can put enough strain on strands to inhibit length retention. If you have naturally extremely breakage-prone hair, modifying your lifestyle so that your hair never experiences anything that could potentially damage it might not be practical.
Also, everyone has a different growth cycle. Some people have an active growth phase of six years, which can result in approximately three feet of hair length. Others have an active growth phase of three years, which results in approximately 18 inches of length. If you have a tight curl pattern and a short growth cycle, this can give the impression of short hair, even if your hair is nearly two feet long!
GETTING A GOOD HAIR CUT IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO SIMPLIFY YOUR NATURAL HAIR JOURNEY.
It’s very easy to get frustrated at the beginning of a hair journey, particularly when your hair is at an awkward length. Lots of naturals transition by allowing their natural hair to grow while preserving relaxed ends and then trimming those ends after they have become too ragged to maintain. This can sometimes result in a shapeless uneven structure that doesn’t respond well to styling.
While it’s understandable to want to keep as much length as possible for as long as possible, it can be annoying to spend six months or a year wrestling with hairstyles that don’t ever look quite right. A hair cut that flatters your features, is easy to maintain, and that showcases your curls can help you appreciate your hair and enjoy the journey.
YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE YOUR NATURAL HAIR, AND THAT’S KIND OF OKAY.
We’re supposed to love our features. We’re supposed to embrace our unique beauty. We are supposed to rise above unreasonable and homogeneous beauty standards.
But it’s not always that simple. There could be a hundred reasons why we just aren’t thrilled with our natural hair, but that doesn’t mean we’re betraying ourselves. Having a complicated relationship with hair is normal. You may grow to love your hair, or you may choose to go back to texturizers. Either way, the world will continue to spin on its axis.
AK Hair and Healing offers comprehensive natural hair care services that enhance the beauty of all hair types and textures. To learn more about our philosophy, please visit our information page.
NATURAL HAIR GURUS RECOMMEND LONG, 10-STEP HAIRCARE ROUTINES BECAUSE… IT MAKES THEM MONEY.
If you’ve felt overwhelmed by the elaborate natural hair routines you’ve seen posted on social media, you are completely normal. Home detangling, washing, conditioning, and styling shouldn’t take a full day and gallons of products. And deep down, the hair gurus that promote these techniques know that.
Popular natural hair vloggers need new routines to keep them relevant. This is why they promote hair clay one week, then rice water the next week, then “naked hair” after that. The reason there are so many video tutorials showing natural hair routines that are so long and complicated that you’d have to take a day off of work to complete them, is because vloggers need to keep uploading new video content to promote their brands. The YouTube algorithm rewards the constant production of long-form videos from content producers by placing them higher in the search results, which gets the videos more views, which earns the producers money.
Now, some tutorials are helpful. Some might even introduce you to a styling technique that gives you great results. Just keep in mind that when a YouTube video promises “The Best Wash & Go Regimen Ever” the vlogger’s goal isn’t results, it’s views.
YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING RIGHT AND STILL NOT GAIN THE LENGTH YOU ANTICIPATED.
You cleanse gently. You moisturize regularly. You protect your hair constantly. And your hair still barely grazes your collar bone. What the…?
If you’re going natural with the hope of achieving coily, spiral curls that cascade past your waist, you might want to adjust your expectations.
Naturally curly/kinky hair is very fragile, so sometimes even minimal manipulation can put enough strain on strands to inhibit length retention. If you have naturally extremely breakage-prone hair, modifying your lifestyle so that your hair never experiences anything that could potentially damage it might not be practical.
Also, everyone has a different growth cycle. Some people have an active growth phase of six years, which can result in approximately three feet of hair length. Others have an active growth phase of three years, which results in approximately 18 inches of length. If you have a tight curl pattern and a short growth cycle, this can give the impression of short hair, even if your hair is nearly two feet long!
GETTING A GOOD HAIR CUT IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO SIMPLIFY YOUR NATURAL HAIR JOURNEY.
It’s very easy to get frustrated at the beginning of a hair journey, particularly when your hair is at an awkward length. Lots of naturals transition by allowing their natural hair to grow while preserving relaxed ends and then trimming those ends after they have become too ragged to maintain. This can sometimes result in a shapeless uneven structure that doesn’t respond well to styling.
While it’s understandable to want to keep as much length as possible for as long as possible, it can be annoying to spend six months or a year wrestling with hairstyles that don’t ever look quite right. A hair cut that flatters your features, is easy to maintain, and that showcases your curls can help you appreciate your hair and enjoy the journey.
YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE YOUR NATURAL HAIR, AND THAT’S KIND OF OKAY.
We’re supposed to love our features. We’re supposed to embrace our unique beauty. We are supposed to rise above unreasonable and homogeneous beauty standards.
But it’s not always that simple. There could be a hundred reasons why we just aren’t thrilled with our natural hair, but that doesn’t mean we’re betraying ourselves. Having a complicated relationship with hair is normal. You may grow to love your hair, or you may choose to go back to texturizers. Either way, the world will continue to spin on its axis.
AK Hair and Healing offers comprehensive natural hair care services that enhance the beauty of all hair types and textures. To learn more about our philosophy, please visit our information page.