Recently, I discovered Jelly Belly 'Bean Boozled' candies. The premise is that the box has jelly beans in various sweet and (un)savory flavors, but similar colors. So a black jelly bean may be licorice OR skunk spray. The only way to find out is to take a bite....I wasn't too lucky and ate the skunk spray bean instead of the licorice. Not even brushing my teeth helped remove the taste.
In some ways, maneuvering from relaxed to natural can be the same way. You know what jelly bean you want (natural), but from the outside looking in, things are not always as they appear. I remember wanting to go natural because it would mean healthier tresses (semi-lie), be less time consuming (even bigger lie), and cheaper (Get thee behind me, Satan).
For one, natural hair does not equate healthier hair. I know plenty of naturals suffering from heat damage (been there), dandruff (done that), and split ends (got the T-Shirt), all ailments that have plagued Sheeba prior to me switching my hair regimen. Healthy natural hair takes time and care. The same can be said for relaxed hair. The longer my hair grows, the more I try to maintain healthy ends, moisturize my scalp, and limit the amount of heat applied to it. Sorry to break it to you, but natural healthy hair does not come naturally (pun intended).
Another misnomer is that natural hair is less time consuming. If I ever find the person who began this myth, I have a few 'choice' words to share with them because I never spent this much time doing my hair when I had a relaxer. My mother took me to the salon for my 1st relaxer when I was 6, and I recall spending every other Saturday morning in the salon with my sister getting our manes coiffed. I didn't mind the four hour process and was even elated when I was finally able to sit under the dryer without the stack of phonebooks to prop me up.
Nowadays, I dread going to salons and (sometimes) even doing my own hair. From wash to style, it can take me up to 6 hours to tame Sheeba....and that's on a weekly basis. If I am applying henna, taking down braids, or twists, it can be a two day -over the weekend- process to wash, condition, and detangle my hair, all that work to have my arms give out and end up in a pineapple on top of my head. Natural hair -mine at least- is not less time consuming. Yes, I am no longer bound to my hairdressers schedule, but I treat my hair delicately and therefore must spend more time ensuring that every knot is untangled, and every section is combed through.
Now the biggest lie I've heard regarding being natural is that it is cheaper that being relaxed.
I'm here to douse some Holy Water on that myth.
If you get your hair washed every week and relaxed every 4 weeks, then yes, being relaxed may be more costly than being natural. But if not, you relaxed sisters may be coming out on top. I was a product junkie, like many nubian naturals, so I would spend anywhere from $50-$100 a year on products, just to determine if my hair liked said product. Here's a summary of what a year of maintaining Sheeba looks like:
Now lets compare being natural to my relaxed Miami & Dominican blow-out life:
In some ways, maneuvering from relaxed to natural can be the same way. You know what jelly bean you want (natural), but from the outside looking in, things are not always as they appear. I remember wanting to go natural because it would mean healthier tresses (semi-lie), be less time consuming (even bigger lie), and cheaper (Get thee behind me, Satan).
For one, natural hair does not equate healthier hair. I know plenty of naturals suffering from heat damage (been there), dandruff (done that), and split ends (got the T-Shirt), all ailments that have plagued Sheeba prior to me switching my hair regimen. Healthy natural hair takes time and care. The same can be said for relaxed hair. The longer my hair grows, the more I try to maintain healthy ends, moisturize my scalp, and limit the amount of heat applied to it. Sorry to break it to you, but natural healthy hair does not come naturally (pun intended).
Another misnomer is that natural hair is less time consuming. If I ever find the person who began this myth, I have a few 'choice' words to share with them because I never spent this much time doing my hair when I had a relaxer. My mother took me to the salon for my 1st relaxer when I was 6, and I recall spending every other Saturday morning in the salon with my sister getting our manes coiffed. I didn't mind the four hour process and was even elated when I was finally able to sit under the dryer without the stack of phonebooks to prop me up.
Nowadays, I dread going to salons and (sometimes) even doing my own hair. From wash to style, it can take me up to 6 hours to tame Sheeba....and that's on a weekly basis. If I am applying henna, taking down braids, or twists, it can be a two day -over the weekend- process to wash, condition, and detangle my hair, all that work to have my arms give out and end up in a pineapple on top of my head. Natural hair -mine at least- is not less time consuming. Yes, I am no longer bound to my hairdressers schedule, but I treat my hair delicately and therefore must spend more time ensuring that every knot is untangled, and every section is combed through.
Now the biggest lie I've heard regarding being natural is that it is cheaper that being relaxed.
I'm here to douse some Holy Water on that myth.
If you get your hair washed every week and relaxed every 4 weeks, then yes, being relaxed may be more costly than being natural. But if not, you relaxed sisters may be coming out on top. I was a product junkie, like many nubian naturals, so I would spend anywhere from $50-$100 a year on products, just to determine if my hair liked said product. Here's a summary of what a year of maintaining Sheeba looks like:
|
Service
|
Cost
|
Frequency
|
Total
|
|
Products
|
$50-$100
|
|
$50-$100
|
|
Trim/ Deep
Condition
|
$45
|
4x
|
$180
|
|
Senegalese
Twists
|
$200
|
1x
|
$200
|
|
Length-Check Press
|
$60
|
1x
|
$60
|
|
Random 2-strand Updo
|
$100-$120
|
3x
|
$300-$360
|
|
Protective
Sew-In
|
$200
(hair) + $150 (install)
|
2x
|
$350 (1st install) + $150
(2nd install) = $500
|
|
Total
|
|
|
$1,290 - $1,400
|
Now lets compare being natural to my relaxed Miami & Dominican blow-out life:
|
Service
|
Cost
|
Frequency
|
Total
|
|
Products
|
$20-$50
|
|
$20-$50
|
|
Wash and
Blow-out
|
$30
|
26x
|
$780
|
|
Relaxer
|
$45
|
6x
|
$270
|
|
Total
|
|
|
$1,070
- $1,100
|
I'm spending between $220 - $300 more on my hair now than when I was relaxed.
Now after shedding some (personal) light onto the natural misunderstanding, you may be wondering whether or not it's worth it to go and/or stay natural. And without any hesitation, I would say a thousand times yes.
Yes, I miss salon chatter and yes, it may be more work, more time, and more costly, but being able to have the flexibility of wearing my hair fro'd out, kinky, curly, loc'd, or bone straight is something that I would never give up. Not now. Not ever.
Like the famous work of natural hair art says: My only regret in being natural, is that I didn't do it sooner...
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