I'm not natural?

My husband and I are both special education teachers and we both have paraprofessionals that we refer to as staff that work with us and the students.  The other day he was talking to a couple of his staff members who are women.  One is from Nigeria and the others are African American.  The ladies were talking about losing their hair in the front from wearing weaves and long extentions.  My wonderful husband approached them and asked them if they would ever consider going natural.  He then proceeded to show them my blog and after checking out my hair regimen one of then said "she's not natural, she uses a conditioner".  My dumbfounded husband responded "yes, but she is no longer using a relaxer to permanently straighten her hair".

My un-natural Aussie Moist curls.

So, after relaying this story to me I wasn't surprised since people in the past have assumed natural hair was telling them I was forsaking things like deodorant and soap.  Since this is ridiculous, I had him relay back to his staff members that my definition of going natural (hence my blog name) regarding my hair is that I will no longer use a chemical to permanently straighten my hair.

I just don't get it!  Water is technically a compound (made from two elements) and chemicals are created by mixing different compounds together.  I'm not going to stop using water that's just silly, so what's wrong with conditioner?  The term chemical is a generic term that is used to describe a mixture of compounds or anything that is chemically active.  A basic example of a chemically active compound is when vinegar and baking soda are mixed.  The reaction is that the substance becomes carbonic acid and the carbon dioxide escaping the solution that is left looks like bubbles. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air, so, it flows almost like water when it overflows the container.  This happens when you mix a base and acid.  Different chemical reactions happen when you use different conditioners.  Understanding ph and balancing out your bases and acids will give you a reaction that our hair will experience as many things from great slip to causing your hair to dry out or feel soft, silky and shiny ect...  All these things are basically chemical reactions.

Close up of my defined curls.

Sorry, I totally geek out on everyone there!  My point is that no one can be completely natural.  Even the people who say they are completely chemical free, that would mean they would forsake everything including water.  You can't be completely chemical free!  What you can say is that you are choosing to use more plant based (natural) products and or are choosing to use products that the chemicals don't permanently change the cell structure of your hair.  I'm the latter, I don't use 100% plant based natural products, but I'm not using anything that will permanently change my curl pattern including a force called heat (I had to get geeky one more time).  It's just easier to say I'm natural and most people in the natural world understand that natural means no relaxer.  I'm not saying that in the future I won't switch to 100% natural products.  Just not now!  I have a young family and I have to watch the bottom line very carefully.  So, for me I will continue to use my Aussie Moist at least until I finally break down and buy more Mop Top products.  Until next time...
Blessings!

What does nappy mean?

This past Sunday I had lunch after church with some friends.  One of my friends has an adult daughter who is biracial like me.  She commented about how much she liked my corkscrew curls and that her daughter use to have hair like mine when she was younger.  I told her that she probably still does.

6th month fro.

She looked at me and said "no, her hair is nappy".  She then pulled out her phone and showed me a picture of her daughter's hair.  Yes, it was big and picked out, but I consider my hair and her hair nappy and that's not a bad thing in my opinion.  I was told "no, you don't have nappy hair because it's curly and shiny".  I then said "oh, her hair was picked out, it's just a style".  She then said "yeah, and it's nappy".  At this point, I'm really confused because I'm proud of my nappy hair and through this conversation I'm been told several times that my hair isn't "nappy" and that "nappy" hair is something not to be proud of.  I then grab my husband's tablet and show her several pictures of my hair including my fro from my 6th month anniversary post.  She said that in that picture I had nappy hair.  She then asked "you didn't go out in public looking like that?".  At this point I realized that it doesn't matter what I say to her.  To her big, picked out, afro, kinky hair that ia not flat ironed or set in neat curls was "nappy" and that "nappy" is very undesirable.  She then went on to tell me that she will "never color her daughter's nappy hair again unless it was flat ironed first".  Oh my!  Why would you use a flat iron that can damage hair horribly and then use a chemical to dye hair?  I was surprised to see a picture of her daughter's hair with a lot of length.  My assumption is that it is only a matter of time before her hair starts to break, thin out, or split.

Wow!  Here I'm learning to really love and embrace my hair and still many people think that wearing a big fro is "nappy" and that "nappy" needs to be flat ironed to be manageable.  What are your thoughts?  What does nappy mean to you? Until next time...
Blessings!