“10 Assumptions about Women with Natural Hair” by Dee Rene

I’ve been natural since I came out the womb before it was popular. Lately, however, I have started to laugh at myself and my fellow women on this journey. There are just so many assumptions and misconceptions about natural hair! Now, some of these are true to me but it never hurts to laugh at yourself a little too.

1. You are “deep”: The only thing deep about me in my conditioner. Otherwise, I spend my free time trying to master Twerk Team moves or laughing at reality TV. Sorry.
2. You pray to the goddess of Whole Foods: I still like pizza. I will not give up my potato chips for kale chips. That just sounds weird. I do take care of my body but if you expect that because I have natural hair, I should be vegan, you’ll be disappointed.
3. You spend hours on YouTube: Ok so admittedly, I do spend hours on Youtube. But how many times can you watch someone do and style a twist out? Not every natural cares to learn about it. Some of us just want to grow it and let it sit there. Hoping it looks nice sometimes.
4. You know every other natural person: Why do people assume you know every natural hair person in a 10 mile radius? This happened a lot when I was in college. Do you know such-n-such? She wears an afro too? NO. We are not in a club.
5. You are afro-centric/ all natural: The revolution will not be in my twit out. I promise you that. Natural hair does not mean I am one generation removed from a black panther. Nor does it mean I listen to neo-soul while mediating on a lawn somewhere. I still like make-up and weave. And I still buy my coconut oil with the best of them.
6. You don’t mind the rain: Although I CAN get my hair wet, it doesn’t mean I WANT to get my hair wet. I’ve had boyfriends before that just knew I would get out the car to make a mad dash to the building while it was pouring down rain. Natural hair doesn’t make me a Teflon super hero to rain drops.
7. You have a rigorous hair care routine/ obsessed with hair: People are so disappointed when they ask me how I maintain my hair. I fall asleep with my glasses on and my scarf off. I forget to moisturize. And I just learned about co-washing like two weeks ago although I’ve been “natural” since birth. Some people have a really intense routine. I hope to be like that when I grow up and still have hair left too.
8. You want to attend “naturals” events: Along the way, having natural hair became some shea butter laden version of the illuminati. You get these “for naturals” invites and all of these events started popping up. This is all good and usually a lot of fun, but just because you are natural doesn’t mean you ALWAYS want to attend these type of events.
9. Being natural is EASIER than a relaxer: Somebody lied. Being natural is more struggle than a relaxer 100% of the time. Which is sad because you would assume that growing your own texture would be some kind of instinct, right? It’s not. Your hair will quickly become your first born child and eat up hours of your Friday nights deep conditioning for the week.
10. A product will make your hair look JUST like the picture: Never. It never looks like the picture. Ever. Your natural hair is YOUR hair and it will never, ever, look like the picture on the box of any product.

Did I miss any? Have you encountered any other assumptions or misconceptions after going natural?

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