Warning: Controversial Topic about being Natural

[Poohbear]

05girl I don't think styling products would make someone not natural. Styling products may change a curl pattern temporarily but once they're washed out, you're left with the original hair.

nakialovesshoes - Same with straightened hair. Once you wash your hair after straightening it, it goes back to the original curl pattern. Straightening only changes the curl pattern temporarily just like any other hair style... twistouts, braidouts, and more!

 

[nakialovesshoes]

@nakialovesshoes - Same with straightened hair. Once you wash your hair after straightening it, it goes back to the original curl pattern. Straightening only changes the curl pattern temporarily just like any other hair style... twistouts, braidouts, and more!

PoohbearDo you think that this is true with heat-trained/heat damaged naturals? When I was natural, if the heat was high enough to get me straight, then it was high enough to permanently straighten my hair in certain places. That hair would never revert. Of course, I didn't think of myself as not natural but technically my hair doesn't grow straight out of my head so my texture was permanently altered, just not by chemicals - if that makes sense.

 

[Poohbear]

Poohbear Do you think that this is true with heat-trained/heat damaged naturals? When I was natural, if the heat was high enough to get me straight, then it was high enough to permanently straighten my hair in certain places. That hair would never revert. Of course, I didn't think of myself as not natural but technically my hair doesn't grow straight out of my head so my texture was permanently altered, just not by chemicals - if that makes sense.

nakialovesshoes - Heat trained is different than permanent heat damage.

Heat trained is natural hair that is easier to straighten than before. Once you wash it, it goes back to it's natural state.

Permanent heat damage is where you have straighten pieces that do not revert back to it's natural state.

When most people say they have natural hair, they are not being all technical with it. They are just expressing that they are now free from using chemical relaxers. And that's my definition of natural too.

 

[05girl]

Maybe we should switch the terms.. Instead of saying "natural" we could say "chemically altered/non-chemically altered"

 

[LadyRaider]

Natural = non-chemically relaxed.

But natural hair can be worn in several ways = natural, straightened, in braids, in twistouts, extensions, under a weave.

So there is natural and then there is natural hair styled.

Straightening your hair and accidentally getting a few bits of damaged hair does not make you no longer natural.

Straightening your hair to purposely alter the curl pattern is probably still natural hair, but with an asterisk. (Heh)

 

[SmileyNY]

Just a non-biased question (b/c I really don't feel strongly either way & I support what any woman wants to call her own hair!)

But this question crossed my mind & really couldn't answer it myself, so I was wondering if someone else could..

If root of why chemically altered hair is not considered natural is because is permanently alters hair texture... Why are other things that permanently alter hair texture still considered natural?

What the difference? Is it just the word chemical? B/c most hair products are chemicals that don't alter hair texture. So... permanently altering texture is the main reason why a perm isn't natural. The whole reason why it's called a perm is b/c it's permanent.

How does the word "chemical" make one permanently altered hair strand different from another?

I'm mad I asked myself this question, b/c I really don't know the answer lol.

ETA: I just asked my sister & she said because chemicals are created in a lab & aren't natural. I was like ooooh... That makes sense lol.

For second I agreed... Then I thought about it & asked her.. "So frequently applying 300+ of degrees of ceramic heat to hair IS natural?"

To which she replied..

"Touché"

So I'm back where I started. I'm choosing not to think about it anymore. At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter.



Sent from my iPhone. It does EVERYTHING ...except make calls

 

[naturalgyrl5199]

Not using chemicals to permanently straighten.....
Heat-training.....IDK....if it doesn't revert then it's just heat damaged natural hair IMO....

S/N: I use heat a couple times a year but it reverts fine....I also throw a weave in Sometimes too...some would say I'm not natural for that reason too but I beg to differ...

 

[naturalgyrl5199]

Oh and I don't put BKT in that category...it doesn't permanently break the bonds....I got my BKT in Sept and wore it straight about a week, washed it out on Day 8 or 9 and was back to wearing my twists.....it did give me a more loose curl, but 11 mos later my curl ain't hardly loose anymore....

 

[LadyRaider]

Here's a question I don't know the answer to.

My third grade science knowledge says there are chemical changes and physical changes.

Take paper.

Chemical change - burning paper. It is no longer paper.
Physical change - writing on it, tearing it, crumpling it. It's in a different condition and can't return to its "natural" state... but it's still paper.

So..
Are relaxers a chemical change? Is a relaxer actually changing the atomic make up of hair? Doesn't it do something with "breaking the protein bonds?"

Is heat training to alter the way hair looks permanently changing the atomic make up of hair?

 

[Solitude]

nakialovesshoes

Thanks for clarifying that. Sorry for my delayed response. I haven't been getting my mentions until today.

 

[Missjae09]

I think the general public (meaning those outside of the hair boards or the "chemical free hair" world) are refering to hair that is relaxer free when they use the term "natural" so that means they still consider those who are heat trained/colored, yet relaxer free, "natural". It wasn't until I discovered the hair boards that I realized that the term "natural" meant a lot more than just being relaxer free to a lot of people.