Not Without My Weave - How To Embrace Natural Hair.

It’s so crazy how we live in a society where so many black women will not leave the house unless they have weave in their hair. Now of days would rather stay in the house, then to be seen in their natural hair. Despite how beautiful their hair is, some women still can’t come to terms with embrace their natural beauty. As a culture, we have been trained to hate our hair and we were taught to idolize the hair texture from the caucasian decent.

For years there were beauty products created for black women to mock caucasian hair texture.

These products took us further away from our natural roots. We thought we making ourselves look more presentable and beautiful instead, we were diminishing our natural beauty. But in our defense, that is all we know to do. Now that our culture is aware of our natural roots. Many women have gone natural and have decided to embrace it. The black community has created a number of shows, movies to shed light on the importance of natural beauty. Such as Insecure, -Nappily Ever After Movie and many more.

However, a lot of black women still struggle to embrace their natural beauty.

You wouldn’t believe the number of times I hear black women say ” I wish I had the confidence to wear my natural hair out. ” Yes, we have great things in the media to shed light on this issue. Yet some women still feel obligated to wear long, silky weave in order to feel beautiful. Too often we see women praised more for weave than you see a woman praised for their natural hair.

As a culture, weave seems to be the solution.

Now of days weave seems to be the solution black women insecurities. Before the long weave and wigs, black women were perming their hair. it seems that there is always something in place for us to hide behind our natural hair. We may not be forced to use the hot comb, or pressured to over-process our hair with perms to make our hair more “beautiful and manageable “. But we are still pressured to avoid our natural hair.

There’s nothing wrong with wearing weave however it becomes a problem when you are too dependent on it.

It saddens my heart to see a woman confidence level drop the second she takes her hair out. But it’s even worse to see that a woman’s confidence increase after she installs her weave. I have seen this happen many times and I myself have been in this predicament. However, I decided that I want to feel just as beautiful as when I have a weave, as I do when I wear my natural hair. So I took the time out to learn more about my natural hair, so I can wear it out more.

How did I do this?

The best way to gain confidence in something you feel uncomfortable with is to stop avoiding it. I found every excuse in the world to put weave in my hair. But ,I realized how much it affected my natural growth journey so I promised myself to wear my natural hair out more. The more I wore it the more I got comfortable with my hair.

Don’t worry about the length of your hair.

it is common for natural your natural hair to shrink. You have to learn to accept it. I won’t lie I did think people would clown me for my length. It honestly doesn’t matter how long your hair it is. But it matters how you work it. In reality, if your hair is healthy your length doesn’t matter.

If you really are that concerned with the length of your hair then.

Fluff (pick your hair). There are so many women who have short natural hair and they find ways to work their hair. Many women use the fluff/pick method to get their hair to appear longer and fuller than what it is. Take a pick at the root and fluff your hair out, this will give your hair more life and volume. It will also help you a little when it comes to shrinkage.

Find hairstyles that fit your face.

Go on YouTube and follow other women who have the same length and hair type hair as you. Once you see the different styles they do you will be super eager to try them on your own hair. You’ll learn what kind of styles you can achieve with your hair. From there you can decipher which styles fit you and what doesn’t.

Make sure you look at yourself with admiration.

Don’t look at yourself with disgust when you have your natural hair. Tell yourself that you’re beautiful. Make sure you put on a cute outfit. Take some selfies. Learn how to work your face and angels in your natural hair.

Be patient

Understand this is a journey and it does take time. In the beginning, you may be a little timid wearing your natural hair. You may feel like everyone is looking at you and talking about you. However, it may just be your fears and insecurities getting to you. In due time you will no longer feel that way. Give yourself time to adjust.

Do challenges.

I challenged myself to wear my natural hair at least twice a month. Once I got comfortable with that I increased it to a month. Now I wear my natural hair out a lot. Don’t get me wrong you do not have to give up your weave. However, I do believe you have to wear your natural hair in order to be confident without weave.

You are not alone.

Once you discover there are many women that are on this natural journey with you, then you will feel better. It will inspire you to keep going. In due time your boldness will other women as well. The more women do this, it will cause other women to join in. But in the meanwhile, we have to start with ourselves first. Because in the end loving your Natural Hair Is Also Self-Love