Autumn writes:
I’m trying to figure this one out…
It seems as though I’ve been calling my “good hair days” the ones on which I take the time to define my curls. And my bad hair days seem to be the exact same days that I don’t.
Is it really that I just “prefer” defined curls? Or do I have apprehension about wearing my 4a/4b hair in a moisturized afro? I mean how can I call myself doing a “wash n go” if I’m really doing a wash n add product n manipulate n add more product n manipulate n go? Am I alone?
How are other fairly new naturals managing to accept their “real” texture vs. their “styled” texture (shingling, twist/braid out)? Are u okay with both? I feel like it’s more of an issue when you still have a TWA like me.
Weigh in!
When I decided to go natural, it wasn't because I had a desire to look like naturals featured in modeling ads in the last few years who could "wash and go" because of their looser curl texture. It also wasn't motivated by any desire to be down with "the cause" by freeing myself from society's image of what beauty is supposed to look like. I was simply tired of my relaxed hair breaking off after 20 years of constant weekly deep conditioning and avoidance of excessive heat. With that said, it bothers me when I hear of this debate within the "natural" community. I've read on many blogs that being natural means that you're not using chemical straighteners, so what's the big deal if someone prefers to wear their natural hair in cute coils, uncombed afro or straightens their hair with a hot comb or flat iron. Let's please not have another divisive aspect within the Black community when it comes to our hair. It's really silly.
I have been natural for two weeks now, and it's between .5in and 1in long. When I first BC-ed, I had a fro-hawk. Now I just wear it out and put a headband on. I guess I am blessed to have a pretty uniform curl pattern but I do have two different textures. I think it just takes time to get used to your natural hair and it's cool to experiment. I was inspired by Jill Scott & others; my hair turned out a little more kinky but I still love it! Bad hair days are inevitable; just rock what you got 🙂
A bad hair day is when I've gone too far past wash day or after pineappling my hair for the night and losing my satin bonnet in the heat of the moment and my hair ends up looking like the little dragon ball on Gohan's hat!
I'm pretty much at peace with my hair and love it styled or stretching out in all directions.
For me, a good hair day is less about texture and more about getting my hair to hold styles. My hair is different lengths and it takes a lot for me to coax it into a shape every morning so that doesn't look all lopsided.
I have kinky coily hair that reaches shoulder length when straightened. While I love a BAA, I find that with my hair texture, afos and and wash n goes are a no no. My hair ends up a tangled matted mess by the end of the day.I wear stretched styles like chunky twist outs since I find that my hair retains more moisture this way and it usually lasts a week.
Autum, I like the style u r wearing in the pic. I must admit that a number of the posts are far from my objective in reading the blogs. All I want to know is how to achieve a particular style. I liked my TWA . . . wash and go. I have 4(something). The longer it has become the more it guides me. My crown of glory is mine . . . all mine and I feel very fortunate to have so many options. Rock out dear sista however u wish to roll that day. And by the way @Anonymous Feb 26 at 5:14 pm I am 50 and I intend to play the cute card until they kick dirt over me.
I think the lines become blurry when arguing "real" vs styled texture. As a another commenter noted if you pick your hair our to get a big fluffy fro that's still manipulation! I put my hair in 5 big flat twists to dry . I don't do it for a braid out per se. It's simply an easier and tangle free way to let it dry.When I take it out and fluff it is that not my "real" texture? Terri from tightlycurly also puts her hair in loose braids to dry after her conditioner only method and nobody is yelling "Terri that's not your REAL texture." I remember a sista stating that it doesn't matter what your hair looks like when wet, it only matters what it looks like when dry. Huh? Why is one more valid than the other for determining hair texture? Especially when you can apply products to maintain your wet look, and most people still apply products to their dry looks.
Some of these shades of meaning are completely subjective and I question whether they have any objective value regarding real vs altered texture.
Altered texture to me is a relaxer or heat styled.
Thanks Breanna, I just signed up! I consider a bad hair day one where I don't get the desired result. I love fros, can't wait to wear mine! As a matter of fact, I might wear one to the Natural Experience!
Royalle
Today is def. a bad hair day for me. My hair is dry and frizzy. Plus with the weather today my bantu knots frizzed and dropped! I forgot my hair clip! OMG..runing to the shower when I get home!
I'm newly natural and I'm rocking a TWA, so I don't have much length to do much with it. I typically rock a wash 'n go on my naturally curly hair. All I do style-wise is wash it, leave-in regular conditioner for extra moisture and add a small amount of gel for frizz control. I don't try to define individual curls, nor do I try to stretch it out. I like my shrunken up curly fro just fine. I truly love my hair the way it is.
When it grows out, I think I will stick to my routine, because I'm too lazy to braid and twist it all the time. It's not worth the effort. I don't care about stretching my hair out to make it look longer. I never had a problem growing my hair long, so it is not an obsession for me. In time, the length will come. I think it will come faster if I don't manipulate my hair all the time and let it do its own thing.
So far, my method is working and I've seen an amazing amount of growth in the 2 months I've been completely natural. Plus, my hair is very moisturized and glossy all the time, so I'm satisfied. In addition, I don't see a ton of hair falling down the drain during washes, so I'm keeping most of my hair, which is a good sign.
I know many natural women feel that they cannot do a wash 'n go, which I think is untrue. I believe women say that they can't do a wash 'n go because they don't like the natural texture of their own hair. If the hair was kept well moisturized, it would look just fine. But, to each its own! Every one should rock the style that makes them feel confident and beautiful, whether it is a twist-out, braid-out, or wash 'n go.
I have not seen any pressure to have fros. The pressures of the natural community are (stylewise):
1. Length – hair that shows nearly all or half its length when wet or dry (see Youtube's Haircrush) and hair that retains its yearly quota of 6 inches seeming as though the wearer has super fast growing hair.
2. Hair that lacks shrinkage – hair that doesn't shrink up to an inch from SL,NL etc etc is generally much more coveted and revered than hair that does.
3 The perfect twistout, braid out anything out. If it looks magazine fresh like the images we are used to on blogs and hair boards then people openly admire and fawn over it.
4. Perfectly defined, again magazine just stepped out of a salon uniform curls. Anything other than that seems to result in someone saying they had a failed attempt at said style or multiple textures mean they can never wash and go because it doesn't all look the same but how many people have one texture/curl pattern? It doesn't seem like people embrace natural frizz in this modern natural world. It must all be shingled, coiled or twisted out to uniformity and homogeny.
We find ourselves in an age and time where the internet has made images of natural hair so readily available to us so that we are in a constant state of contrast and compare. We're bombarded with video and imagery of what the 'perfect natural hair' looks like and how it behaves and the message seems to be down with frizz, down with undefined cloud fros, down with anything that hasn't been 100% tamed and teased and 'done'.
I feel people should do what they want but that hair in all its real and natural states should be promoted and shown so that people can say, 'it's ok that my hair isn't picture perfect camera ready 24/7 because that's not how my hair is and neither is the hair of all these natural girls I see all over the internet AND it's ok'
People can wear their hair how they choose otherwise we wouldn have the freedom to do anything else to our hair.There is nothing wrong in being creative as you can get bored of the same style all the time. I feel in the natural community their is a pressure to be wear a fro 24/7 and if you don't then something is wrong? I could be wrong but i believe people have a choice and should exercise it.
I believe hair has to be styled whether defined or not.Everyone tweaks their hair whether brushing,combing etc before leaving the house.
A bad hair day for me is when im trying to achieve a style and it doesn't work; so i could do a braid n curl and get frizz that for me would be a bad hair day or it could be dry still a bad hair day. as long as my hair looks tended to and healthy i'm happy.
I'm a year post and have accpeted that when i straigten my hair it won't be bone straight but thats cool and i still wear my hair down im just more creative! Having realistic expectations helps and prevents disapointment.
great article.
Just wanted to let you ladies that are in the surrounding Atlanta area that Atlanta Naturals, a local meet up group is set to host "The Natural Experience" on Saturday March 19,2011.
It's from 1:00-5:00pm at the Funkshion Factory at the address 608 Interchange Drive Atlanta,Georgia 30336
Free general admission with pre-registration
$5.00 at the door. Includes fashion shows,vendors,door prizes, and Atlanta's largest Product Swap
It just depends on the hair style that I'm trying to achieve like my twists. I've seen Naptural85 and Mahoganyknots and love how their hair looks in twists. Then when I do my thick and coarse 4b/c hair with 4a in the nape area I'm like arrgh if only the hair was a tad bit of a looser texture all over my head. But I really like it on days when its in a puff or a afro with my flower in it and I still get compliments on it. Even if I'm not feeling a style that didn't come out right I will put a beanie on it and be done with it lol….
I guess alot of people expect different reactions when cutting their hair, and often times finds it diffcult to deal with their hair types. At times I find myself be tempted to slap in a perm or just try doing the straigtehing the hair on a constant routine. But I like my hair even the shrinkage gotta love that, it really does shock people when they see how long the hair really is when stretched out lol..lol………..
Believe you me, if there was a product I could find that would let me literally wash and go and not have crazy hair when it dried, I'd do it in a heartbeat. That being said, I love being able to do a variety of things to my hair. I loved WNG's with Kinky Curly back in my TWA days; now, not so much…too much work and takes forever to dry. I love twist outs and am becoming more comfortable going out in twists without feeling like my hair wasn't 'done'. As several other commenters have mentioned, women of ALL colors spend time and money manipulating their hair into something they like; why are we getting singled out as having hair shame? Isn't part of the beauty of being natural having the versatility to change it up whenever you feel like it?
Shelli @1:35 you hit the nail right on the head. In college I roomed with 3 other girls in a 2 bedroom apartment for upper grads. One was white, the other was Cambodian and the other from South America (some place like Bolivia). Anyway, we all had different hair types and the two who did the LEAST amount to their hair was myself and my Cambodian roommate. We use to have to shower at night because the other two girls spent soooooo much time on washing, blow drying, moussing, hair spraying and etc… And funny thing also, my Cambodian roommate, who was also a friend from highschool use to RELAX her thick, silk like hair to "thin it out". Anyway, now that I'm natural it takes time unless I wash and go which I have stopped doing.
I love the way my hair looks in an afro, but at the length my hair is now it's not just practical. I wear the fro about once a month and I know that the next day when I wash it's going to be a long and tedious detangling session. So it's more about being practical than having any issues about my true texture.
If you think that you have a more troubling reason for disliking your hair when not defined then you probably do. You know yourself better than anyone.
For me, I love my hair either way. I can let it fro and go and be fly or I can style it up and be fly. It's all about your personal style. If your personal style is dependent on your hair being defined, that's ok. That's you and you gotta do YOU boo!
When I got tired of my wash and go fro, I added some color and gained a renewed sense of flyness. My hair is full of awesome possibilities! I bet yours is too!
To sum it all up, you have to see the beauty in how you were made but there is nothing wrong with wanting to alter some things for the sake of fashion. But it is an ego booster when you can wash, go, and still feel Sasha Fierce!
Its the same thing when girls think they need to get a perm and have str8 hair because thats all they see on tv, some GROWN WOMEN feel that they still cannot accept an afro, or short hair so therefore they manipulate it to look 'looser' and less 'african', we keep TYPING our hair and placing other types on the lower steps on the ladder, what do you expect! Everyone wants to be at the top of the ladder, it sad, some people will never accept who they are! You think if Nikki stop manipulating her hair and starting wearing TWAs that everyone wouldnt also change? Stop being followers and start being leaders daamit!
For those of you that are assuming people are insecure about their natural hair because they like defined styles, please simmer down. It's really OK. As someone sort of mentioned above, most people do some type of manipulation to their hair before they leave the house no matter who they are. Especially women. You shouldn't feel like you're not accepting yourself because you want or prefer one style over the other. To me it's about what I'm wearing that day. My hair matches my outfit. Why do so many people in the natural community feel it's damn near offensive when people don't want to rock a fro? I understand there are some people who worship the looser curl patterns and have not accepted their hair. But is that really the majority? Honestly I have 3c curls and I style my hair in most cases to mimic the coils of 4a. It doesn't mean I hate my 3c curls. It just means that I appreciate the coiliness(if that's a word)of 4a. But I rock my fro when I want and my 3c curls when I want to, and twists and twist outs and my "faux" 4a coils or whatever the hell…
Unfortunately I'm starting to see less motivation and support towards others and more assumptions and judgement on all my favorite natural hair sites. I don't remember it being like this even a year ago….
Umm, yes I read the post AND the comments. Some commenters have taken issue with the fact that some naturals chose to style their hair,extensively in some cases. My comment about not judging was in reference to those comments. We, as black women DO have more to be concerned about than how someone else decides to style their hair. I find it annoying that some us continue to make false assumptions about why some people chose not to wear their hair a certain way. THAT is also a valid observation.
Until recently, I definitely preferred my hair styled (stretched)! Now, I am getting more comfortable with rocking it in its natural (shrunken) state. I agree with you though… I think it is more of an issue when you have a TWA but long to have a head full of natural hair.
my curls are defined without minpulation however their are days where I am just not digging my hair thus deem that day a "bad hair day" I might even get compliments but I just don't feel that connection to my hair that day lol
My bad hair days are jus days when I don't do anything to it at all. No co-wash, no oils or fingers, or cur enhancing smoothie no nothing..Jus a few sprays of water for moisture. And those aren't even bad hair days, they're jus days when I could care less how my hair looks..we as humans just naturally like looking a certain way. Whether ur relaxed or natural or kinky or curly or coily..watever. And manipulating ur hair to look a certain way when ur natural doesn't mean that you don't accept or appreciate it the way it is. No one was born with nail polish on their fingers..yet we manipulate that. We were meant to have hair on our legs and underams, yet we shave to manipulate that..Someone else's preference on how they like their natural hair is jus that..their preference..I hate seeing so much division between people becuz of hair..That's the least of our worries as black women..
wow this is a great post…for me my "bad hair" days are the ones where I feel as though I am just not feeling my hair that day lol..others might compliment but I beg to differ..
I am in need of a hair cut, so the only way for me to achieve a shape I like is to style it with a braid out.
Um, did you even read what she wrote ? she was questions if her issue was about style or fear of the fro that her hair naturally forms.
She didn't mention anything about having issues with multiple textures, and you know, she put her article out there to get opinions, or as you'd put it "be judged."
No one is acting superior by making a VERY valid observation based on that issues that a LOT of black women have.
Just because someone desires uniformity in textures, does not mean that they have disdain for or not accepting of their hair. If YOU have multiple textures on your head and love how that looks without styling, it doesn't mean that you are so elevated above and more secure than a natural that choses to style. It just means that you prefer not to style. If you judge others, expect to be judged.
For me I'm not a w&g girl because its not big enough and tangles like no body's business. I love chunky twist outs and the regular fro. The only days that I consider I'm having a "bad hair" day is when it doesn't come out the way I planned. Make sense? Like if I put chunky twists in at night, take them down for a chunky fro, and it doesn't lay/stand right. That's frustrating but I deal with it by pinning or puffing it for that day.
U can wear your hair however you wany to. It's your hair. I dnt see nothing wrong with twisting it, braiding it, or defining your curls. Its a preference; It doesn't make you less natural if you don't wear a fro all the time.
I'm right there with you! I feel like I like my hair more when it's somewhat stretched using twist outs and such.. Maybe because I'm still learning how to define my hair without serious styling sessions. I've got about a year and a couple months of growth and shrinkage is the worst. I guess my bad hair days would be the days where the frizz to kink ratio is extremely off lol. My goal is never to look like Fredrick Douglas. Those are the days where puffs are mandatory =)
I like to manipulate my hair for styling purposes. I love my 4b hair but I choose to wear my hair in twists. When I wear an afro I incorporate it with my updo and it looks very cute. Growing to understand my hair I no longer stress over a good day or a bad day hair.
I have been natural over 2 years and i have never really "defined" my curl with gel or styling agents. Big twists are only used to avoid tangling while sleeping. I like the kinky, spongy, coily texture of my 4B hair. I have fine strands, so the less manipulation, the better. I consider it a BAD hair day when I have matted, dry hair with no bounce or softness….That's when I wear a hat-LOL.
What matters to me is having a nice shape. Sometimes I think a short afro without definition looks better because it styles neatly. But being at an in between stage where different hairs are different lengths was even hard for me when my hair was relaxed. Over time I have learned different styles for days when I want a certain shape. It's getting easier. And the funny thing is, I had more problems with my hair because my perceptions were to closely alligned with when I had relaxed hair. When I learned to relax and allow my hair to do its thing and then find styles which took advantage of its nature, things became better. My hair talks to me. Its rarely a day when I don't know what it will do. So I have no preferences; I just let my hair show and tell me what tools and products I should use. I just learned to exhale and stop obsessing over my hair.And, now I love the journey.
I have a TWA and I do a wash n go every day (not long enough to do twists yet esp in the back where it was cut shorter). I really like the way it looks (of course I add a leave-in and moisturizer) without all the extra work and I have 2 dif textures in my head. But it's def a preference thing and it's okay if you like yours styled. I'm pretty sure when my hair gets a little longer I will style it as well more often but for now I just concentrate on it being moisturized 🙂
I think that this post addresses two issues. One is just the unpredictability of natural hair, and yes, that can is a new challenge since doing the same thing 7 times in a row can yield 7 different results.
What I feel like I read though are a lot of women who'd prefer to have a different type of hair than what they have. You can call it preference if you like, but I hope people who have hair that doesn't curl and doesn't like to stay curled will learn to like their undefined fros.
That is a problem whether you admit it or not. I mean, it's no different from saying that you like your hair straight when your hair isn't. That's a preference too. Liking your hair in curls or pretend curls when that's not how it likes to be is going to impact how you like being natural in my opinion. Better that you can just like your hair whether it behaves or not, b/c if you take time to style it, it's bound to have some kind of a shape.
I just hate though that so many black women are going natural hoping to look like Scary Spice or Tatyana Ali…that just seems to be what so many covet and if you don't have it, deal with it and move on. I think all textures of hair can be beautiful, and no, not just when you manage to mimic loose waves and curls that some black women have naturally.
Just some food for though. Own your issues and insecurities and hopefully you can redefine what you see as beautiful.
Omg me and my co-worker who is also natural just had this convo ystrdy! When she found out that I have a 45 min to style my hair she looked at me like I was crazy! Loll she was like um yeah I just wash n go and call it a day but she has a way looser curl pattern than I do so she can jusy do that and her curls will look defined. Me on the other hand I have coarser hair and a tite coil pattern……so I like my hair defined amd styled to me only adding condish just doesn't do it for mebut I said I would try doin a condish only style for a week and see if I can do without products in my hair…it'll be interesting to see how I candle being out of my comfort zone.
OK this is really deep for me. I went natural last August and I dont even know my hair type. I know I have loose curls in the front and corse hair in the back so I think I am ok in that area. But, the wash and goes and the styling I don't know. Most of the time I am all about wearing my hair back even now (my hair has been heat straightened) I am still wearing my hair up. I do alot of wash and goes and some twisting and lets face it some experiments. Sometimes it looks good and sometimes it looks crazy. I chalk it up to the ride and the process of being natural.
I have been struggling with this issue a bit myself, so I'm glad someone posted on it. I really want to wear my real texture and embrace all aspects of my hair in its styled and unstyles form, but the way my afro comes out makes it difficult. The hair is all different length, which would show in an obvious way if I just picked it out. Also, I need some hair falling on my head because of my huge forehead. I tried doing a blow out fro and it looked terrible – so I have been trying! Doing things like natural chica's super chunky twist out, braid outs etc allows me to have some hair on my forehead and hide the various lengths. However, I am still researching ways to use my hair in styles that don't require me to blow it out 1st, which all these styles, (e.g's twist out) important to appreciate all parts of me.
So china bumps without 1st stretching the hair and donut buns (when my hair gets longer) is something I'm interested in.
With my 4a / 4b hair (mainly 4b) – wash and gos are a no no – do any 4b's actually do them!?
If I did, I would have hard matted, shrunken hair by the end of the day!
Well I actually completely agree with this post because it has been extremely hard. But i agree that I love my hair when my curls are defined and when it's in an afro, especially because it shrinks so much, i'm most uncomfortable with my twa. i'm learning more and more to embrace it and try to wear it more but I'm still more comfortable with my twists and twistouts.
I prefer for my hair to be styled. Maybe when it gets longer I will enjoy the fro more *shrugs
http://iluvmyselftherefore.wordpress.com/
I dont't like when my curls have me looking like curly sue. I wash and go, but I only love it after 7 days or so.
http://politicsandnaturalhair.blogspot.com/
Great question! For me texture is straight, wavy, curly with different 'pattern' subgroups in between. People w/straight hair run a straight-toothed comb through it to 'define' that pattern, though it may vary in state between being matted or frizzy throughout the day w/o manipulation or product.
My strands naturally coil like a slinky in various sizes. And yes, those coils can separate into individual wisps (frizz if you like) suspended around my head like a halo of smoke; clump together en masse; stretch far out; and single strands even coil at first, then 'kink' like a slinky bent out of shape in the opposite direction.
Lol, my point is, just like a straight-toothed comb on straight strands, my finger or comb-coiling my strands is me defining my natural pattern. And whether they are coiled together, stretched or separated frizzy, these are all naturally occurring ways hair allows itself to be manipulated, in its coily and not-so-coily state. You might be right, the frizzy look may grow on you with more length but I don't feel that coiling, clumping or twisting with and without product is non-acceptance of your hair pattern.
Ladies, can we please STOP agonizing over every little imperfection of our natural hair! As long as it's healthy and moisturized, all the other concerns seem to be vanity and I really think it's an age thing (teens-30 somethings) when you get older, you're just glad you have healthy hair. I just find it tiring to keep reading various sites where young women are constantly fixated and chasing this perfect natural hair fairy-tale. I thought be natural was about giving up the tortureous things we worried about when we were relaxed. I took the plunge for no fuss/less stress, what about you?
I had a BC 11 yrs ago and wore it daily with a bit of leave in condish and Aveda Confixor gel. It looked like a well moisturized TWA.
As it has gotten longer, I have experimented with different styling techniques. I think many naturals have such a variety of textures on our heads that styling is an attempt to achieve uniformity rather than not accepting a given texture. A wash n go , even with shingling, looks jacked on my hair, because of the 3a, 3b, 3c and 4a textures scattered throughout my head. Lol! Braidouts given me the uniformity I want. I still consider myself a selfloving natural.
i want to do a wash and go but i wouldn't feel as if it looked good because of the different curls patterns i have lol on the left front it's 4b the center is 3c with marker sized curls and so is the right side and the back and everything else is 4a with ringlets everywhere!!! just imagine that in a wash and go lol
As many of the other women have already stated, you like what you like, and there's nothing wrong with that. What equals a bad hair day for me is when my hair reality is not matching the vision I had for my hair that day. For instance, if I had a vision of a really cute super defined twist out, and it ends up not as defined with a lot of frizz, that would equal a bad hair day for me. I think it is more of an issue when you have a TWA. When my TWA was 1/4-1/2 inch all over, I co-washed and added Eco-Styler EVERY day. My hair would just dry out very fast and look a mess to the point where I had to do the whole process over to look how I wanted it to look. Now that my TWA is about 1-2.5 inches all over, I don't co-wash hardly ever, and I rock combed out afros, W-N-Gs, twist outs, etc. I don't mind the frizz as much either, versus when I didn't have much hair.
I don't wear my hair in its natural state because it has too many distinct textures. The front is loose, the sides shrink up to my head and the back is loose. The afro would look like a mullett. I prefer twistouts.
I'd say I'm always preferring textured styles. I don't wear my afro nearly as much as I wear twist outs.
I think it comes down to styled or un styled I personal like my natural hair styled. When I was relaxed I like my hair styled. I dont think that just b/c you are natural means that you just let you hair just "be" and if you dont doesnt mean that you dont like it or appreciate it. I think its best to put some effort into your hair even if its just an afro you still have to style it into an afro or any other style at that.
I've been natural for years and I wear my hair in styles with definition- braid,twist,bantu knot outs, etc. I don't do WnGs, ever. It's not that I don't like afros, I just don't like them on me.
yes-
I find myself calling those days where my hair has no definition whatsoever "bad hair days"…I have 4c hair…I'm not sure i like the way it looks in an afro….but if i dont have time to do anything else…then afro day it is…
I guess i just "prefer" my hair with some kind of definition…braidouts are my fav look…
Funny you mentioned bad hair day because I just had one. I was rushing to work and my twist out wasn't as curly as I'd like. Going natural does require a bit more time but I like the fact that every hair doesn't have to be in place.
If you can embraced that day is a new adventure you'll loved your good hair days and not so good days.
I think that what we, as naturals, have to remember is that there are few to no people who wash their hair and walk out the door looking good, white, black or purple. If someone is really walking around with their hair entirely in its natural state, there's a good chance they either are not pleased with the way their hair looks or just could not care less about their appearance. Most people style their hair in some fashion, with mousses, gels, creams, conditioners, glossers, sheens, flat irons, blow dryers, curling irons, picks (because a fro is not your hair in its natural state either) … etc, etc. So, do you. Liking your hair "styled," defined, stretched, fro'd, etc. does not invalidate your naturalness. Just my two cents.
Shelli
For me my bad hair days are days when my hair feels dry and less than healthy…
on the "real texture" verses "styled texture" comment. I think it DEFINITELY affects you more in the TWA stage if you're in love with length and volume. Most natural hair boards, blogs, vloggers, photos etc., show naturals with big volumptuous hair. TWA's are not featured as often and stretching your hair makes it look a little more similar to that model on that umpteenth hair product you've purchased. Also most natural hair products are marketed as "styling" and "curl defining" products. It seems that defined is the new natural.
I feel you though on the two "textures"… not always comfortable in the TWA stage when you're still getting used to not having straight hair 🙂 But who cares it still beautiful right? I love it!!
~Angela
I only recently started shingling my hair and adding eco-styer gel for definition. I like how my hair looks when it is defined, but do not like to put forth the effort all the time. So, I wear my hair in its "real" texture state most of the time. I save the manipulation for days when I want to have a different look.
There is nothing wrong with preferring your hair styled a certain way. One of my close friends always shingles and adds gel…that is her preference. I'm the complete opposite. It's whatever floats your boat, lady! You are flyy regardless!!!
I think whether you're having a good or bad hair day is directly attached to how you feel about it.
So if you prefer your hair showing it's definition and clumping all the time, you won't be happy with days when it doesn't look like that.
On the flip side, there may be women who hate any look that makes their hair look smaller, and instead prefer fluffiness and volume. It's up to the individual.