WHAT IS GOOD HAIR????

One of the reasons I decided to go natural was because of all the beautiful "non relaxed" heads of hair I saw all around me. I saw thick curly, straight, wavy natural heads of hair on many nationalities and found them beautiful in their own way. Yes, I think relaxed hair is also beautiful in its optimal condition. I consider "good" hair to be hair that is healthy and vibrant not how silky it is. Personally no one has ever defined my hair as good or bad. I have always been told that I have healthy or beautiful hair. That's what I want people to tell me. That's my goal. Good hair for me is healthy, radiant, and lustrous hair.

I find that most people have no idea what they mean by good hair. Just the other day I was at my sons school, I had just done a hot oil treatment and deep conditioner the night before, so my hair was VERY shiny and healthy looking. I had it in large twists (about 16 or so) that were done in an up-do. Several of the teachers commented on how lucky I was that I have "good" hair and am able to do so many things with it. To each person that made the comment I specifically asked them... "what do you mean by good hair?" no one could clearly articulate what they meant other than to say - not like their hair. This is so sad to me, because these are highly educated sisters who feel this way. There are about 7-10 curlies on staff at my sons school and you would think that with such a high number folks would get used to seeing the variety of textures and styles and realize that if properly maintained, it is ALL GOOD!!!

I think Good hair is healthy hair [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Loveself247 mentioned that she hears people saying "Girl......my hair is too nappy to wear NATURAL or to go without a relaxer". These are the things that I hear a lot as well from my friends and random people. They'll always say they could never pull off the look! Its funny that this topic got started because just yesterday I was talking to one of my girlfriends that lives here in Houston, and she was saying these same things, but she really wants to go natural. I continued to talk to her about taking care of her hair, and embracing it. What a lot of people fail to realize is taking care of the hair results in "good hair"! And that's what I try to explain to my friends and other people who seem to be interested in the natural thing, but are scared to make a move. Its crazy, and sometimes very hard to explain!

Another one of my friends who is transitioning, made a comment to me in regards to this subject recently and I had to get her informed! She has been transitioning with a weave and recently had her hair taken out and was loving her "almost natural hair!" She had it straightened and couldn't believe how beautiful and long it was! Anyhoo, as she was telling me about it, she went on to say that 2 of her friends (which I also know very well) kept telling how her pretty her hair was and what a good texture she had. As we were talking she mentioned that they (the 2 friends) would never be able to go natural like her because they don't have her texture. I immediately responded and said, ANYBODY can go natural, regardless of their texture! Its all about how you embrace and nurture your hair....that results in great, natural healthy hair!

That comment really threw me off, because we as black people sometimes can be sooo critical of each other! Instead of uplifting and encouraging one another, we sometimes tend to judge when we have, or think we have something over someone else! Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it...but that just goes to show that society can really have an affect on how we should interpret things!

Sorry I'm so long-winded on this one! LOL!

Totally agree with you Natural83!

I've had friends say the same thing to me and about others. What a lot of them don't realize is that many naturals stretch and manipulate their hair in some way--be it a twist out, braid out, bantu knot or whatever--to achieve their desired look. I think if more people saw the "before" and not just the "after", they'd realize that what appears to them to be "good hair" can be found right on their own head (with the right products and techniques).

traveljunkie - you hit the nail on the head.
if ppl realize what we do to acheive a look w/o chemicals and no heat, that they too can get it.

A lot of relaxed women don't even know what their natural hair looks like, so how can they comment on the texture of another's? Many of my relaxed friends started getting relaxers when they were really young, so now they are afraid to go natural b/c they don't know what is lurking beneath. They tell me that I have "good hair", and I HATE that term! Some people try to make it sound better by saying "you have a good grade of hair"...like the word "grade" makes it sound more intelligent. Nope, still sounds ignorant to me!

I agree with everything everyone is saying. I've always admired natural hair before I decided to transition. My mother and aunts were my natural idols b/c they exude confidence w/their short crops. All my years of living my mom has worn her hair short yet years ago she left the texturizer alone and embraced her natural wave pattern.

I wore weaves to help me transition and my last install was w/a beautiful curly texture(thanx halleyscurls.com). It helped me visualize what I could look like if I were natural and I enjoyed that experienced. I learned that curly hair loves moisture and now that's how I care for my own hair. My bf loves my natural hair b/c he can run his fingers through my hair w/o any distractions from tracks. Plus it smells better. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

My hair is the hair God created just for me and He doesn't make mistakes. Good Hair is Healthy Hair, no matter the length or texture.

HAMPTONSFNST wrote:I agree with everything everyone is saying. I've always admired natural hair before I decided to transition. My mother and aunts were my natural idols b/c they exude confidence w/their short crops. All my years of living my mom has worn her hair short yet years ago she left the texturizer alone and embraced her natural wave pattern.

I wore weaves to help me transition and my last install was w/a beautiful curly texture(thanx halleyscurls.com). It helped me visualize what I could look like if I were natural and I enjoyed that experienced. I learned that curly hair loves moisture and now that's how I care for my own hair. My bf loves my natural hair b/c he can run his fingers through my hair w/o any distractions from tracks. Plus it smells better. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

My hair is the hair God created just for me and He doesn't make mistakes. Good Hair is Healthy Hair, no matter the length or texture.

i'm about to get a sew-in to help with my transition & this is where i wanna get my hair from...what kind did you get? im thinking about either miami ripple or creole wavy or creole curly

unreal!!! My hair has been a conversation piece every since I did the BC some good but mostly ignorant. I didn't fault the speaker it is how we were raised.

I swear if one more person says "you must have Indian in your family" how old and outdated is that comment?