Re: Weigh in! What's your definition of "being natural"???

by Juices-n-Berries 10th March 2011, 1:54 pm

I always find the issue of color interesting. Natural hair is usually something reserved to describe black hair. But white people dye their hair all the time. No one ever calls their hair un-natural... at least not in terms of texture (unless they're a curly). But it seems that we in the black natural community have ruled out color as an option for natural hair. I don't see why we can't have fun and experiment. Natural hair is versatile. We can wear our hair curly, fro'd out, dyed, straight. To me that versatility should be celebrated.

by chynadoll8799 10th March 2011, 6:52 pm

natural=whatever grows out of your head that is NATURALLY YOURS. If your hair is black, and you dye it blonde, its not your natural hair. If your hair is curly, and you relax it, its not your natural hair.

by Sebastain13 10th March 2011, 7:13 pm

No chemicals at all in you hair

by Ambitious_Tiff 10th March 2011, 8:24 pm

When I think about natural hair the first things that come to mind are texture and versatility. I can see both sides of it as far as color. Since dyes don't change the texture of your hair I could see how someone would say you're still natural and since its not the color growing outta your head I can see how someone can say you're not. Granted color can be washed out over time... I guess its just relative to the person and knowing that definition will likely change drastically from individual to individual. When I think of natural, I think more in terms of texture but that's just me... As of right now, natural to me means my hair has not been subject to any chemical or agent causing an irreversible change in my hair. Very Happy

by Music8192 10th March 2011, 11:48 pm

Juices-n-Berries wrote:I always find the issue of color interesting. Natural hair is usually something reserved to describe black hair. But white people dye their hair all the time. No one ever calls their hair un-natural... at least not in terms of texture (unless they're a curly). But it seems that we in the black natural community have ruled out color as an option for natural hair. I don't see why we can't have fun and experiment. Natural hair is versatile. We can wear our hair curly, fro'd out, dyed, straight. To me that versatility should be celebrated.

Juices and Berries I concur 110%! LOL I also want to add that reading all of this just makes me look up the definition of a chemical. And reminds of the table of elements. Shocked

( I really hate chemistry lol) So, the shampoos, conditioners, dyes, or whatever we put on our body/hair are "chemicals" anyway. lol

I would stay that being "natural" is just the state of our hair that we were born with or innate HOWEVER, we can "alter" the natural state of hair to our liking. At the end of the day, the hair that comes out of your scalp is natural but we can and have the option to CHANGE our hair/style in so many different ways.

I love what Juices and Berries said about natural hair being versatile and it's true! I get looks from other cultures that seem confused yet intrigued with my hair. They just can't figure it out. Even when i was relaxed, and some days had braid extensions in my hair, it was utter confusion. lol.

Why is it that we get somewhat shunned when we dye our hair, get weave extensions, etc when other ethic backgrounds ALTER their natural state of hair as well.. afro

who knows....

by Juices-n-Berries 11th March 2011, 3:54 am

Music8192 wrote:
Juices-n-Berries wrote:I always find the issue of color interesting. Natural hair is usually something reserved to describe black hair. But white people dye their hair all the time. No one ever calls their hair un-natural... at least not in terms of texture (unless they're a curly). But it seems that we in the black natural community have ruled out color as an option for natural hair. I don't see why we can't have fun and experiment. Natural hair is versatile. We can wear our hair curly, fro'd out, dyed, straight. To me that versatility should be celebrated.

Juices and Berries I concur 110%! LOL I also want to add that reading all of this just makes me look up the definition of a chemical. And reminds of the table of elements.( I really hate chemistry lol) So, the shampoos, conditioners, dyes, or whatever we put on our body/hair are "chemicals" anyway. lol

I would stay that being "natural" is just the state of our hair that we were born with or innate HOWEVER, we can "alter" the natural state of hair to our liking. At the end of the day, the hair that comes out of your scalp is natural but we can and have the option to CHANGE our hair/style in so many different ways.

I love what Juices and Berries said about natural hair being versatile and it's true! I get looks from other cultures that seem confused yet intrigued with my hair. They just can't figure it out. Even when i was relaxed, and some days had braid extensions in my hair, it was utter confusion. lol.

Why is it that we get somewhat shunned when we dye our hair, get weave extensions, etc when other ethic backgrounds ALTER their natural state of hair as well.. who knows....

WATER IS A CHEMICAL!!! H20! I know that people mean harsh chemicals when they say no chemicals. But everything on earth is technically a chemical.

I have a question for the people who don't consider colored hair to be natural. (Not antagonizing and hope I'm not offending, just thought provoking) This site is for people with natural hair. Right? Now, a person who has a relaxer and has no intention of going natural probably wouldn't benefit from this site. And well a person who wears their hair in it's natural texture probably wouldn't benefit much from a site about relaxed hair. Well since to some a person who colors their natural curls isn't natural but they don't have a relaxer, which site should they visit? Or should they start their own site for people who have curly hair that's dyed. This all sounds silly right? Yes. Well, this is what happens when people get too caught up in labels and definitions. I think people need to really consider not only what their definition of being natural is, but also what that definition implies. To me, it creates unnecessary division. And it excludes people from the natural hair community which should really be a safe haven and an opportunity to learn more about our curly and kinky hair.

by CarlaAR 11th March 2011, 4:26 am

Juices-n-Berries wrote:
Music8192 wrote:
Juices-n-Berries wrote:I always find the issue of color interesting. Natural hair is usually something reserved to describe black hair. But white people dye their hair all the time. No one ever calls their hair un-natural... at least not in terms of texture (unless they're a curly). But it seems that we in the black natural community have ruled out color as an option for natural hair. I don't see why we can't have fun and experiment. Natural hair is versatile. We can wear our hair curly, fro'd out, dyed, straight. To me that versatility should be celebrated.

Juices and Berries I concur 110%! LOL I also want to add that reading all of this just makes me look up the definition of a chemical. And reminds of the table of elements.( I really hate chemistry lol) So, the shampoos, conditioners, dyes, or whatever we put on our body/hair are "chemicals" anyway. lol

I would stay that being "natural" is just the state of our hair that we were born with or innate HOWEVER, we can "alter" the natural state of hair to our liking. At the end of the day, the hair that comes out of your scalp is natural but we can and have the option to CHANGE our hair/style in so many different ways.

I love what Juices and Berries said about natural hair being versatile and it's true! I get looks from other cultures that seem confused yet intrigued with my hair. They just can't figure it out. Even when i was relaxed, and some days had braid extensions in my hair, it was utter confusion. lol.

Why is it that we get somewhat shunned when we dye our hair, get weave extensions, etc when other ethic backgrounds ALTER their natural state of hair as well.. who knows....

WATER IS A CHEMICAL!!! H20! I know that people mean harsh chemicals when they say no chemicals. But everything on earth is technically a chemical.

I have a question for the people who don't consider colored hair to be natural. (Not antagonizing and hope I'm not offending, just thought provoking) This site is for people with natural hair. Right? Now, a person who has a relaxer and has no intention of going natural probably wouldn't benefit from this site. And well a person who wears their hair in it's natural texture probably wouldn't benefit much from a site about relaxed hair. Well since to some a person who colors their natural curls isn't natural but they don't have a relaxer, which site should they visit? Or should they start their own site for people who have curly hair that's dyed. This all sounds silly right? Yes. Well, this is what happens when people get too caught up in labels and definitions. I think people need to really consider not only what their definition of being natural is, but also what that definition implies. To me, it creates unnecessary division. And it excludes people from the natural hair community which should really be a safe haven and an opportunity to learn more about our curly and kinky hair.

I cant speak for anyone else but for myself, bleaching, highlighting or lifting color from my hair has resulted in losing my curl pattern. I don't consider a rinse, demi or temporary color in that category.

Also, no one is saying that if you have hair color, you don't belong here. I'm sure there are people who texturize, relax, "heat train" etc their hair who lurk or post here often. This site is not a closed membership. LOL

by Music8192 11th March 2011, 6:24 am

@CarlaAR exactly. Smile

Certain chemicals work for YOUR hair and some do not. The "definition of being natural" I say is really subjective because one also controls what they do with their body.

Does it(products, chemicals) always "WORK" for you and is it always "Good" also depends on the subject.

Yes bleaching can be "BAD" for your hair, and etc. But that is up to the individual to make a choice on what works for their body/hair and how much, less or none of it they will use.

by CarlaAR 11th March 2011, 6:39 am

That's why the initial question was "...What's your definition of "being natural"???" I take it that we were to state our own personal definition...

by Ambitious_Tiff 11th March 2011, 12:08 pm

CarlaAR wrote:That's why the initial question was "...What's your definition of "being natural"???" I take it that we were to state our own personal definition...

Exactly. That's why we have sites like this, to cater to everyone's different definitions of "natural" and help them as much as possible along their journey. I'm sure there is information here that would prove useful to someone who was relaxed. After all, when in transition, you're kind of a hybrid, lol. I don't think everyone has a definition of natural to be divisive or exclusionary. Its just a matter of personal opinions and objectives.

by Juices-n-Berries 11th March 2011, 3:23 pm

CarlaAR wrote:
Juices-n-Berries wrote:
Music8192 wrote:
Juices-n-Berries wrote:I always find the issue of color interesting. Natural hair is usually something reserved to describe black hair. But white people dye their hair all the time. No one ever calls their hair un-natural... at least not in terms of texture (unless they're a curly). But it seems that we in the black natural community have ruled out color as an option for natural hair. I don't see why we can't have fun and experiment. Natural hair is versatile. We can wear our hair curly, fro'd out, dyed, straight. To me that versatility should be celebrated.

Juices and Berries I concur 110%! LOL I also want to add that reading all of this just makes me look up the definition of a chemical. And reminds of the table of elements.( I really hate chemistry lol) So, the shampoos, conditioners, dyes, or whatever we put on our body/hair are "chemicals" anyway. lol

I would stay that being "natural" is just the state of our hair that we were born with or innate HOWEVER, we can "alter" the natural state of hair to our liking. At the end of the day, the hair that comes out of your scalp is natural but we can and have the option to CHANGE our hair/style in so many different ways.

I love what Juices and Berries said about natural hair being versatile and it's true! I get looks from other cultures that seem confused yet intrigued with my hair. They just can't figure it out. Even when i was relaxed, and some days had braid extensions in my hair, it was utter confusion. lol.

Why is it that we get somewhat shunned when we dye our hair, get weave extensions, etc when other ethic backgrounds ALTER their natural state of hair as well.. who knows....

WATER IS A CHEMICAL!!! H20! I know that people mean harsh chemicals when they say no chemicals. But everything on earth is technically a chemical.

I have a question for the people who don't consider colored hair to be natural. (Not antagonizing and hope I'm not offending, just thought provoking) This site is for people with natural hair. Right? Now, a person who has a relaxer and has no intention of going natural probably wouldn't benefit from this site. And well a person who wears their hair in it's natural texture probably wouldn't benefit much from a site about relaxed hair. Well since to some a person who colors their natural curls isn't natural but they don't have a relaxer, which site should they visit? Or should they start their own site for people who have curly hair that's dyed. This all sounds silly right? Yes. Well, this is what happens when people get too caught up in labels and definitions. I think people need to really consider not only what their definition of being natural is, but also what that definition implies. To me, it creates unnecessary division. And it excludes people from the natural hair community which should really be a safe haven and an opportunity to learn more about our curly and kinky hair.

I cant speak for anyone else but for myself, bleaching, highlighting or lifting color from my hair has resulted in losing my curl pattern. I don't consider a rinse, demi or temporary color in that category.

Also, no one is saying that if you have hair color, you don't belong here. I'm sure there are people who texturize, relax, "heat train" etc their hair who lurk or post here often. This site is not a closed membership. LOL

I wasn't saying they don't belong here. It was only an example. Lol. Everyone is welcome on CurlyNikki. :-)

Music8192 wrote:@CarlaAR exactly. Certain chemicals work for YOUR hair and some do not. The "definition of being natural" I say is really subjective because one also controls what they do with their body.

Does it(products, chemicals) always "WORK" for you and is it always "Good" also depends on the subject.

Yes bleaching can be "BAD" for your hair, and etc. But that is up to the individual to make a choice on what works for their body/hair and how much, less or none of it they will use.

I agree. It is up to everyone's personal definition.

CarlaAR wrote:That's why the initial question was "...What's your definition of "being natural"???" I take it that we were to state our own personal definition...

Ambitious_Tiff wrote:
CarlaAR wrote:That's why the initial question was "...What's your definition of "being natural"???" I take it that we were to state our own personal definition...

Exactly. That's why we have sites like this, to cater to everyone's different definitions of "natural" and help them as much as possible along their journey. I'm sure there is information here that would prove useful to someone who was relaxed. After all, when in transition, you're kind of a hybrid, lol. I don't think everyone has a definition of natural to be divisive or exclusionary. Its just a matter of personal opinions and objectives.

Yes. Everyone is entitled to state their own opinion as the post requested. I was simply trying to raise some thought provoking questions. Hope I didn't antagonize or come off as offensive. That was not my intent.

by CarlaAR 11th March 2011, 5:03 pm

Not at all Juices-n-Berries
Very Happy

by elitebeauty13 11th March 2011, 5:22 pm

Juices-n-Berries wrote:
CarlaAR wrote:
Juices-n-Berries wrote:
Music8192 wrote:
Juices-n-Berries wrote:I always find the issue of color interesting. Natural hair is usually something reserved to describe black hair. But white people dye their hair all the time. No one ever calls their hair un-natural... at least not in terms of texture (unless they're a curly). But it seems that we in the black natural community have ruled out color as an option for natural hair. I don't see why we can't have fun and experiment. Natural hair is versatile. We can wear our hair curly, fro'd out, dyed, straight. To me that versatility should be celebrated.

Juices and Berries I concur 110%! LOL I also want to add that reading all of this just makes me look up the definition of a chemical. And reminds of the table of elements.( I really hate chemistry lol) So, the shampoos, conditioners, dyes, or whatever we put on our body/hair are "chemicals" anyway. lol

I would stay that being "natural" is just the state of our hair that we were born with or innate HOWEVER, we can "alter" the natural state of hair to our liking. At the end of the day, the hair that comes out of your scalp is natural but we can and have the option to CHANGE our hair/style in so many different ways.

I love what Juices and Berries said about natural hair being versatile and it's true! I get looks from other cultures that seem confused yet intrigued with my hair. They just can't figure it out. Even when i was relaxed, and some days had braid extensions in my hair, it was utter confusion. lol.

Why is it that we get somewhat shunned when we dye our hair, get weave extensions, etc when other ethic backgrounds ALTER their natural state of hair as well.. who knows....

WATER IS A CHEMICAL!!! H20! I know that people mean harsh chemicals when they say no chemicals. But everything on earth is technically a chemical.

I have a question for the people who don't consider colored hair to be natural. (Not antagonizing and hope I'm not offending, just thought provoking) This site is for people with natural hair. Right? Now, a person who has a relaxer and has no intention of going natural probably wouldn't benefit from this site. And well a person who wears their hair in it's natural texture probably wouldn't benefit much from a site about relaxed hair. Well since to some a person who colors their natural curls isn't natural but they don't have a relaxer, which site should they visit? Or should they start their own site for people who have curly hair that's dyed. This all sounds silly right? Yes. Well, this is what happens when people get too caught up in labels and definitions. I think people need to really consider not only what their definition of being natural is, but also what that definition implies. To me, it creates unnecessary division. And it excludes people from the natural hair community which should really be a safe haven and an opportunity to learn more about our curly and kinky hair.

I cant speak for anyone else but for myself, bleaching, highlighting or lifting color from my hair has resulted in losing my curl pattern. I don't consider a rinse, demi or temporary color in that category.

Also, no one is saying that if you have hair color, you don't belong here. I'm sure there are people who texturize, relax, "heat train" etc their hair who lurk or post here often. This site is not a closed membership. LOL

I wasn't saying they don't belong here. It was only an example. Lol. Everyone is welcome on CurlyNikki. :-)

Music8192 wrote:@CarlaAR exactly. Certain chemicals work for YOUR hair and some do not. The "definition of being natural" I say is really subjective because one also controls what they do with their body.

Does it(products, chemicals) always "WORK" for you and is it always "Good" also depends on the subject.

Yes bleaching can be "BAD" for your hair, and etc. But that is up to the individual to make a choice on what works for their body/hair and how much, less or none of it they will use.

I agree. It is up to everyone's personal definition.

CarlaAR wrote:That's why the initial question was "...What's your definition of "being natural"???" I take it that we were to state our own personal definition...

Ambitious_Tiff wrote:
CarlaAR wrote:That's why the initial question was "...What's your definition of "being natural"???" I take it that we were to state our own personal definition...

Exactly. That's why we have sites like this, to cater to everyone's different definitions of "natural" and help them as much as possible along their journey. I'm sure there is information here that would prove useful to someone who was relaxed. After all, when in transition, you're kind of a hybrid, lol. I don't think everyone has a definition of natural to be divisive or exclusionary. Its just a matter of personal opinions and objectives.

Yes. Everyone is entitled to state their own opinion as the post requested. I was simply trying to raise some thought provoking questions. Hope I didn't antagonize or come off as offensive. That was not my intent.

You did raise some thought provoking questions. And you're right about the unnecessary division due to the need to put labels on everything, but that's part of human nature. Most people want to be part of some exclusive group, sad but true. In my earlier post, I did state that natural hair is technically chemical free (relaxers, texturizers, color, etc.) although including color knocked me out of the natural category. I still believe that, but it doesn't change how I feel about my hair. It also doesn't make me feel like an outcast or feel like I don't belong on natural hair boards. The information here is valuable and that's not going to change whether I have color or not.

If someone feels that they are being pushed out or excluded by someone else definition of natural, then they may need to reflect on their reason for going "natural" in the first place. Did you do it to be included in some exclusive elite group? Or, did you do it for yourself? If it was for yourself, then no other definition of natural should matter.

Just my opinion...don't stone me.

ETA: You didn't come off as offensive at all. I hope I didn't offend anyone either.

by slimwithabs 11th March 2011, 6:04 pm

Being Natural is that you use no chemical of any kind. ex.. dyes perms, texture etc... heat is not a chemical but if your trying to avoid breakage use less heat as possible. Alternative to dying yr hair try Henna is ALL Natural.

by CarlaAR 11th March 2011, 7:22 pm

slimwithabs wrote:Being Natural is that you use no chemical of any kind. ex.. dyes perms, texture etc... heat is not a chemical but if your trying to avoid breakage use less heat as possible. Alternative to dying yr hair try Henna is ALL Natural.

The funny thing is, some people have a problem with henna because for some people, it can/may loosen their curl pattern. :p I've read the "controversy" of henna on forums and blogs...

by Dominique-Alexis 13th March 2011, 1:02 am

Someone who doesn't - or no longer - puts chemicals such as perms, texturizers, or relaxers in their hair.

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