ok so i've seen the movie, good hair, and i've also read the latest essence article about famous women and their hair issues. one of the things that intrigued me to see the movie was when i saw solange knowles on oprah (with chris rock). she discussed her recent hair change (long to now having an extremely short cut) and it touched me. she said after she cut her hair, "she felt liberated". i know the feeling. its like something has been lifted off of you when you cut your hair. she also said she "wanted to show that you can still be beautiful even with short hair". which is also very true. some women fear men won't like it if they cut their hair. well newsflash; if he likes you for your hair, he's liking you for the wrong reasons! its hair...it can grow back. that's what i don't think people understand. nothing is permanent these days...especially when it comes to hair.
i've discussed this topic with a family and a few friends and i have come to a conclusion. the beauty of having the CHOICE weather to perm your hair or wear it natural or wear it long, short or WHATEVER is having good hair.
when i was younger, my mother never let me say good or bad hair. hair was hair and as long as it was healthy and looked nice, it was good. lol. now that i am older and i am responsible for my own hair, i have done a few things. my freshman year of college, i decided to wear braids for a while because i was playing soccer and i just never had time to go get my relaxer done by someone i trusted. eventually i let some people on campus do my hair and whatnot but i wasn't satisfied. eventually i decided to just go natural and i ended up natural and loved it for 2 great years. no perm...NOTHING. i rocked my braids, i straightened it from time to time...i loved it. it was healthy and grew a lot!
but i got restless, lol. i wanted a change soooo, i went back to a perm and chopped it off and i LOVE it. you see, a lot of ppl asked why i permed it and why i didn't just wear braids. but my response was, "i wanted a change...if i wanna go back to natural, i can." that to me was wonderful and like i said, that's the beauty of having good hair.
some of my friends say they prefer a perm because it makes the hair look better and it's more professional. and some say natural hair is better because its more healthy without all those products. truth be told, your hair can be healthy with a perm. it all depends on the stylist, the perm, and the maintenance. its hard work to up keep both natural and permed hair...its all in what you feel fits you.
also, i've found that most young women go with the trends. if long hair is in, that's what they're wearing. if short hair is the new fad, that's what they're rockin'. i wear short hair now and i love it. it's easy to maintain and despite what some may think, there are versatile styles. in my opinion, a woman that can rock a short hairstyle and a woman that can rock a natural hair style is a bad chick. it takes a certain person to be comfortable enough to do both...not that you aren't confident when you have hair. but when you have hair, to me, it seems like you have something to hide behind. with short hair, you can't hide behind much....that's confidence.
its funny because although i am wearing my hair short, and i'm thinking about getting a braided style friday. lol...i know. fickle huh?? lol! well call it what you want. i love the freedom of choice and i love being able to change it up anytime i want. i am comfortable with it and it makes me who i am. i think that's the most important thing. as long as you are comfortable with your hair, or yourself in general, DO YOU!. BE YOU! perm, natural, bald....whatever. it is what it is...just rock it and make i work!!! :-)
sincerely yours,
nic
