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Is this all there is?: A Natural Hair Conundrum So on a Walmart run on my birthday last Saturday, I discovered that there was a natural hair event taking place in the “ethnic hair product” aisle. Out of curiosity, I dropped by to see what this type of socialization entailed since I had never been exposed to one before. What played out was a rehearsed song and dance with the same buzzwords from the unofficial natural dictionary, some spatterings of “I can’t wait ‘til mine gets that long”, “how do you get such great curl definition”, the exchange of YouTube bloggers spoken similarly like a televangelist’s wonderous blessings with self-promotion of their own, and general behavior consistent of how those select vegans/vegetarians claiming how much more enlightened at life they’ve become. The juxtaposition of the $10+ items in the background probably forced me to take a more ascerbic stance than should’ve. At the end of this there was a redeemable ticket for a bag chock-full of samples and gear with brands. Noticeably absent were any kind of haircare literature or even ingredient labels on most of the products. It felt more like corporations trying to reel back in a strong demo than an effort to reach out. Solange’s intense rant about intra-community discussion was more accurate than I initially gave her credit for. The purported freedom of natural hair apparently does not extend to its community. Upon the recognition of natural hair, people seem to lose all sense of boundaries and realization of individual preference. Speaking about hair to certain people without invitation causes them to get defensive. Recognizing that the experience is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Some feel that if others hair don’t meet their standards that they have the right to coerce others with not so subtle hints about styling and products. I want to believe things have changed and people have adapted a more progressive attitude about hair but it feels like the insecurities about natural hair have just shifted. Natural hair is still not as acceptable universally. The most opposition seems to center on people not obsessed with the long, loose curly, borderline biracial hair styling. Thicker hair styled in twists, dreads, fluffed out fros, and people that work with their own curl patterns rather than twist outs still receive backlash, are deemed an embarrassment, and systematically told their look is unprofessional. Those that get in the pulpit of curl pattern classification and curl definitionalists are no different than (and are actually some of the same people) the ones regulating new growth with relaxers. Same dance, new partner.
Is this all there is?: A Natural Hair Conundrum So on a Walmart run on my birthday last Saturday, I discovered that there was a natural hair event taking place in the “ethnic hair product” aisle. Out of curiosity, I dropped by to see what this type of socialization entailed since I had never been exposed to one before. What played out was a rehearsed song and dance with the same buzzwords from the unofficial natural dictionary, some spatterings of “I can’t wait ‘til mine gets that long”, “how do you get such great curl definition”, the exchange of YouTube bloggers spoken similarly like a televangelist’s wonderous blessings with self-promotion of their own, and general behavior consistent of how those select vegans/vegetarians claiming how much more enlightened at life they’ve become. The juxtaposition of the $10+ items in the background probably forced me to take a more ascerbic stance than should’ve. At the end of this there was a redeemable ticket for a bag chock-full of samples and gear with brands. Noticeably absent were any kind of haircare literature or even ingredient labels on most of the products. It felt more like corporations trying to reel back in a strong demo than an effort to reach out. Solange’s intense rant about intra-community discussion was more accurate than I initially gave her credit for. The purported freedom of natural hair apparently does not extend to its community. Upon the recognition of natural hair, people seem to lose all sense of boundaries and realization of individual preference. Speaking about hair to certain people without invitation causes them to get defensive. Recognizing that the experience is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Some feel that if others hair don’t meet their standards that they have the right to coerce others with not so subtle hints about styling and products. I want to believe things have changed and people have adapted a more progressive attitude about hair but it feels like the insecurities about natural hair have just shifted. Natural hair is still not as acceptable universally. The most opposition seems to center on people not obsessed with the long, loose curly, borderline biracial hair styling. Thicker hair styled in twists, dreads, fluffed out fros, and people that work with their own curl patterns rather than twist outs still receive backlash, are deemed an embarrassment, and systematically told their look is unprofessional. Those that get in the pulpit of curl pattern classification and curl definitionalists are no different than (and are actually some of the same people) the ones regulating new growth with relaxers. Same dance, new partner.
Is this all there is?: A Natural Hair Conundrum So on a Walmart run on my birthday last Saturday, I discovered that there was a natural hair event taking place in the “ethnic hair product” aisle. Out of curiosity, I dropped by to see what this type of socialization entailed since I had never been exposed to one before. What played out was a rehearsed song and dance with the same buzzwords from the unofficial natural dictionary, some spatterings of “I can’t wait ‘til mine gets that long”, “how do you get such great curl definition”, the exchange of YouTube bloggers spoken similarly like a televangelist’s wonderous blessings with self-promotion of their own, and general behavior consistent of how those select vegans/vegetarians claiming how much more enlightened at life they’ve become. The juxtaposition of the $10+ items in the background probably forced me to take a more ascerbic stance than should’ve. At the end of this there was a redeemable ticket for a bag chock-full of samples and gear with brands. Noticeably absent were any kind of haircare literature or even ingredient labels on most of the products. It felt more like corporations trying to reel back in a strong demo than an effort to reach out. Solange’s intense rant about intra-community discussion was more accurate than I initially gave her credit for. The purported freedom of natural hair apparently does not extend to its community. Upon the recognition of natural hair, people seem to lose all sense of boundaries and realization of individual preference. Speaking about hair to certain people without invitation causes them to get defensive. Recognizing that the experience is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Some feel that if others hair don’t meet their standards that they have the right to coerce others with not so subtle hints about styling and products. I want to believe things have changed and people have adapted a more progressive attitude about hair but it feels like the insecurities about natural hair have just shifted. Natural hair is still not as acceptable universally. The most opposition seems to center on people not obsessed with the long, loose curly, borderline biracial hair styling. Thicker hair styled in twists, dreads, fluffed out fros, and people that work with their own curl patterns rather than twist outs still receive backlash, are deemed an embarrassment, and systematically told their look is unprofessional. Those that get in the pulpit of curl pattern classification and curl definitionalists are no different than (and are actually some of the same people) the ones regulating new growth with relaxers. Same dance, new partner.
Is this all there is?: A Natural Hair Conundrum So on a Walmart run on my birthday last Saturday, I discovered that there was a natural hair event taking place in the “ethnic hair product” aisle. Out of curiosity, I dropped by to see what this type of socialization entailed since I had never been exposed to one before. What played out was a rehearsed song and dance with the same buzzwords from the unofficial natural dictionary, some spatterings of “I can’t wait ‘til mine gets that long”, “how do you get such great curl definition”, the exchange of YouTube bloggers spoken similarly like a televangelist’s wonderous blessings with self-promotion of their own, and general behavior consistent of how those select vegans/vegetarians claiming how much more enlightened at life they’ve become. The juxtaposition of the $10+ items in the background probably forced me to take a more ascerbic stance than should’ve. At the end of this there was a redeemable ticket for a bag chock-full of samples and gear with brands. Noticeably absent were any kind of haircare literature or even ingredient labels on most of the products. It felt more like corporations trying to reel back in a strong demo than an effort to reach out. Solange’s intense rant about intra-community discussion was more accurate than I initially gave her credit for. The purported freedom of natural hair apparently does not extend to its community. Upon the recognition of natural hair, people seem to lose all sense of boundaries and realization of individual preference. Speaking about hair to certain people without invitation causes them to get defensive. Recognizing that the experience is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Some feel that if others hair don’t meet their standards that they have the right to coerce others with not so subtle hints about styling and products. I want to believe things have changed and people have adapted a more progressive attitude about hair but it feels like the insecurities about natural hair have just shifted. Natural hair is still not as acceptable universally. The most opposition seems to center on people not obsessed with the long, loose curly, borderline biracial hair styling. Thicker hair styled in twists, dreads, fluffed out fros, and people that work with their own curl patterns rather than twist outs still receive backlash, are deemed an embarrassment, and systematically told their look is unprofessional. Those that get in the pulpit of curl pattern classification and curl definitionalists are no different than (and are actually some of the same people) the ones regulating new growth with relaxers. Same dance, new partner.
Is this all there is?: A Natural Hair Conundrum So on a Walmart run on my birthday last Saturday, I discovered that there was a natural hair event taking place in the “ethnic hair product” aisle. Out of curiosity, I dropped by to see what this type of socialization entailed since I had never been exposed to one before. What played out was a rehearsed song and dance with the same buzzwords from the unofficial natural dictionary, some spatterings of “I can’t wait ‘til mine gets that long”, “how do you get such great curl definition”, the exchange of YouTube bloggers spoken similarly like a televangelist’s wonderous blessings with self-promotion of their own, and general behavior consistent of how those select vegans/vegetarians claiming how much more enlightened at life they’ve become. The juxtaposition of the $10+ items in the background probably forced me to take a more ascerbic stance than should’ve. At the end of this there was a redeemable ticket for a bag chock-full of samples and gear with brands. Noticeably absent were any kind of haircare literature or even ingredient labels on most of the products. It felt more like corporations trying to reel back in a strong demo than an effort to reach out. Solange’s intense rant about intra-community discussion was more accurate than I initially gave her credit for. The purported freedom of natural hair apparently does not extend to its community. Upon the recognition of natural hair, people seem to lose all sense of boundaries and realization of individual preference. Speaking about hair to certain people without invitation causes them to get defensive. Recognizing that the experience is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Some feel that if others hair don’t meet their standards that they have the right to coerce others with not so subtle hints about styling and products. I want to believe things have changed and people have adapted a more progressive attitude about hair but it feels like the insecurities about natural hair have just shifted. Natural hair is still not as acceptable universally. The most opposition seems to center on people not obsessed with the long, loose curly, borderline biracial hair styling. Thicker hair styled in twists, dreads, fluffed out fros, and people that work with their own curl patterns rather than twist outs still receive backlash, are deemed an embarrassment, and systematically told their look is unprofessional. Those that get in the pulpit of curl pattern classification and curl definitionalists are no different than (and are actually some of the same people) the ones regulating new growth with relaxers. Same dance, new partner.
Is this all there is?: A Natural Hair Conundrum So on a Walmart run on my birthday last Saturday, I discovered that there was a natural hair event taking place in the “ethnic hair product” aisle. Out of curiosity, I dropped by to see what this type of socialization entailed since I had never been exposed to one before. What played out was a rehearsed song and dance with the same buzzwords from the unofficial natural dictionary, some spatterings of “I can’t wait ‘til mine gets that long”, “how do you get such great curl definition”, the exchange of YouTube bloggers spoken similarly like a televangelist’s wonderous blessings with self-promotion of their own, and general behavior consistent of how those select vegans/vegetarians claiming how much more enlightened at life they’ve become. The juxtaposition of the $10+ items in the background probably forced me to take a more ascerbic stance than should’ve. At the end of this there was a redeemable ticket for a bag chock-full of samples and gear with brands. Noticeably absent were any kind of haircare literature or even ingredient labels on most of the products. It felt more like corporations trying to reel back in a strong demo than an effort to reach out. Solange’s intense rant about intra-community discussion was more accurate than I initially gave her credit for. The purported freedom of natural hair apparently does not extend to its community. Upon the recognition of natural hair, people seem to lose all sense of boundaries and realization of individual preference. Speaking about hair to certain people without invitation causes them to get defensive. Recognizing that the experience is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Some feel that if others hair don’t meet their standards that they have the right to coerce others with not so subtle hints about styling and products. I want to believe things have changed and people have adapted a more progressive attitude about hair but it feels like the insecurities about natural hair have just shifted. Natural hair is still not as acceptable universally. The most opposition seems to center on people not obsessed with the long, loose curly, borderline biracial hair styling. Thicker hair styled in twists, dreads, fluffed out fros, and people that work with their own curl patterns rather than twist outs still receive backlash, are deemed an embarrassment, and systematically told their look is unprofessional. Those that get in the pulpit of curl pattern classification and curl definitionalists are no different than (and are actually some of the same people) the ones regulating new growth with relaxers. Same dance, new partner.
Is this all there is?: A Natural Hair Conundrum So on a Walmart run on my birthday last Saturday, I discovered that there was a natural hair event taking place in the “ethnic hair product” aisle. Out of curiosity, I dropped by to see what this type of socialization entailed since I had never been exposed to one before. What played out was a rehearsed song and dance with the same buzzwords from the unofficial natural dictionary, some spatterings of “I can’t wait ‘til mine gets that long”, “how do you get such great curl definition”, the exchange of YouTube bloggers spoken similarly like a televangelist’s wonderous blessings with self-promotion of their own, and general behavior consistent of how those select vegans/vegetarians claiming how much more enlightened at life they’ve become. The juxtaposition of the $10+ items in the background probably forced me to take a more ascerbic stance than should’ve. At the end of this there was a redeemable ticket for a bag chock-full of samples and gear with brands. Noticeably absent were any kind of haircare literature or even ingredient labels on most of the products. It felt more like corporations trying to reel back in a strong demo than an effort to reach out. Solange’s intense rant about intra-community discussion was more accurate than I initially gave her credit for. The purported freedom of natural hair apparently does not extend to its community. Upon the recognition of natural hair, people seem to lose all sense of boundaries and realization of individual preference. Speaking about hair to certain people without invitation causes them to get defensive. Recognizing that the experience is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Some feel that if others hair don’t meet their standards that they have the right to coerce others with not so subtle hints about styling and products. I want to believe things have changed and people have adapted a more progressive attitude about hair but it feels like the insecurities about natural hair have just shifted. Natural hair is still not as acceptable universally. The most opposition seems to center on people not obsessed with the long, loose curly, borderline biracial hair styling. Thicker hair styled in twists, dreads, fluffed out fros, and people that work with their own curl patterns rather than twist outs still receive backlash, are deemed an embarrassment, and systematically told their look is unprofessional. Those that get in the pulpit of curl pattern classification and curl definitionalists are no different than (and are actually some of the same people) the ones regulating new growth with relaxers. Same dance, new partner.
Is this all there is?: A Natural Hair Conundrum So on a Walmart run on my birthday last Saturday, I discovered that there was a natural hair event taking place in the “ethnic hair product” aisle. Out of curiosity, I dropped by to see what this type of socialization entailed since I had never been exposed to one before. What played out was a rehearsed song and dance with the same buzzwords from the unofficial natural dictionary, some spatterings of “I can’t wait ‘til mine gets that long”, “how do you get such great curl definition”, the exchange of YouTube bloggers spoken similarly like a televangelist’s wonderous blessings with self-promotion of their own, and general behavior consistent of how those select vegans/vegetarians claiming how much more enlightened at life they’ve become. The juxtaposition of the $10+ items in the background probably forced me to take a more ascerbic stance than should’ve. At the end of this there was a redeemable ticket for a bag chock-full of samples and gear with brands. Noticeably absent were any kind of haircare literature or even ingredient labels on most of the products. It felt more like corporations trying to reel back in a strong demo than an effort to reach out. Solange’s intense rant about intra-community discussion was more accurate than I initially gave her credit for. The purported freedom of natural hair apparently does not extend to its community. Upon the recognition of natural hair, people seem to lose all sense of boundaries and realization of individual preference. Speaking about hair to certain people without invitation causes them to get defensive. Recognizing that the experience is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Some feel that if others hair don’t meet their standards that they have the right to coerce others with not so subtle hints about styling and products. I want to believe things have changed and people have adapted a more progressive attitude about hair but it feels like the insecurities about natural hair have just shifted. Natural hair is still not as acceptable universally. The most opposition seems to center on people not obsessed with the long, loose curly, borderline biracial hair styling. Thicker hair styled in twists, dreads, fluffed out fros, and people that work with their own curl patterns rather than twist outs still receive backlash, are deemed an embarrassment, and systematically told their look is unprofessional. Those that get in the pulpit of curl pattern classification and curl definitionalists are no different than (and are actually some of the same people) the ones regulating new growth with relaxers. Same dance, new partner.
Is this all there is?: A Natural Hair Conundrum So on a Walmart run on my birthday last Saturday, I discovered that there was a natural hair event taking place in the “ethnic hair product” aisle. Out of curiosity, I dropped by to see what this type of socialization entailed since I had never been exposed to one before. What played out was a rehearsed song and dance with the same buzzwords from the unofficial natural dictionary, some spatterings of “I can’t wait ‘til mine gets that long”, “how do you get such great curl definition”, the exchange of YouTube bloggers spoken similarly like a televangelist’s wonderous blessings with self-promotion of their own, and general behavior consistent of how those select vegans/vegetarians claiming how much more enlightened at life they’ve become. The juxtaposition of the $10+ items in the background probably forced me to take a more ascerbic stance than should’ve. At the end of this there was a redeemable ticket for a bag chock-full of samples and gear with brands. Noticeably absent were any kind of haircare literature or even ingredient labels on most of the products. It felt more like corporations trying to reel back in a strong demo than an effort to reach out. Solange’s intense rant about intra-community discussion was more accurate than I initially gave her credit for. The purported freedom of natural hair apparently does not extend to its community. Upon the recognition of natural hair, people seem to lose all sense of boundaries and realization of individual preference. Speaking about hair to certain people without invitation causes them to get defensive. Recognizing that the experience is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Some feel that if others hair don’t meet their standards that they have the right to coerce others with not so subtle hints about styling and products. I want to believe things have changed and people have adapted a more progressive attitude about hair but it feels like the insecurities about natural hair have just shifted. Natural hair is still not as acceptable universally. The most opposition seems to center on people not obsessed with the long, loose curly, borderline biracial hair styling. Thicker hair styled in twists, dreads, fluffed out fros, and people that work with their own curl patterns rather than twist outs still receive backlash, are deemed an embarrassment, and systematically told their look is unprofessional. Those that get in the pulpit of curl pattern classification and curl definitionalists are no different than (and are actually some of the same people) the ones regulating new growth with relaxers. Same dance, new partner.
Is this all there is?: A Natural Hair Conundrum So on a Walmart run on my birthday last Saturday, I discovered that there was a natural hair event taking place in the “ethnic hair product” aisle. Out of curiosity, I dropped by to see what this type of socialization entailed since I had never been exposed to one before. What played out was a rehearsed song and dance with the same buzzwords from the unofficial natural dictionary, some spatterings of “I can’t wait ‘til mine gets that long”, “how do you get such great curl definition”, the exchange of YouTube bloggers spoken similarly like a televangelist’s wonderous blessings with self-promotion of their own, and general behavior consistent of how those select vegans/vegetarians claiming how much more enlightened at life they’ve become. The juxtaposition of the $10+ items in the background probably forced me to take a more ascerbic stance than should’ve. At the end of this there was a redeemable ticket for a bag chock-full of samples and gear with brands. Noticeably absent were any kind of haircare literature or even ingredient labels on most of the products. It felt more like corporations trying to reel back in a strong demo than an effort to reach out. Solange’s intense rant about intra-community discussion was more accurate than I initially gave her credit for. The purported freedom of natural hair apparently does not extend to its community. Upon the recognition of natural hair, people seem to lose all sense of boundaries and realization of individual preference. Speaking about hair to certain people without invitation causes them to get defensive. Recognizing that the experience is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Some feel that if others hair don’t meet their standards that they have the right to coerce others with not so subtle hints about styling and products. I want to believe things have changed and people have adapted a more progressive attitude about hair but it feels like the insecurities about natural hair have just shifted. Natural hair is still not as acceptable universally. The most opposition seems to center on people not obsessed with the long, loose curly, borderline biracial hair styling. Thicker hair styled in twists, dreads, fluffed out fros, and people that work with their own curl patterns rather than twist outs still receive backlash, are deemed an embarrassment, and systematically told their look is unprofessional. Those that get in the pulpit of curl pattern classification and curl definitionalists are no different than (and are actually some of the same people) the ones regulating new growth with relaxers. Same dance, new partner.

Is this all there is?: A Natural Hair Conundrum

So on a Walmart run on my birthday last Saturday, I discovered that there was a natural hair event taking place in the “ethnic hair product” aisle. Out of curiosity, I dropped by to see what this type of socialization entailed since I had never been exposed to one before. What played out was a rehearsed song and dance with the same buzzwords from the unofficial natural dictionary, some spatterings of “I can’t wait ‘til mine gets that long”, “how do you get such great curl definition”, the exchange of YouTube bloggers spoken similarly like a televangelist’s wonderous blessings with self-promotion of their own, and general behavior consistent of how those select vegans/vegetarians claiming how much more enlightened at life they’ve become. The juxtaposition of the $10+ items in the background probably forced me to take a more ascerbic stance than should’ve. At the end of this there was a redeemable ticket for a bag chock-full of samples and gear with brands. Noticeably absent were any kind of haircare literature or even ingredient labels on most of the products. It felt more like corporations trying to reel back in a strong demo than an effort to reach out.

Solange’s intense rant about intra-community discussion was more accurate than I initially gave her credit for. The purported freedom of natural hair apparently does not extend to its community. Upon the recognition of natural hair, people seem to lose all sense of boundaries and realization of individual preference. Speaking about hair to certain people without invitation causes them to get defensive. Recognizing that the experience is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Some feel that if others hair don’t meet their standards that they have the right to coerce others with not so subtle hints about styling and products.

I want to believe things have changed and people have adapted a more progressive attitude about hair but it feels like the insecurities about natural hair have just shifted. Natural hair is still not as acceptable universally. The most opposition seems to center on people not obsessed with the long, loose curly, borderline biracial hair styling. Thicker hair styled in twists, dreads, fluffed out fros, and people that work with their own curl patterns rather than twist outs still receive backlash, are deemed an embarrassment, and systematically told their look is unprofessional. Those that get in the pulpit of curl pattern classification and curl definitionalists are no different than (and are actually some of the same people) the ones regulating new growth with relaxers. Same dance, new partner.

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