By A Black Female Savionaire
The Brazilian Blowout is all the rage these days. Everyone wants straight hair. They are willing to put lye and formaldehyde on their hair to get straight hair. They can even choose from hair straightening products that contain ‘no lye,’ which is a lie. I don’t crave wanting straight hair because I love my kinky natural hair. I am wearing dreads. I don’t like Sisterlocks because I don’t like thin braids. However, I don’t like dreads either. I ONLY wear my hair like this because it is EASY to maintain. I ONLY get it retwisted every 6-8 months, whereas most people get it done every 3-4 months. Unfortunately, I do NOT like that I cannot wear it as an Afro, blown out straight, pulled back in a straight bun, etc. However, I do wear copper extenstions to give it a variety.
I have hair like my Dad, which is soft, light, and wavy at the roots, and then a hot mess when it grows out to something that resembles a combination of wool and a chia pet..hee! hee!. After 3 years, dreads have turned my hair from soft, light and wavy at the roots to hard, heavy, and matted everywhere, except the roots. A fourth of my hair, all towards the front, has thinned out because dreads makes your hair heavy, which pulls on your hair, which causes thinning and breakage.
My advice to anyone going natural is to wear it in its natural state if you have the patience, time and money to do so. If you don’t, make the patience, time and money to do so. I had none of the three. However, if I had to do it all over again, I would have NEVER gotten dreads because my hair looked and felt better in its natural state; I was just lazy. I just hate doing my hair so dreads was the best option regarding not having to get it done but every 6-8 months. My sister wears her hair short like a man, but she can fully get away with it, whereas 99% of women cannot. From a spiritual standpoint, dreads are dead hair. So, in essence, I am walking around with dead weight. That is the reason why Lenny Kravitz cut his out, and I agree!
Thema’s Tip: Check out the videos from the Dr. Oz Show about the Dangers of Hair Straightening: Part 1 ad Part 2.