FREE YOUR HAIR

Few people understand real freedom exists in commitment.

Today I heard a woman say, as I have heard many other women say from time to time, that she could "never go natural." Most ladies then add, "You are so brave for going natural. I couldn't do it." (And if I hear one more lady say that they can't go natural because they work in a professional environment where "afros" are not appropriate?! Really?)

Ladies, ladies.

Before we discuss natural hair, let's think of real freedom in commitment in its broadest sense. When people truly love for the sake of what love is (and not lust and not selfishness...what are you going to give me), they are free; that is, they are not bound by expectations, or depending on someone else to make them happy, or adverse circumstances. They aren't controlled or forced. They are free to CHOOSE to love. When one gives his life over to his Savior, a true giving, he feels free; that is, free to obey and serve and be what he feels he was meant to be (and is happy about it).

Committing to maintain natural hair is a similar experience to these. When you decide to not alter your hair with chemicals, or wear your hair in a way that society will accept, or...even further....to wear your hair in locks (Sisterlocks! Yah!), you are FREE....not bound. You are free of society's expectations, free of whatever burdens were placed on you in terms of hair, free of conforming. Your hair is FREE to be what it wants: kinky, tightly coiled, and having a riot on top of your head or soft, wavy, and going every which way. You are FREE to be who you want, and forget what everyone else thinks.

(And the reason for this freedom is because when you do what you were made to do, this makes you most happy. When you allow your hair to remain the way it was made, unaltered, your HAIR is most happy...and healthy and growing.)

....And if all else fails, if you have locks, and you don't like them, you can shave your head, and watch a new full head of hair quickly grow back. Or you can grow your locks out I suppose and start out with new growth. It isn't the end of the world if you change your mind about locks.

Let me speak for me....I FEEL FREE. FREER than any day I wore a relaxer.

So for anyone debating whether to "go natural," consider your freedom. Come join all of us ladies who know what that freedom feels like and are enjoying it!! (And YES an afro can be appropriate in a professional environment, it just depends on how you wear it! I am an editor, worked in the heart of Washington, DC, and I had no problem being taken seriously with an afro on my head!)

FOR WOMEN WHO WEAR RELAXERS: This is not an attempt to bash you for wearing a relaxer. If you choose to wear a relaxer, I just hope this is a conscious choice and NOT a choice someone else chose for you or a choice you feel is your only choice!

I digress.