Brownstone Blog: All Nat-YOU-Ral!

Everyone has his or her own opinion about hair. Short. Long. Permed. Natural. Curly. Straight. Whatever it may be, there’s a story behind it. Well here’s my story. Ever since 10th grade, I’ve gotten over the whole “long hair, don’t care” phase. I started cutting my hair slowly but surely. Then senior year, I chopped it all off but was still attached to having it permed. Four years later during the beginning of my sophomore year in college, I realized how much I loved my hair’s natural state (that new growth was coming in) but hated how straight the ends were. So I decided to go in for the BIG CHOP. I got a friend and had her chop each and every strand of perm off my head. It was the most liberating feeling ever. Getting up and feeling free to get my hair wet never felt so good! Throughout this journey of having practically no hair on my head, I have learned to accept my beauty. This post isn’t to tell you guys to go bald and never perm your hair again, but to say that you are just as beautiful permed or natural. If you’ve been contemplating it and are scared, GO FOR IT! Trust me, hair grows back. And if you don’t like it get a weave! I’ve learned –although it sounds cliché – I am not my hair! I love every bit of me just as much as I did when I had long, straight hair back in high school. There are a lot more options

with natural hair and the fact that hair does indeed have its own personality makes it that much more fun. Oh! And did I mention how much cheaper it is?! All the money I used to spend getting my hair done ($60+) is now going to clothes hehe. I’m 10 times happier! If you aren’t sure if you want to full out go natural and cut it all off, why not get braids or a weave to suppress the roots from getting untamable? Then when you’re ready to cut off the relaxed portion you’ll have length to work with. The confidence a girl exudes with natural hair is flawless. And the gained sense of fashion is that much better! Certain looks just appear better with natural hair! Clearly, I could go on and on about going natural, but I’ll let you girls decide if natural is what you wanna be!

Tips for My Natural Girls

Hydration is key - Conditioners are a girl’s best friend! If you wash your hair often, skip shampooing it and simply condition it. Every now and then make sure you give yourself a deep conditioner. Raw shea butter with olive oil works wonders! If you can’t get your hands on the raw stuff, pretty much any product from Cantu works well. None of these products are more than $10.

Chill on the heat - Blow-drying, flat irons, curling irons every day? Negative, Negative. Just because you’re natural doesn’t mean you can start burning you’re hair. Try Air-drying every now and then.

Read the Label - Since we want the results, we don’t look at what we’re putting in our hair. Well much of it is nice for the moment, but in the long run there is no good being done to your hair.

Sleep with a silk pillow and/or scarf - Cotton pillows and scarves dry your hair out, use silk instead. Going to sleep on cotton is probably one of the most dehydrating enemies for your hair. You can pretty much get one from anywhere; whether that be your local beauty supply store to a fabric store. If you want to buy one specifically for hair, Pretty Wrap is a company that sells silk sleep wraps for about $20.