Filed under: Natural Hair, Hair Care
From The New York Times:
Maeling Tapp remembers the moment three years ago when she saw her mother and sisters wearing their coil-prone hair in its natural state and decided that she, too, would stop slathering caustic paste onto her scalp to burn her own similarly textured locks into straight submission.
"Unfortunately, after four months I relaxed my hair again because I just didn't know what I was doing," said Ms. Tapp, 25, a Ph.D. candidate in materials science and engineering at Georgia Tech.
"Going natural" is the term used by many African-American women who decide to stop chemically processing, or relaxing, their hair. It's a move that can be fraught with confusion, missteps and sometimes pain, as the 2009 Chris Rock documentary "Good Hair" attested.
Many women with Afro-textured hair have not seen it in its unadulterated state since childhood. And even some who are acquainted with the texture of their untreated tresses are not comfortable styling their hair in ways they believe are fashionable and appropriate for them. Figuring out which of the countless hair-care tools and products on the market might work can make the undertaking even more overwhelming.
Tired of expensive, time-consuming salon visits, many would-be "naturals" are searching YouTube for inspiration, instruction and other people who have made peace with their kinks and curls.
Ms. Tapp said that watching videos there inspired her to pick up the camera herself and create a YouTube channel, Natural Chica.
Read more here.