Do you relate more to the term "natural" or curly? Do you consider yourself a curly girl or not? Do you change your terminology when you're around other races? If a black woman asks about your hair do you say you're natural? But, when an Asian, Mexican or white women asks you say your hair is naturally curly?
Please leave your thoughts in the comments.
interesting question. i am natural and naturally curly. i use the terms interchangeably and don't think i change it up, depending on who i am talking to.
ReplyDeleteI always say I am natural because my hair do not curl naturally. It does not matter if I am around blacks or other ethnicities. I had the discussions today with my friends a latino guy and a black girl and the black girl with curly hair she was always referring as my hair as nappy hair = bad hair. I think the most important for me is to let ppl know good hair is healthy hair no matter the texture.
ReplyDeleteI think you almost have to because from what I have experienced, other races have no idea what being natural is. Then you have to go through this entire explanation. I think it's easier to say your hair is curly around other races. I really don't go around defining my hair to anyone but if I am asked, who is asking definitely determines my answer.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about it. I'm pretty sure that I refer to my hair as natural most of the time, but also use the term 'curly.' I don't typically talk about my hair unless I'm being asked if I'm natural or what I do to make my hair 'that way.' lol
ReplyDeleteI find other races refer to my hair as Curly and that blacks refer to it as natural.So i think i do it because of others.My hair type is 3c-4a but its thick, Most blacks, in my area, refer to fine hair as curly. I don't agree but that's my observation.
ReplyDeleteMy hair has some curly portions, some wavy pieces, and it's bone straight in the front so I just say it is natural.
ReplyDeleteSome people have naturally curly hair, but I am not among those people. My hair is natural, but my curls are not defined enough to be considered as curly. Other races would describe my hair only as it is in the present. If it looks curly because I curled it then they would call it curly. If it looks straight because I straightened it then they would call it straight. Whatever it is, it's all natural too me.
ReplyDeleteMy hair is curly, I don't change my terminology for anyone. Everyone is natural if their hair is free from chemicals. There are only THREE hair types: Straight, wavy, and curly. There are different variations of the preceding but that is it. Natural is not a hair type and this not an opinion but a FACT, check any Anatomy and Physiology text book.
ReplyDeleteI'd consider myself a curly girl. There are millions of people out there that wear their hair in its natural state whether it's straight, wavy or curly. Why should I claim stake to natural like I'm some phenomenon. I like to wear my hair straight sometimes, either way I'm still a diva. I would like to call myself a "Freed Person", this expresses to whole of how I feel. I can't wait til summer, this will be the first year I can actually swim under the water.
ReplyDeleteI use afro hair, afro-textured hair or natural.
ReplyDeleteMy hair is natural in that it isn't chemically processed. But I'd have to agree, that's no hair Type.
ReplyDeleteIt surely isn't straight, with all its bends, I can only call it curly. Just because an Africans' head of curls doesn't match a Europeans'- that doesn't change the fact that both have a head of curls.
Black people tend to understand the term Natural more. But then again, who came up with it?
When I decided to go natural this year I tried to explain this to a white coworker. I had to inform her that my hair isn't straight. When I mentioned it was curly she was shocked and finally understood.
ReplyDeleteI identify myself as natural (or at this moment transitioning). If I need to clarify then I'll use curly.
Since I don't do wash and go styles I typically say natural.
ReplyDeleteCo-signing the Black British Girl. If pressed for details I'll say I have coils and kinks. I don't consider my hair curly the way someone with a looser texture (3b-3c-4a) might say they're curly.
ReplyDeleteCo-sign with Black British too. I typically say afro-textured or afro hair around other races. That terms means more over here in the UK than one like nappy (which is the word we use for 'diaper') or natural. I use natural around black people.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes refer to my hair as curly because that is what my hair is - the cottony texture doesn't negate the fact I have curls on my head. With that said, I tend to refer to my hair as curly when I'm being more specific about my texture or I'm talking about an issue that women with curly hair in general could probably relate to. I think in most communities, the image of curly hair is generally not type 4a hair (it's more like 3a or a tight type 2). Hence all the other descriptors for 4a hair.
I tell every woman that asks that my hair is natural and leave it at that. I think it's funny that I get more (and genuinely nicer) compliments from non-Black women than I do Black women. Sometimes I can wear it curly after a wash-n-go, and other times I take out protective styles and it still looks "curly". And people still ask me if my hair is "naturally like that" whether or not I manipulated my hair. Oh well. My afro is so big now I can't be anything but "afrolicious"! :)
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