Au Naturale...

Sooooo...I'm on Twitter right...and I see one of my followers (@ThePrettyMD) who's tweets I enjoy reading, mention something about natural hair.

Here's the series of tweets


@ThePrettyMD: So I've decided that in 2011 I'm rocking my natural hair 99% of the time..straightening it should be a rare event. Easier said than done.

@ThePrettyMD: Well I hadn't considered job interviews, professional events/photos etc. I ALWAYS straighten my hair for that stuff!

@ThePrettyMD: I guess I just feel more confident with it straight. *shrug* Well today my class for my masters program will take our graduation composite

@ThePrettyMD: I didn't straighten it. I'm wearing it curly and pinned back...and I think it's pretty fab. I'll take some pix when I get a break

@ThePrettyMD: I admittedly don't feel AS confident as I think I would w/ it straight & we gotta see how the pix turn out, but this is what it's about..

@ThePrettyMD: It's just sad that it has taken me years to get comfortable w/ my natural hair! I mean..it's NATURAL! What God gave me! Shouldn't be so hard


So, later on she tweets some pics of her with her natural hair pinned back and I am absolutely amazed...and confused.

This woman is absolutely gorgeous with her hair like this and she's admittedly uncomfortable with the way it looks.

Granted, she's probably just as gorgeous with her hair straightened because she's a naturally beautiful woman, but her natural hair is truly beautiful and...I didn't get it...

Then again, I did...

More after the break...













Here's a little tidbit about me...I've ALWAYS had a thing for women with natural hair...

I've really just always thought it was beautiful. Sistas with locs, afros, and simple natural hairstyles just flat out "do it" for me.

I remember when I first met "Ms. Jackson"...

It was 2004 and I was in Tuskegee visiting one of my homies outside of OD, a women's dorm on campus. "Runway de Jesus" and I are standing outside acting stupid, flirting with the ladies that passed by, you know...the usual.

Out of the corner of my eye I see a group of sistas walk out from behind a nearby building. They're laughing, joking, and having a general good time. One of them is dressed in all black, with a shawl on, and this absolutely beautiful brown afro that accentuated her light skin tone...

I think I stopped mid-sentence to stare at her...

Me being the brotha that I am, I looked for a way to introduce myself. Luckily, I knew one of the females in the group from my time kicking it down there for homecoming. I yell out to her and they make their way over....

Instant attraction. Almost magnetic. We talked into the wee hours of the morning. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced.

We're still friends. She's a counselor, poet, and all around good sista...

I also remember meeting "Delilah" and watching her transform from a fun sista with straightened hair and an awesome mixture of sophistication and hood sensibilities, to a strong sista with natural hair and a mind focused on helping others.

I guess I said that to say, my personal attraction to sistas with natural hair was always a mixture of physical and mental. Physically, I love the way natural hair looks, feels, and (when properly taken care of) even smells. Mentally, natural sistas represent a certain level of comfort with themselves and dedication to themselves that I admire.

Like Andre 3000, I'm not taking the choice to "go natural" as a face value implication of "higher consciousness" or the choice to succumb to the allure of the "creamy crack" as a statement of "superficiality". Not at all. I'm just telling you why its my personal preference...

Some of ya'll missed that Andre 3000 reference...if so listen to Aquemini again. ("Now question/is every nigga with dreads/for the cause?/Is every nigga with golds for the fall?/Naw. So don't get caught up in appearance...")

Sistas I'm gonna address ya'll directly next...

More after the break...













Sistas, I get it...sometimes your hair is hard to deal with. Its unmanageable when it wants to be. Its stubborn. Its too curly. Its frustrating to work it EXACTLY like you want it to be.

But you want to feel pretty...

I get it.

Sometimes you perm your hair because it really does make you feel pretty. Some of you look better with permed hair than you do with natural hair. Your choice to indulge in the wonders of "creamy crack" is a personal decision.

I get it.

I love sistas with perms too. So I'm not beating up on ya'll. I don't think I've said anything disrespectful to my permed sistas out there.

I don't think I have...

Anyway, I understand that some of you perm your hair without a care as to why people permed their hair in the first place...

Some of you don't care...

This post isn't going to be a lecture on the history of black beauty trends, eurocentric standards of beauty, or even a review of Chris Rock's "Good Hair"...

All I'm saying is...try natural...no really...try it...

I remember when I had locs people would say to me all the time, "I wanna try locking my hair." I'd say, "No you don't, because if you did you wouldn't still have a perm."

Some of them would get offended...Delilah took it as a challenge.

I LITERALLY watched her grow inside as much as I watched her hair grow on the outside. It was like watching her become an entirely new person. The process itself was BEAUTIFUL to watch. She grew stronger, bolder, and more confident with each centimeter of natural hair growth...

Now I'm not saying everybody should run out and shave their heads. I'm not saying that growing out your perm and rejecting Dark N' Lovely is the only way to grow and change. Nor am I saying that letting go of your Eddie Long Lacefront Specials will make you a more beautiful and confident person...

What I am saying is, that the journey of growth and self-confidence that accompanies the shedding of one of the major things that you've been taught as "desirable" for your entire life is a beautiful one.

I've watched some of my favorite people in the world go through the "transformation" and its more and more beautiful each time...

Watching "Tiger" go through her transformation has been amazing...and I'm still loving her growth.

So to all my natural sistas in the world...I love you...I admire you...and I want you to marry me...all at the same time...in Zamunda...with those dancers...and the fat dude singing, "She's your QUEEEEEEEEEEEN TOOOOO BEEEEEEEEEEEE...."

To @ThePrettyMD, know that you have a fan during your growth and journey through the world of "going natural"...

Take it easy folks...

--Bleek G.