Ok, I admit that is a corny title. But hopefully, it will make sense soon.

When I first went natural, the image in my head was a picture of my mother way back in the 1970s with a perfect afro. That was my hair goal about one year ago. I considered it a milestone when I was able to wear an afro for the first time. I didn’t really count my TWA (teeny weeny afro), because that didn’t really require any styling, just a quick run through with a comb. The afro was really what I was aiming for and believe it or not all that I thought natural hair was capable of doing. I can’t believe how ignorant I was about styling natural hair.

Long time Diva, Diana Ross

Anyway, that was then and this is now. Recently, I came across an old post on The Natural Haven, entitled, The dangers of Afros. When I saw the title, I was intrigued. What I read, interested me even more. Fast forward several months and I find myself coming back to the same article and recognising many of the truths therein.

I still love my afro and in fact, I am rocking a huge one right now. Mine is natural, unlike Diana’s fake one above. Lol. But, what I have learned is that my hair feels weaker, when it is not protected on a regular basis. This is even though I try to avoid combing my hair at all if I will be wearing an afro for a few days. This makes the morning routine easier, but as my hair grows longer, the detangling takes more time and individual strand knots increase. I should point out that the afros is the ideal style for short hair, it is if you want to grow your hair longer and as it grows longer that it becomes harder to manage and requires more tender care.

The reason hair grows so much when weaved or braided, is because  we are leaving it alone and not messing with it all the time. So, my take home lesson is that my afro is a treat as opposed to a staple in my style repertoire.