Naturally You! Magazine: Behind the Naps!: No, Texturizers Are Not Natural
[^the article that inspired this post]
Lately, I've read a few posts on some natural hair sites that mention the use of texturizers to 'loosen the curl' and help with 'manageability'...and other post that make no bones about rejecting 'texturizers' as 'glorified relaxers' - like Nappturality.
Some of you might remember the old afro 'blow-out' kits. Others might even remember 'conk cream.' Well, texturizers are a modern day version of those old blasts from the past...
Is a texturizer just a glorified relaxer?
A way to deceive oneself that one still has natural hair because it still has some curl?
A way to tell the world that the hair of 'mixed chicks' is just a bit 'better' than that of other African ancestored women who have either no European ancestry, or who happen to have a few more generations between themselves and their European kin?
Does texturizing ones hair subliminally reinforce that old Euro-Brazilian saying: white women for marriage, mulatto women for sex, Black women for work?
Or is texturizing one's hair merely a preference, completely detached from, and not at all influenced by acculturation.
I'm particularly interested in reading the opinions of others in light of the preliminary results of the current active poll on this blog. To date, "ease of styling" is the most popular reason given in response to the question, "Why do you straighten your hair?"
Feel free to weigh in.
Hotep
3 comments:
I think texturizers are just that, glorified relaxers...when i was transitioning and didnt know how to take care of my care, I bought into that idea and had to grow it out...so anything that alters your natural curl pattern takes you out of that natural hair group.
The poll result is not suprising.Black/african women as a whole have undergone some serious brainwashing. The majority haven't a clue how to manage their hair, unless it's softened or straightened.It requires a MAJOR shift in one's thinking to truly embrace all natural hair and re-learn how to care for it. Personally I reached a crisis point during my 20 odd years of dicing with this stuff and I had to ask myself WHY I was doing it. To tell you the truth, I believed every single one of the reasons given in your poll, but deep down I knew non of it would wash. I was plain out of excuses and the thought of 'fighting' with my natural hair was frightening. (I believe people coming out of a cult might experience similar sort of emotions).I'm totally against the use of texturizers and relaxers.There's nothing natural about texturizers. Call me biased/prejudiced, but I've seen 1st hand the incredible damage they can cause, and some the long term health effects of absorbing this toxic cocktail into your bloodstream via you scalp, and that's my 'beef' with it. Straightening, curling etc can look quite good on some, but I wish they could arrive there without sacrificing scalp, hair or health. At the end of the day,people have a free choice so they'll keep doing whatever they think will make their lives easier.
Amen to everyone who has already commented. I think too many of us are still caught up thinking about hair in terms of "good hair, bad hair." My husband (who is white) said something about our son having good hair (it is bone straight) the other day and I dang near cussed him out!
Why, after we have been given so much good information about the harm that we are doing to our bodies and our self image do so many of us cling to this idea?? I just don't understand....
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