The natural hair community is steadily growing bigger and people have different theories to explain why. You’ve probably wondered why everyone seems to be ‘going natural’ now, letting go of those relaxed and permed strands in exchange for an afro, and advocating natural hair. What’s all the rage, really? In this article, we will take a look at why natural hair is popular and whether it is worth the hype.
Why Is Natural Hair Popular
While not everyone has become a natural or fancies the idea of growing natural/unrelaxed hair, it appears that quite a lot of people are starting to embrace their roots. Here are some reasons why.
- Naturals have been around for a long time, you just hadn’t seen them/they just weren’t visible
Way before social media gained popularity, many women chose to sport their natural hair and raise their daughters with ‘baby hair and afros.’ But since YouTube, Instagram and the likes were either underused or not in existence at the time, many of these naturals went about their journey and lives without the public eye.
Now that the use of social media continues to rise, however, one can now easily find tons of naturalistas from over the world who have been natural for varying lengths of time. So natural hair has always been a thing. Social media just hasn’t.
- Good things go viral
You know how when you listen to a song you really like, you share it with friends and continuously hype it? That is pretty much what happened — and is still happening – to natural hair. A steady string of referrals among friends and relatives who have returned natural has kept the number of natural women on the rise. But, is natural hair an overhyped trend? Let’s find out.
Is Natural Hair Worth the Hype?
Maybe these women who tell everyone they know “you need to go natural” are overhyping it. Or are they? The fact is that going natural has great benefits and we will now consider five of them.
- It’s a healthier, “natural” option
We’ll acknowledge the fact that some women have healthy-looking and flourishing relaxed strands. However, the processed chemicals contained in relaxing kits and other texture-altering treatments are far too harmful to ignore.
Natural hair care, on the other hand, encourages the use of natural-based products that are generally healthier for you. Even people who wish to completely avoid industrially processed products can stick strictly to DIY solutions.
While chemicals can cause reactions, slow down growth, and impede length retention, natural hair treatments are much more likely to stimulate growth. This explains why overall, natural hair has healthier, thicker, and even longer strands with shine than relaxed hair in the long run.
- Let’s face it, natural hair is beautiful
The afro looks good, cornrows are pretty, Bantu knots are cute, defined coils, kinks, and curls are a delight to behold. It’s a simple fact that any open-minded person would agree to – natural hair is such a beauty. And who doesn’t want beautiful hair?
- Water is now a friend
Natural hair absolutely loves water. So you can enjoy refreshing showers after a long day and not be scared about your hair itching or your relaxed strands “reverting”. And when you’re stuck outside and it begins to rain, with your natural hair, you have one less thing to worry about.
- Versatility
The versatility of natural-hair continues to be a wonder, even years after natural hair started to become popular. There is so much you can do and even one major style such as twists can have several variations – two-strand twists, three-strand twists, twaids, for example.
The same hair that shrinks to form a decent-sized afro today can be blown out to be a showstopping fro or wrapped to become an elegant updo. This versatility found in natural hair is one reason many women will continue to hype it.
- Individuality
This is one perk of natural hair that we at MyKitchenIsCoily are passionate about. No two heads of hair are the same. Everyone comes with their unique crown. Your exact curl pattern and hair’s behavior cannot be found in anyone else. This individuality and uniqueness combine with several other factors to form confidence that many women with natural hair are proud to bear.
Bottom Line: Will the natural hair rage fade away?
No one knows. Perhaps, many years ago when relaxed hair swept into popularity, very few or even no one anticipated that someday numerous women would ditch the straightening cream and return natural. And even if anyone thought about it, there was no way they could know for sure. Likewise, no one can be sure whether natural hair will lose popularity as fast as it came.
Perhaps, the “hype” will fade because more women would normalize it, or the rave would remain just as intense. However, given the benefits that come with being natural, it is unlikely that it would only last a few years as ‘a trend that once was.’ After all, if it works, stick with it, right?