Source: zapit.com

The big thing this week was Tyra Banks showing her real hair to the world. A lot of people  wondered why this was such a big deal. If you’re a hair person, (like me) then you know how big a deal this was. Walking around wearing your real hair? For the world to see? Yikes!

This can be a HUGE deal for us Weavy Wonders because we come to depend on our hair like a friend. Losing our weave can be likened to losing our big toe. Yes, we can still walk, but you might notice a slight limp.

But the topic I really want to touch on is: What is natural? What is real? Some people knocked on Tyra because she sported her real hair, but (gasp!) it was relaxed. They were expecting her to rock her hair au natural, no relaxer.

As a Weavy Wonder myself, the term natural, or real can mean a lot of things to different people. For me, it means to remove my weave, thus sporting my real hair.

Some say it’s not your real hair because once you apply a relaxer you permanently alter the natural state of your hair. If we wanted to take this debate further, what about the women who wear their hair relaxer-free, yet choose to color it? Does that mean that they are altering their hair? YES!

Let’s face it people, if we really broke it down, most would have to agree that they do some kind of altering to their hair–relaxer, color, blow-dry, curling iron–you are still changing your natural hair.

I say, wear the hairstyle that flatters you the most. Because in the end, your opinion is the one that matters.

Source: the33tv.com

Source: Ezine.com

A long time ago, going natural meant wearing your hair in it’s unaltered state, i.e no relaxers, perms, or hair color.

But thanks to Tyra Banks, going natural means taking out your weave! I’m a weave fiend myself, so I know how traumatic this can be for some people. Wearing long tresses and then moving back to short hair can be something of a shock. But as a former hairstylist, I’ll wear my hair short one weekend, and long the next. Now that I’m older I don’t switch it up as much, but I’m still known to change lengths peroidically.

The bottom line is this: It’s your hair. I’m from the school, if you bought it, it’s yours. If you buy a dress how can it be a fake dress? It’s yours! You own that dress. So if you wear weave, it belongs to you. It’s your hair. And you have the receipt to prove it.

Have a great weekend!