A F R O C H I C K M A G A Z I N E | Vol. 1 (December 2013) | Page 17

A F R O C H I C K | M A G A Z I N E 17

you change the cuticle.” According to dermatological researcher Amy McMichael (2003),
chemical relaxers cause hair shaft dryness, and increased fragility of the hair cuticle, which is
why users are required to treat their hair with oils and other products – in most part to lessen the
potentially damaging effects of the chemicals on the hair. Further, Dr. Strachan says that there is
research to suggest that wearing a weave or tight braids may set off a dermatological condition
known as central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) or “hot comb” alopecia (also see
McMichael, 2007). CCCA develops at the crown portion of the scalp. The hair loss is in a
circular pattern, and the damage occurs to the hair follicles and leads to hair loss that is
progressive.
“When you have millions of black women that don’t like the way they look,” says Ruth, and
“they can’t feel good leaving their house with their own hair, you have a serious issue.” The
issue is actually not about whether a woman weaves or relaxes her hair; it is about why that
woman feels she has to weave or relax her hair in the first place, and a lack of knowledge about
the long-term effects of such practices. The question that people often pose to Ruth is “Why do
you care what another black woman chooses to do with her hair?” Does a black woman, like
other women, not have the freedom of choice to wear her hair how she chooses? The mission of
natural hair care providers is not to pass judgment on those who are not (yet) similarly minded; it
is about sharing their insights on how beautiful natural hair is, despite all the negative messages
suggesting that it is not.
For example, Patricia “Deecoily” Gaines, founder of Nappturality.com, the largest natural hair
website on the net, receives hundreds of emails a year from black women around the world who
are on their own individual hair journey. “It is often a very personal epiphany,” says Gaines. “It
took me a long time, a very long time to see this in myself, but when I did, I finally felt free of
the chains that had bound me for so long.” Gaines recalls a memory from her childhood, which
exemplifies just how much hair is a social-psychological issue for black women:
I remember when I was a teenager overhearing a conversation happening among a group of elder
black women. They were talking about black women dating white men. One woman remarked,
‘Well, I wouldn’t want him to find out about my hair (getting it relaxed). I’d have to keep that a
secret.’ They all agreed and laughed about it. I have never forgotten that and even today I think
about it a lot.
“Napptural” stands for Afro-type hair that is natural, without straightening or relaxing, that is
owned and worn out proudly for all to see, not under a wig or a weave. Through her website,
Gaines tries to promote a positive image of napptural hair by dispelling what she calls the “3-U
myth” – the myth that black hair is ugly, unmanageable and undesirable; the truth that black hair
is underestimated, undervalued, and unloved; and, the goal to have black hair recognized as
unique, urbane, and utopian. As she concludes:
“I believe the 3-Us represen t us caring for and respecting our hair for its beauty without
comparison and without denigrating another hair type. Caucasian hair is a beautiful hair type in
its own right, and our hair type should be recognized as beautiful in its own right, too.”