NATURAL AND FREE (The Beauty of Natural Hair)

So… this is interesting. Ebony Magazine posted an article that seemed to lament the rise of natural hair, stating that it has “forced” the relaxer industry to change, against its will, and equates to a “war on straight hair”.

The digital war pits presumed against alleged wannabes, and the online quips have gotten rather nasty.

The article states, without providing any evidence. It continues…

Hot-headed naturalistas—even in the year 2012—will revoke your Black card for flaunting a few straight strands. However, when maintained professionally, what’s wrong with having a relaxer? A little research on today’s straightening creams proves that they’re not the damaging conks of the past.

The article goes on to empathize with relaxer companies who were “forced” to reduce the potency of their formulas:

Due to the booming business of natural hair products, relaxers were forced to change their formulas about five years ago to incorporate a slew of conditioning buffers like shea butter, argan oil and keratin. Today, most relaxers are much milder.

The one quote in the article by a natural — a woman listed as “Sage” — without her last name, occupation, or any other identifying information. She states:

“I think it’s sad to run into a sister who hates her hair in its natural state. People like that have bought into society’s definition of beauty, which excludes us,” says Sage, a curly-hair woman who went natural five years ago. “And, for the record, no you should not be using harmful chemicals, such as relaxers, that are known to cause damage to the hair and scalp.”