Also does any one know if i would have to actually grow them??
Like shave my head then start growing them??
Or can I keep my hair and get them??

I love my natural hair, best decision I have made… June makes it 2 years

Check Out My You Tube Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrLN_JziqDE

Hey Hey Hey, I just wanted to say hey to all my natural sistahs and congrats on your journey. I myself have been natural for over 2 years now. It will be 3 years november 22. I am so proud of my hair and also at the patience I have learned through my decision. My hair has never been healthier and that is for real!!

I haven’t had a relaxer in a year, and I recently cut off all of my relaxed hair. I thought I would be sad but I was actually excited to be done with the relaxed hair, dealing with 2 different textures was a pain after a few months w/ no relaxer. My mother had my hair relaxed when I was just 5 years old! Going natural was really about discovering myself as a young women and also my curiosity about the natural texture of my hair.

I am so happy even though my hair is short now. Right now I’m wearing braids mainly because I am little nervous as to my friends and family reaction which will be why did you cut all of your “long, pretty” hair off, but oh well they are just going to have to get over it. My hair will eventually grow back and I don’t plan on relaxing it ever again!

Thanks for the links to the websites!

*young woman

GRREAAAAATTTT POST !

I’m so happy to see this post…. Shout out to all my natural people!!! It was the best decision I’ve ever made… Everything I wanted to say was said already…great minds think alike!!!

Natural, Permed, Weave…it dont matter! Black women are all beautiful. So to say hair makes us, thats insane. I am who i am regardless! ONE LOVE

Good post. More people should know that they can style their naps.
I’m not gonna say “natural hair” b/c some black people’s hair is not like those pics above.

I say BE YOURSELF. Don’t stop straightening your hair b/c you feel oppressed by the white man…trust me, the white man ‘these days’ could give a hoot about how your hair looks. Barack and Michelle are in the white house, playa.

If you like straight hair, you can staighten it while natural too. I did that for 2 years. Only problem is water, sweat, humidity…and I live in the South. I was flat-ironing once a week.

But for me right now, I can get most of those styles w/ my relaxer (besides the locs), and It’ll be easier to comb. It’s hard to get MY naps into a simple ponytail, so I am gonna keep it perming.

OMG IM OFFICALLY IN LOVE WITH CONCRETELOOP!!!!

MY LAST RELAXER WAS AUG 2007 AND MY BC WAS FEB 14 2009!!!!

SINCE MY BIG CHOP I’M REALLY GETTING THE HANG OF THIS NATURAL THING! IM GLAD IM DECIDED TO MAKE THIS DECISION YOUNG! NOW IM FOCUSED ON GETTING MY LENGTH BACK! ITS A LITTLE PAST MY COLLAR BONE NOW. MY GOAL IS WAIST LENGTH!

WHEN I HAD A RELAXER MY HAIR WAS AT MY BOOBS BUT IT WOULD NEVER GROW PAST THAT BECAUSE IT ALWAYS BROKE OFF AND SPLIT UGH!!!

IM NEVER GOING BACK!!!!!!!

I feel that for me, having locs would be LESS freeing. That’s like only having 40-60 strands of hair on yo head. :/ you can only do so much with it. The other styles, yeah, you’re free from required touch-ups.

I would go natural if I was gonna wear a fro all the time. otherwise it’s too difficult to style,imo, how i would prefer it to look.

But don’t be fooled ladies, no matter how you wear your hair- straight, indian remy, nappy, curly, dreded—you are a black, beautiful woman, and no hair”style” is gonna change that.

@ CHIGO

IF YOU DECIDE YOU DONT WANT YOUR LOCKS ANYMORE, DEPENDING ON HOW MATTED THE LOCS ARE SOMETIMES THEY CAN DETANGLE SOME OF IT FROM THE ROOTS AND IT’LL SAVE YOU SOME LENGTH BUT MOST OF THE ENDS WILL BE DAMAGED AND ALOT OF SHEDDED HAIR WILL BE CAUGHT UP IN IT

BUT YOU SHOULD TRY TO GET SOME DREADLOCK EXTENTIONS AND TRY THOSE OUT FOR A WHILE

HERES A YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE PROCESS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRWRBnOrX7o

Step it up CL! lol

My last perm was August 2007 and my BC was June 21st, 2008!

It will be one year in June!

Funny I’m actually twisting my hair right now! lol!

Love my BO businesses! Shout out to Oyin Handmade and Karen’s Body Beautiful!

Janelle Monae goes by Janae now?

I think locs are cute. I told my BF that one day Im gonna get bold and do it. I’ve damn near already had every hairstyle under the sun anyhow….

@ #5 MJ

Thank you! I quit getting relaxers in 07, but I still wear my hair straight, and no one is the wiser unless I tell them. Simply ironing out my hair with a ceramic iron achieves the bone straight look, that I had when I was getting relaxers on the regular. My hair is still long as well.

I love this & I love my natural hair… Watch my video on Youtube. Free your MIND & DO YOU!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MuNX6zJGec

Here is more inspirational hair…
Khia been rocking dreds since forever.
And Claire from “My Wife and Kids”. She rocks her natural hair.
And Mya and Chili.

This is why I dig CL. Y’all got everythang on here LOL.

I’m all natural and have been since birth so thanks Tianna for the hook up on those sites. I need some styling tips on that front.

I agree 100% that natural hair is the best way to go. I went natural a year ago and I am totally in love with my hair now. It’s healthier, it grows faster and I can do almost anything (drive with my windows down, go to beach, run though a drizzle of rain) and not be worried how my hair will look. I can’t wait for my locs to get should length so that I can wear them in spirals etc.

The texture of my hair is softer than I had imagined! I get more compliments about my hair then when it was relaxed. The transition to natural hair was easier than I though…. I chopped off the relaxed ends and braided the new growth with natural twist and started the locking process. After my hair got to a length that I could wear it neatly the braids came out and my locs were beneath.

At work not everyone embraces natural hair but that’s too bad for them. Natural sisters are here to stay!!

It’s so wonderful how more and more young sisters are embracing their natural locks. Things are changing. There may still be a lot of work to do in terms of changing the ‘norms’ of beauty which the white man set, but it is a start.

lol @67. Seriously, just because I have a fro, doesn’t mean I want to go listen to spoken word. Idk why people think that.

Thank you so much for this post! I have locs and I feel like my hair matches my personality. The websites you listed are great too! Well done!

Natural hair is where it’s at! Love it! Wish more sites would catch on & add posts like this!

Tracee Ellis Ross and Yaya both have texturisers. A texturiser is like a weak relaxer, and it means that you’re NOT natural any more, so they don’t belong on the natural list any more.

I’ve been natural for two years (I talk about it more on my website HealthySistersUnite!). I imagined something really hard, but I LOVE my hair and how simple it is. You can never say never, but I hope that I NEVER relax or straighten my hair. One day black girls will actually CHOOSE between being relaxed or natural, instead of feeling relaxed is the only normal option for them.

i have gone natural and i love it, i started off trying to grow locs but they weren’t started off riite, but i want to make that transition to locs

I have been natural for while now and love it…I never knew how gorgeous my hair was until now…it’s a dark brown that looks midnight black and is wavy…beautiful. I never have been happier with my hair…and there are so many different ways I can wear it. I stray away from it being straight as much as I can.

I love this post. I been natural for 5 years and I love it! People actually think my hair is a weave or wig…Go Natural its the best way…btw I swear by my maximus flat iron.

OMG! This is a good posting. I have recently went natural and it is well……not easy…..let me just say that. I love it though because my hair is growing quicker than ever without putting chemicals in my hair. I have started posting updates on how my hair is growing on youtube. If anyone reading this wants to go natural –> DO IT! From my experiences, it is allowing my hair to actually grow. http://www.youtube.com/nanojolly

CHECK OUT MY NATURAL HAIR JOURNEY http://www.youtube.com/wa...&feature=channel_page

This is indeed an excellent post! Ladies, we are as great as our creator made us.

Say no to self hate!!!!! and this is “if the shoes fit, wear it” remark. Some women perm and love themselves; some women don’t. I too, wanted to act like some black women couldn’t hate themselves. I heard otherwise. It’s shocking the amount of women and men said we are cursed because of our hair, lol!

I think God, was giving us a gift because he knew black women “would be queens” and love styling their hair in different styles and just being regal. I see no other women that can style their hair in so many different ways.

We can go from kinky to curly to straight with our own hair. Other when can’t go from kinky to straight, so be happy with what God gave us.

I LOVE THIS THREAD! I am also going natural,but with the help of sew ins. Ladies if you want LONG natural hair than i advise going to longhaircareforum(s).com. There are tons of natural long hair women there. I used to rock a halle b cut, which gave me more attention than any long, straight weave out there. I am currently growing my hair out and natural and it is much healthier. Give it a shot, gals!

i love yall for this post CL! i am taking my tracks out for the last time next weekend! i lovvvve my 18″ pocahontas track, but i’ve decided to go au natural for 2009. i’d love to have my hair like the sister in the bottom left hand corner. does anyone know how to achieve that light curly look without having to use a bunch of chemicals??

THANK YOU for doing this post!! Growing out my perm and leaving my natural curls out to breathe is definitely one of the best decisions I’ve EVER made on my own. No matter how much mom and aunties said not to, it definitely was the start of me making my own decisions and living MY definition of beauty. Plus, it’s so versatile, SOOOO much healthier, and I get WAYY more compliments on my natural hair than when it was chemically straightened. I’m in a total lofe affair with it; I can’t stop touching it. Although the natural hair market is not as apparent in the media and drugstore aisles, it is definitely out there!! My favorite site is naturallycurly.com!

WOW This is truly a beautiful post. I went natural by wearing a weave for a year straight and my hair grew VERY long VERY Fast. I could not believe the health and length of my hair. I kept it natural for about a month and succumbed to my boyfriend’s & mom’s jabs about being “nappy”. I couldn’t have been more stupid. No sooner than six months my hair begin to thin horribly from relaxers even with waiting six weeks in between. Now I have started to do it all over again….and keep it that way. I never really gave it a chance and I really could have enjoyed the outcome. For a person who has never had really long hair and to see the difference of hair in a years time, Natural is the ONLY way to go for me and I promised myself no matter how ignorant others maybe I will keep my natural hair for ME!

Thank you Tianna for the post!!! I have been natural now for 7 years. I did the BC in Feb 2007, my senior year of high school and everybody was hating!!! My family and friends did not like the decision AT ALL so it definitely taught me how to love myself and be confident in my looks despite everyone else’s opinion.

Rock on my natural sisters and brothers

Great post!!! I have been rocking my locks for almost two years and I get compliments DAILY on my hair, from people of all races!! I LOVE MY HAIR!!!! Its something about rocking natural hair that gives you extra confidence. Its really a beautiful thing to see a sista rock her hair the way it grows naturally, how can u not look fierce? Nothing against my permed/weaved sistas cause thats the beauty in our black hair, we have so many choices (i.e. cornrolls, weaves, perm, locs, fro…the sky is the limit) what ever makes you shine! I always feel a extra connection when I see natural hair…Thanks CL for this great post!!!!!

i have been natural for a year now and im rockin locs

ANY question you ever have had or will have will be answered here…it was and still is my #1 go to spot for anything i need natural hair related and otherwise:

nappturality.com

^^ all you will ever need

I had no idea that the natural look was such a movement. Thanks CL for opening my eyes. However, me personally, the natural look is not for me. It’s not that I’m ashamed it’s just less time consuming. I get relaxers probably about every 9 months and I have no shame whatsoever. I’m young woman with a busy busy schedule I don’t have time for the natural look. But, big ups to those women who do!

i love this post. and the comments are also very helpful for those like me who are contemplating going natural.

Loc’ed since ‘06 after two-strands and YEARS of micro-braids. At one point I was perming and braiding just to keep a sleek look. It still took me awhile to embrace locs but one night I saw these sisters in the grocery store who looked like video models but they were all loc’ed and that convinced me that you don’t have to be a certain way to loc. I cut my hair, did two strands for about a year and then loc’ed. I’m very, very happy, I feel like it reflects me as a creative, sexy, unique woman. Now that I’m loc’ed I have aeen so many woman in so many walks of life wearing locs and natural hair all kinds of different ways. I’m sorry our celebs don’t embrace it more…but that’s them. I encourage anyone who is interested to try it…or at least do the research there are so many myths.
Regardless of how you wear your hair, do what reflects you best…this is it for me!

Oh and by the way, rapper Khia, ignant and ghetto though she is, has an absolutely beautiful head of locs….and she wears them in a lot of different styles….

More like more ladies gone broke.

I’m loving this post..I’m a Natty Girl myself…I love my curls!

@YOYA…Actually, maintaining Natural curls can be just as pricey as getting a relaxer every six weeks. I get my ends clipped every eight weeks, hot oil treatments, and pressed and curled when I want to wear it straight. I’ve been Natural for about four years now from being on and off with it and I have to say it is very liberating to not have to stress about relaxed hair; the many relaxer burns, getting it wet, and most of all breakage. Natural hair has with all hair types, is more manageable when it’s taken care of and that can be pricey…

People need to be more natural anyways and stop with the weaves and perms. EVERYONE..Yes I am talking about u too white folks.

At #58……cute comment

Thanks so much for this! Natural hair is healthy, beautiful and versatile. It’s great that we have lots of options and sisters ought to do exactly what they want with their hair. However, it would be mentally and spiritually healthy if we could get past the good-hair bad hair slave mentality syndrome. Women who rock natural styles look confident and beautiful. We also get hordes of compliments. If you’re interested or doubtful, please read Alice Walker’s “Oppressed Hair Puts A Ceiling On The Brain” from Living By The Word. Enuff said!

If you have the self esteem to do it, I encourage all sista’s to go natural. Be inspired by a lot of the sista’s from the 70’s. While many of them wore wigs, many wore fro’s and other natural styles.

I say down with the weaves for a while.

#120, I know a lady who has gorgeous locs, but she pays the same to get it twisted and washed as the next woman would to get relaxers, washes, color, etc., so I get what you are saying. She never does her own hair. She said she likes for someone else to do it. Her daughter is natural as well w/2 strand twists. I personally do not believe in little girls, 4-12 years old, getting relaxers. I see so many little girls with invisible hair lines and no hair in the back. I personally have never had issues w/relaxers and color such as breaking off, burns, falling out, etc., so it was never a big deal to me. I do not need a relaxer, but I think for a lot of people, it’s something done out of habit.

YAY!!!
Bout time yall did a spotlight! Im natural with nappy kinky krazy hair, AND I LUV IT!

I’ve been natural since 2004 and I love my hair for the first time in my life. Never liked my hair when I had a relaxer.

Doesn’t the natural thing only work if you are biracial or something? Don’t mean to seem ignorant but I’ve always wondered whether every type of black woman can grow a curly afro? Most of the celebs shown seem to be African American light skinned. Any African girls rocking an afro? What’s it like??

Wow! I’ve been natural all my life and one thing i despise is when people refer to going natural or being natural as a movement.

Why does hair have to be such a political statement. That’s why some black girls do not want to go natural because of fear of being associated with a revolution or movement.

P.S Great thread!

I researched for 5 years and talked to ladies who had already loc’d their hair. I never liked relaxers. As a child I had long, thick, beautiful hair, but as an adult it was limp, thin, and dull due to chemicals. In August of 2007 after spending all day removing fake hair from head that I had worn in twists I had a “waiting to exhale moment” and cut all of my hair off. I wore a natural for a month and in September 2007 I loc’d my hair using the latch hook method. It is the best decision I ever made in my life. I feel so much better about myself. It was a big self-esteem builder and I feel so beautiful and sexy. I don;t have to worry about the weather and I can wear my hair in so many different styles just like I did with a relaxer, except I don’t have to worry about my hair “falling” or looking a mess because it rained or it is humid. It was a physical and spiritual journey for me. Other than battling others ignorance (including my family and friends) I have received nothing but positive feedback. I use Tah Waajid natural haircare products which can be ordered online if you can’t fine them in the store. She uses all natural ingrediens and she is a sista so I like supporting her. The products are light and non greasy and do not build up. The website is http://www.blackearthproducts.com or http://www.naturalhair.org. Going natural is not about saving money because I spend money to have it “tightened” and on natural haircare products just like I did with a relaxer. Peace, love, and hairgrease! Be blessed!

Sorry I misspelled the name in the previous email. I guess I am still sleepy. The haircare products I use are Taliah Waajid.

Taliah Waajid

What about dread extensions???

i’ve been rocking my hair natural on and off for about the last 6 years now… i’m 25…almost 26…. and have rocked it consistently for about the last 4 years!!! i feel soooooooooooo much better about myself when i’m natural rather than having the looooooooooong flowy hair down the back!!! my natural hair is long anyway but i feel good when it’s rocked in a fro or kinky curly fro type deal!!! and surprisingly guys have approached me more when my hair is in a fro because they like the fact that i’m so bold i guess… and that i stand out from other chicks who are so concerned about their hair being straight!!! i’m a black woman… born black…will die black!!! my hair is like wool…. softer….but same concept… i embrace the fact that i’ve been given nappy roots… and i love it… that’s the hand i was dealt and so i’m gonna play it no matter what!!! LOVE YOUR NATURAL BLACK FEATURES LADIES!!! LOVE IT!!!

natural is beautiful maybe i’ll have to guts to do it one day too, but as for Yaya’s haristyle and the cover where the girl who is featured has curls that gold and brown.. do they have hair that looks like there’s almost to where you could buy in a store and have someone sow it in ? would it be like water wavy ? or what kind of style would you call it ?

Niger Girl
Sunday, May 3, 2009 /

“Doesn’t the natural thing only work if you are biracial or something? Don’t mean to seem ignorant but I’ve always wondered whether every type of black woman can grow a curly afro? Most of the celebs shown seem to be African American light skinned. Any African girls rocking an afro? What’s it like??”
————————————————————————————————————————–

see that’s the beautiful thing about natural hair: the freedom! even if you don’t have loose curls like traycee ellis ross, you’ll still love your hair. natural hair works for every woman that wants to make it work for her. if you can, hit up some of the suggested sites, because you will see ALL types of women rocking great natural hair…biracial, multiracial and yes african (like you asked). all hair textures (because that’s what your referring to) can be grown and maintained with a lot of care. personally from what i’ve seen, every woman has hair that grows in some kind of curl pattern. however, it’s just the tightness or looseness of the curl (one’s hair type) that varies from woman to woman…but i have seen some women on hair sites who have said that their hair has NO curl pattern. so i guess it depends on who you ask.

i added a few links of a young woman with (what she describes as) afro-hair. afro-hair can be translated to meaning that she has coarse, kinky hair. her natural hair journey is incredible…and she proves that you can have and GROW great hair in ANY texture.

http://www.slide.com/r/IB...;ciid=2522015791535884898

http://members.fotki.com/Sera252/about/

i hope that this helps

by the way, i’m not natural (although i have been in the past)…i just have a wonderful appreciation for all hair great post!

This is really a great post!!! I’m transitioning now and I can’t wait to rock my beautiful natural do. Its only been a little over 4 months but i’m so happy I’m off the “creamy crack”!

the bald is cute, that curly sh– is ug–, that look like MEDUSA

It’s so refreshing to see Concrete loop celebrate natural hair. Going on 4 years here, its a rebirth, an awakening. Caring for your hair encourages you to care for the rest of your body and soul.

If I can give one piece of advice, if you’re going to go natural, use natural products, no petroleum or commercial products. Shea butter and mix of vegetable glycerin & water is all you need. Vegetable glycerin makes my hair super soft, softer than any commercial conditioner, AND it’s natural. Also try sleep on a satin pillowcase to prevent breakage.

Good luck with any woman on a new natural hair journey!

Does anyone know of any good but affordable shops in nyc for locs???? I keep hearing of madd shops in jersy that charge around 40-50, but in nyc everyone charges like $100 or more which i think is crazy….

THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES FOR THIS! I’m currently transitioning from relaxed to natural, and the big chop is not an option for me! This will give me some great ideas!

@84 re: … some black people’s hair is not like those pics above.

I am SOOOOO glad someone said that. So many people who are “natural” don’t want to be “nappy.” I HATE HATE HATE that the natural hair movement has become just another way for certain black people to obsess over long/curly hair.

I think way too many people think “natural” equals the whole Joan from Girlfriends look. I found out quickly that my hair was NOT going to do that. I went through alot over that, especially since on a lot of these so-called “natural” sites, all you will see is curly curly and more curly. I went to that natural hair expo here in ATL last month. Baby, if there were 400 products being hawked there, 200 of them were curling pomades and 199 of them were curling devices! I find it all so frustrating - it’s just another form of self hate.

I won’t go on and on, but I blogged about this: http://shade4days.blogspo...o-be-nappy-not-quite.html

If you want to go natural, by all means, do it. But be realistic about what it means and understand that you may not get what you think you will get - but that doesn’t mean your hair isn’t any good. You also can get a curly look with twist outs if that’s what you like.

Ironically I get ‘waves’ with my twist out - but I prefer it to ‘fro out! lmao I also like locs that are bigger rather than those skinny ass ones. Go figure!

PS: I don’t care what ANYBODY says, I fail to see how ceramic pressing your hair every week will not take your hair out. Heat is heat.

I love my locs, Im 3 years in. My hair is strawberry red on the tips and everybody wants to knw who did my hair . yes! Never Dark & lovely perm my hair again EVER! lol!

Interesting….

I started going natural back in 2006. Don’t get me wrong… growing out the relaxer and flat ironing the roots was a certified pain in the a**! But now that I’m all natural I will NEVER go back to relaxing! I love my hair. True acceptance is a beautiful thang. Finding beauty in the natural gifts God has granted you… priceless.

I have been a fan of Concrete Loop for quite a while. I am so happy to see that my Natural Hair Blog has been mentioned in this post. Thank you…. very cool!

Karen
http://www.naturalbeautifulhair.com
http://naturalhairbeauty.blogspot.com

Bravo! I love to see a site where being natural is ‘hot’ and not ‘extreme’. (I’ve heard some insults that were supposed to be complements, TRUST. ) Anyway..

@ Chigo, locks do not make your hair fall out. I’ve heard stuff like that before.. It’s all supposed to scare you off from the style. I’ve also heard that relaxers make your hair grow and if you stop getting them your hair will fall out. This is also not true. Though sometimes the relaxed hair will fall off, it’s only because of the damage previously done to it, not the fact that you went natural. Infact, most people have to actually CUT the hair off. So that’s not true. If you’d like to give locks a try shop around for the best price if you want them done in a salon, or you can just do it yourself. (It is not as hard as some make it look, trust me. )

As for the cutting of locks if you don’t want them anymore, that is KINDA true. You can pick them loose, but it would probably be mostly a waste of time, since locks are formed from shed hair. Meaning, when you pick that long long lock apart, most of the hair will just drop off, as it is shed hair anyway. Locs were pretty much meant as a permanent hair style, as it takes so long to acheive, and is nearly impossible to pick apart. If you do decide on locks, know that you will more than likely have to cut them off if you don’t want them anymore. (And for all those ‘experts’ out there, I actually have locks.. I’m not just blowin’ it out my butt here. I have a little experience. :p )

Anyway the most important thing is to have your mind set to do it. Just like going natural it takes having a well made up mind or you’ll just go back to the usual. People are going to have all sorts of ‘advice’ for you. (Especially advice to NOT do it.) You have to weed out all the crap and just get the straight truth. Say thank you, and go for what you know is best.

Oh and Chigo, you don’t have to cut off all your hair to lock. It’s not well known, or frequently told, but you can even start with RELAXED hair. (If white folks can lock, what makes you figure yours is too slick with a relaxer to lock? )

However, that relaxed hair may be damaged and may break and the lock may not look the same all the way down. But you can always take care of your loose natural hair, then start your locks once you get some growth.

A good site to take a look at is http://www.nappturality.com , you’ll need to let Dee know you’re wanting to join if you have a ‘free’ email address. (hotmail, gmail, yahoo, ect.) because of all the spammers comin’ up in there. But the site is FULL of information. It will do you good to check it out.

Yeah..I’ve been natural 7 months now! I love it!