IF you follow me on social media, you’d know that I wrote a short piece on my experience with my hair thus far and I believe I should use this platform again. Believe it or not, there are some people who perhaps do not know what their natural hair looks like. But what is this ‘natural hair’ that we speak of? For those who aren’t of mixed of African descent, you might be a bit lost already but it’s quite self-explanatory. Natural hair speaks about the texture of one’s hair. If it is untouched by any chemicals (relaxers, perms, etc.) then we can consider it to be natural, changing the colour of the hair does not count. Women and as surprisingly as it may sound, males too (I know a few), change the texture of their hair for tons of different reasons. First of all, to say the prices of natural hair products are lofty is an understatement; one can only hope Cantu product prices drop soon. The reasons may be even more complexed as to social pressures, traditions of changing hair textures in family, not liking how one’s natural hair looks, etc.

One may choose to go natural by the doing ‘the big chop’, which is basically cutting off your hair and allowing it to grow into its natural curl patterns. Some may also choose to use protective hairstyles such as braids and wigs, although research has shown that this is not the most effective way unless the hair is treated with the necessary oil products and given space to ‘breathe’. Now, I know what you’re thinking, why is Marissa talking about natural hair when her hair is not as curly? Or so you think. On a personal note, I myself can relate to the struggle of having people ‘not understand’ your hair and its texture.

Fifteen-year-old, Teija Edwards shared her transitioning story: “Well, my transition started back in 2016 when I was now entering Third form. I had relaxed hair for almost four years and to the normal person my hair seemed thick and healthy but it really wasn’t and I was getting tired of having to spend hours in the salon to get my hair done so I told my mother I wanted to go back natural and she gave me the go ahead. In October of that same year, I did my ‘big chop’ and I started going to school with what I called my ‘mini-fro’ so much so that I was given the nickname of J. Cole. It wasn’t an easy ride, my principal didn’t understand my hair and what it was going through so she always told me to find a way to keep it down even though at that time it was not possible and my vice principal was even worse. A black woman herself, I expected her to respect and understand the transition I was going through but that was not the case, so throughout my entire Third form I had to deal with the school system and their bias towards black students and their hair but luckily my hair grows really fast so by the time it was time for me to go into Fourth form I was able to “tame” my hair.”

Sadly enough, Teija’s story is relatable to many Guyanese girls who plan to transition in Secondary School. The ‘Natural Hair Movement’ is one that’s growing rapidly, as more and more women choose to rock their curls and put down the relaxer kits. This column was to give you a brief insight on what Natural Hair really is, I definitely do not want to end the conversation here so keep a look out for next week’s piece as I share more with you all. Before I leave, Tanaycia Luyken, a makeup artist from Berbice, shared her views on this topic: “Well let me first say that no one, I repeat, no one wanted me to cut my hair. I would always hear “going natural is not for everybody” or “ if yuh cut ya hair it won’t grow back”. My hair texture is what some would not classify as “good hair” rather they would see it as“ nappy” or “untamed” nevertheless I put a brave face on and secretly did the “big chop” and at first I was a bit nervous but after telling myself to own it I became so confident and proud of my roots, so much that everyone around me thought my hair didn’t matter to me! For the three years I’ve been natural, I’ve found what works best for my 4c hair through trial and error and I’ve grown to love my THICK KINKY coils and would definitely like to encourage others to let that fro grow!”