SHOULD I STRAIGHTEN MY NATURAL HAIR?

This question has a really simple answer.

If you want to straighten your hair honey do it! You don’t owe an answer to anybody about what you do with your hair. Straightening your hair doesn’t make you any less natural than the homegirl with the cute locs.

Do you boo!

Many curly naturals, particularly those who have done the “big chop” or cut their hair significantly as they were transitioning, get to a point where they desire to see their hair straight. I get it. You want to see how much growth you’ve had when your hair is in an elongated state. Ignore those folks trying to make you feel bad for wanting to see your God given hair styled this way.

But, let’s also be honest about the risks of straightening our coils, kinks and curls. If not done correctly, by using too high of a heat setting, doing too many passes of straightening/curling tools and/or not using a quality heat protectant, you’re just asking for trouble and these things are a recipe for disaster. I’m talking about an irreparable heat damage disaster. Then you’re gonna have to cut that off and start over’ kind of disaster.

No one wants that for you, but we all know someone who it’s happened to, so there is a risk.

And regardless of how much love and attention you’ve been giving your strands to keep them healthy, bouncy, and strong, one bad straightening experience can totally wipe out your years of hard work and leave you with a damaged hair pattern.

But you know I love the versatility that our hair offers and I love switching it up with my styles. Personally, I don’t straighten my own hair. When I do get that itch to see my inches, or just want to rock it really sleek, I go to a trained professional who I trust with natural hair care. It’s also not something that I do very often; maybe just once or twice a year.

There’s a specific technique to straightening naturally curly hair so that it doesn’t get damaged.

So, you have to determine for yourself whether it’s worth it and if you can deal with the consequences if the unthinkable happens. We put a lot of time and love into our hair, so choose wisely.