I'm a new poster to this board( but I have been lurking) and I haven't read all the replies yet. But I had to reply to the topic.
I live in the South and in my town few young people wear 100% natural hair (i.e. afros, barber cuts, two-strand twists, locs ect...) and very few beauticians know how to style of it. Most women in my city perms or weaves. The men wear braids and fros but the women don't.
I went natural in 1999 becaues I was sick of perms that didn't last, getting my scalp burned, and I wanted to wear a low fro. When I first went natural all my friends thought I was nuts and told me to go smack a perm in my hair. Now my fro is full and my friends see people like Jill Scott, so they have accepted it more.
Natural is not a fad for me. I like my naps, knots and kinky hair texture. I believe all hair is good, including the nappiest, toughest hair to comb on the planet. Sometimes I like straight hair, so I'll put on a wig. But my heart and my head will always be nappy!