Hello to all the readers,

I think what I have to say has already been said, and I am pleased by all the responses that I've read. I applaud all the women who have posted their ideas on both permed AND natural hair. My whole perspective is having healthy hair. Your body is God's temple and it should be healthy. That means your hair too. I used to advocate going natural for all black women, but you know what? Everyone has a different experience and has a right to do whatever the heck they want to do.

I will leave an excerpt on here from my website that I've written on tips for growing dreadlocks, and would suggest anyone to check it out for some advice on starting with locks.
Here is the link for the full article, pictures and more advice:

http://www.geocities.com/coolpoete/dreadlocks.htm


Black Women: Appearance vs. Health
----------------------------------
On a final note, I would like to address the black woman in particular. Now, I know nothing of what it is like to go through the struggles of being a woman. My word of encouragement to you is to simply take a look at why it is many of you struggle with the idea of going natural. I have spoken to many black women who ask me about my hair, and I will be completely honest with what I think of women who complain about having a perm. If you want good healthy long natural hair, you have to be ready for the maintenance. Most black women don't want to put the effort into taking care of the hair naturally, so they alter it. By altering I simply mean changing the way your hair looks naturally by removing the curl. Dying, perming, relaxing, blow-drying, hot-combing, whatever you want to call it. One way or the other, when you add something foreign to the hair that un-curls the natural tight curl, it goes against what your hair wants to do. Doing that is just not good for your hair in the long run. Yes, I recognize the fact of the pressures society places on black women to look a certain way for all of its reasons. And thus, the black woman is forced to improvise. Perm for 6 months, go natural the next. Or the switching of hair products over short periods of time. My point is not to recommend that all black women wear locks. Neither do I have a "wonder-product" that is going to make your hair straight without doing damage to it somehow. For some textures and grades of hair, many women have found products that they can adjust their lifestyle to.

To those that are struggling because their hair is suffering: reconsider your premonitions, preconceived ideas and notions about going natural. You do have options. If your hair is that important to you, taking care of it won't be a chore, but a delight. If he don't like it like that, then maybe he doesn't like you for the right reasons. What about the workplace? That's your decision. If a perm is what they want, and you want what they have, then you have to make that decision, but realize that you do have options! Besides that, the workplace is changing as the years go by. In life there are sacrifices to be made, and none of them are easy. If you think that the (African) cultural lifestyle of short hair is not for you then that's okay, but don't look down on it as being primitive or unsophisticated. God doesn't make mistakes. Take a look at nature, and how odd and ugly some elements seem individually. But put it all the single ugly elements together and you will never see anything else that is more beautiful on the planet! So what can I do you ask? Take the time and energy, find a natural hair salon in or around your area and talk to them. I'm guaranteed they will have a solution for you


I hope this was beneficial to you all, by the way, I'm a 26 year old dredlocked black male from the Islands.!

-CoolPoetE
http://www.geocities.com/coolpoete