i love amel larrieux and everyone should buy her albums... lol anyway... back to the story at hand... you see her hair... i think its crazy that many people tell others they shouldn't go natural if their hair isn't going to look that way... now i'm goin to show you a pic of what many people fear how their hair will look natural..
now i see nothing wrong with that style but, show this picture to a little girl she will say that this lady would need to comb her hair and that it looks terrible... show them the picture of amel larrieux and many little kids will exclaim how pretty her hair is... what is the difference between the two pictures... there is none! you can't control how your hair looks before birth just suck it up and accept it...
now i'm about to show a pic of me that i used to not like... i always saw something wrong with my hair... but, i look at it now and admire how pretty my hair is...
it saddens me sometimes when i realize how these subjective ideals of beauty affects me. no one ever wants say that about themselves... and it affects me now even more than ever now that my hair is loc'd. i must have my hair retwisted every 2 weeks or i feel like my hair is not acceptable to leave the house... and when i tell someone about my situation their response is always "that's how dreads are suppose to look" i don't have dreads... there is a distinct difference between dreads and locs... i give mad respect to any female that dreads her hair because she is TRULY not following conventional standards of beauty.. here's a working definition of both so you better understand how they are not the same...
Dreads
to refrain from using conditioners, brushing and/or combing. This method created dreadlocks that varied greatly in size, width, shape, length, and texture. The method has come to be known as "Organic," "Neglect," or "Patience". Similarly, "Freeform" dreadlocks are created by allowing the hair to weave naturally together into locks of varying sizes. However, freeform locks are patterned to a degree, as the hair is pried (not parted, just pulled apart in "chunks") into fairly determined sections after washing, as opposed to organic dreadlocks that tend to bifurcate and coalesce haphazardly.
Locs
can be formed by evenly sectioning and styling the loose hair into braids, coils, twists, or using a procedure called dread perming. Backcombing, twist-and-rip, and twist-and-pin are also some of the more popular methods of achieving dreadlocks. One can also utilize tool techniques such as a latch-hook (also known as interlocks). Once installed, the dreads are groomed every few weeks, typically once a month using either natural or commercial products.
so as you can read... dreads are the more live and let be kinda method... whereas locs people actually use product, wash their hair... and care for it...
it hurts me to say but, i unfortunately follow preconceived notions of beauty but, admitting it is the first step to recovery... now i'm not going to stop loc-ing my hair... i infact have developed a bond with each and every loc in my head and have a deeper understanding of what it means to be jamece. now i still will get my nails done, hair maintenance, eyebrows done... lol but, i understand i'm not doing this just for me... i'm doing it to fit in with society and follow their standards of what it means to be beautiful as well.
you can't fault me tho... it's only human nature... heck even animals do it... look at the peacock for example... all those pretty feathers are there just to attract the attention of potential suitor... some peacocks are born with bright, colorful big feathers... others not so much... but, just like the peacock we must learn to make do with what we have and be only what we can be... you...
well... i'm done on my soap box for now... till next time folks... one!
-mece<3
No comments:
Post a Comment