Toia B.closeAuthor: Toia B.Name: Toia Barry Email: tobnatural@gmail.com Site: About:
Toia B. is a wife, mom and natural hair enthusiast. This online platform has become a resource for positive images of women with textured hair and useful hair care advice. Since going back to natural in the Fall of 2009, Toia’s aim has been to inspire and share what she has learned to help others embrace their natural beauty.
Another good one… Comparison is the thief of joy. Truisms for life in general, yes? I can’t help but think, though, how apropos this statement is with respect to a person’s individual natural hair journey. A “code of conduct”, if you will, for the natural hair community. You cannot truly enjoy your own beautiful natural hair if you’re steadily comparing yourself to others. Now, in no way am I saying that admiring someone else’s hair means that you don’t love your own. But it’s one thing to look at someone in admiration and another to constantly wonder why someone’s hair is so awesome and yours isn’t. Follow what I’m saying? The more you compare, the more you stress and beat yourself up about the plight of your hair which may not even be a plight in the first place. Not only is this a counterproductive practice but it causes discouragement…
Our resident natural hair care professional Simeko Watkins-Hartley answers… “My hair is very healthy and I don’t have split ends, but it’s the same length for the last 6 months. What’s up with that?” OK… so you’ve done everything to retain the length of your hair: protective styles, proper moisturization, protein treatments & regular trims and still, your hair is at the same length it was several months ago. “What’s up with that” you ask?! If you’ve done everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) externally you possibly can to care for your hair and it still seems to be at the same length, then maybe you’ve reached your MTL (Maximum Terminal Length) or in other words… your hair growth limit. Now, let me ask you this: have you ever wondered why your eyebrow hair never grows past a certain length? Probably not, because it’s just eyebrow hair! Well, much like our eyebrow hair,…
Consider this a continuation of yesterday’s post…This is probably one of the main tips I find myself stressing to newer naturals time and again. Being length-obsessed can be counterproductive. Even worse, comparing the length of your hair or growth rate with the likes of popular vloggers Naptural85, NikkiMae (Natural Chica), Taren Guy or really anyone for that matter can be frustrating and frankly, discouraging. Everyone’s hair is different. Plus, what we see in YouTube videos is the result of years of growth and I’m sure, trial and error. Have you ever gone back to their early stuff? *cue Drake’s “Started From The Bottom”* Even if you may be at the same point in your hair journey as your “hair crush”, there are so many factors involved (diet, exercise, regimen, genetics…) as to why their growth may seem to be on >>fast forward>> while yours is seemingly on «pause». I’ve been there…
