Maybe so WYLTK, maybe so!

being natural fucking rocks!!!

I just know that if I currently had a natural, it would take me a whole extra hour to get ready in the morning!

I guess we will just have to disagree on the perm issue. I still don’t believe that relaxed hair is easier to maintain, than natural hair.

I honor and respect Madame CJ Walker for her business savyness and her marketing ingenuity, not because she created the relaxer.

PS – A 3 year old with a perm?!?!?! Now that’s just down right ridiculous! Some people just don’t know how to properly care for their children!

It was a hassle to convince my mom to let me get a perm at 14!!! In fact, I had to sneak and have my aunt take me to the salon, and my mom was mad at her for a day b/c of it!

I NEVER said “perm hair is the same as black [natural] hair.”!

Where did you get that?!?!?! (You folks need to read more carefully!!!)

I’m black and I have a perm. I’ve had one since I was 14 years old. I know clear as day the difference between permed hair and natural hair.

What I said was, “Permed black hair is still black hair…”. Meaning even when the hair is permed you can still tell that it is genetically black hair. Perming doesn’t all of a sudden look like genetically white hair; it just becomes more manageable. Permed black hair looks NOTHING like white hair. That’s the point! Since Cynthia believes perming your hair makes you akin to whites.

“Permed black hair is still black hair, and there’s no mistaking it for any other kind of hair (white, asian, etc.)” That was my full sentence in #9.

You may believe, according to your styling procedures, that relaxed hair does not make styling any easier or quicker, and that’s fine. But I do! I’ve been both natural and relaxed myself, and blowing natural hair is quite the undertaking!!!

I’m sure your natural hair looks great on you, and I’m sure you can do some great styles with it. When I wore my hair natural is looked great too! But it was a headache to maintain.

My perm makes life easier for me, and many, many, many other women I know. So to Madam CJ Walker, I am grateful, very grateful!!!

I do not agree that “perm hair is the same as black [natural] hair.” I have been natural for 7 years, and my natural hair state is in no way reminiscent of my hair when it was relaxed. The texture of my hair when it was relaxed is completely different from what it is today. A relaxer is a chemical altering agent, therefore by this characteristic alone, relaxed and natural hairs are different.

Additionally, I do not agree that relaxed hair makes styling quicker or easier. I have experience both relaxed and natural hair care regiments, so I believe my assessment is valid. When I had a relaxer, after washing my hair I had to blow dry and bump it with the curling iron. Now that I have natural hair, after washing it, I twist it or wear it curly. Different duties, but same amount of time.

I truly believe “to each their own,” but I love-love natural hair. I have encouraged several of my girlfriends to go natural and they have. I have even discouraged several of my girlfriends from relaxing their daughter’s hair. It bothers me to see a little black girl with a relaxer (I have seen a 3 year old with a relaxer–disturbing). When I see this, I think to myself that she has the rest of her life to damage her hair, there is no need start so early.

What do you mean by “paletable”? I can only gather that you mean akin.

Therefore, I don’t think I can agree that Walker’s products make black people “more ‘paletable’ [akin] to whites”.

I don’t think any black person with a perm can be mistaken for a white person. I don’t think permed black hair looks anything like white hair; nothing close actually (IMHO).

I honor Madame CJ Walker b/c I believe her products make life much easier for black women. Her products allow your hair to be more manageable and styled much quicker.

I don’t think perms “wipe away” our heritage, I think it wipes away the frustration of spending hours on our hair. Permed black hair is still black hair, and there’s no mistaking it for any other kind of hair (white, asian, etc.). So there’s no loss of identity or heritage. Only the gain of time and more styling options!