Why don't you wear your hair in an afro?

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Hello there lovelies~

Recently a student was in my office and she asked me the question, “why don’t you ever wear your hair in an afro?”  I thought about it for a bit and then replied, “I don’t know.”  However, I found this to be a very interesting question so I thought I’d write a post about it.  Before answering the question I think it’s important to clarify what was meant by afro.  I asked her what she meant and she said blown out or combed out.  I thought that this was important to clarify because I have worn my hair in a “wash and go” and had people consider it an afro although I do not.  To me an afro is a style achieved by combing your natural hair while it is dry (which I do not do).  Now, to answer the question at hand.  I like the look of afros on other people, but I choose not to wear one for several reasons.  Personally, I like my hair to have definition which in my opinion afros lack.  Also, my hair is pretty long and therefore my afro would be big.  I think that I would be very self conscious to walk around with a big afro.  Also, I don’t like combing my hair while it is dry.   Combing natural hair is damaging, especially when the hair is dry (dry here meaning without water not without moisture).  As far as blowing my hair out, that just straightens it.  So, I guess the ultimate answer as to why I don’t wear my hair in an afro is because I don’t like it for me. 

I think that it’s interesting that people have gotten one image of natural hair stuck in their minds.  I guess this does bring up another question of what exactly is natural?  To me, being natural and wearing your hair natural are two different things.  If your hair is without regular chemical treatment then it is natural.  If you wear your hair natural hair without manipulating it with heat then you are wearing it natural.  However, to me, wearing your hair natural doesn’t mean that it has to be in an afro, nor does it mean that your hair can’t be manipulated and styled and your curl pattern altered.  Wearing your hair natural, to me, simply means that you don’t manipulate with chemicals or heat

So, there you have it, why I don’t’ wear my hair in an afro.

Do you wear your hair in an afro?  Why or why not? Is there a difference between being natural and wearing your hair natural? 

Let me know what you think……

Tootles for now!