MACON, Ga. — From 13WMAZ's Sabrina Burse: The natural hair movement is something I decided to learn more about a few years ago because I wanted to learn more about my culture. The movement encourages people of African ancestry to embrace their natural textured hair.
Four-year-old Allister is a regular at Head Over Heels Hair Salon in Macon.
His father, Victor White Jr., takes pride in wearing a natural style, dreadlocks.
"My hair is my power," White said. "So, I just went ahead and did the same for him and let him know that you don't have to have your hair a certain type of way to be accepted into society."
White says he has felt social pressure to shave off his locs, with some people assuming they were dirty.
"Locs are kind of like associated with bad stuff, ghetto hooligans and stuff like that," White said.
Even the name itself — dreadlocks — is offensive to White.
"I say locs. I don't say dreads because that's not what they are. My hair doesn't look dreadful at all," White said.
But, how people view natural styles seems to be changing.
Research from market intelligence agency, Mintel, says relaxer sales dropped about 36 percent between 2012 and 2017.
A relaxer is a chemical lotion or cream that loosens curls to make hair easier to straighten. It some cases, it gets rid of the hair's natural curl pattern all together.
A Georgia law maker wants to stop hair discrimination with Senate Bill 286. It would protect people who wear hairstyles that are historically associated with their race.
The bill would ban discrimination against those hairstyles unless they interfere with work.
Naturalistas get their hair done at a salon in Macon
"Some companies and some places don't want you there with different colors or different styles and that is the negative for our black community that we're dealing with now," stylist Monica Head said.
Head says some of her clients choose to wear their natural hair in protective styles like braids, locs, twists, or other textured styles.
She says styles like those keep hair safely tucked away, require minimal upkeep, and promote hair growth when properly moisturized.
Teiona Chapman protects her hair by wearing a quick weave. Her stylist cornrows her natural hair down, and then adds extensions.
"You don't have to worry too much about putting too much heat on your hair and for your hair to be damaged," Chapman said.
Stylist Kisha Pina says she stopped relaxing her hair 17 years ago.
"It burned me like fire. Whatever brand I used, it burned and it was uncomfortable. So, why continue to do something to myself that was making me uncomfortable," Pina said. "Sometimes people are caught up in the 'oh you have good hair.' What is really good hair? Good hair is healthy hair."
White says having versatile hair and wearing it how he wants gives him a sense of individuality.
"It's most definitely a sign of the change of the times," he said. "It's like people are feeling more comfortable with being who they are."
Folks sporting natural hair styles
Here's a list of natural hair care tips from Head Over Heels stylist Monica Head:
- Your hair is just like your body and skin. When you take care of it, you'll have healthy hair.
- Hair care starts from the inside. Drink plenty of water and eat fruits and vegetables to promote hair growth.
- Use moisturizing products with protein to improve your hair's strength and moisture. Make sure not to use too much protein, though, that can cause breakage.
- Sleep with a head scarf, bonnet, or on satin/silk pillow cases to protect hair.
- Find an educated stylist.
13WMAZ's naturalistas
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