I'm a pretty active member of a local natural hair group in town and whenever new people join, I seem to be the one they talk with most. Why? Because I'm the one preaching the gospel of "keep it simple". I think my fifteen years at this really lends itself to that notion. I've avoided getting caught up in all the hot products of the moment because I managed for so many years without them. And, since I'm always being asked: "What do you use?" and get looks of disbelief when I say: "only shampoo, conditioner, and shea or mango butter," I think I'm getting something right.

I've explained to others time and again that all of those other products on the market for natural hair are about manipulating the curl pattern. Now, I know that we like to have more length or bigger hair and this can be achieved without slathering purple minty products laden with mineral oil in our hair. I have a good friend who loves to remind everyone that mineral oil is a by-product of crude oil. Yes, the same oil used to produce gasoline for your car. It just sits on the surface doing nothing for your hair in actuality. Two strand twist outs or braid outs can help you "stretch" your hair. 

We have got to stop overwhelming ourselves and others with these arsenals of products. So many of us will find it's just not necessary to use all of that stuff. The only thing I might add to my products (occasionally) are essential oils. They're great for making the hair fragrant and addressing any hair and scalp issues such as dandruff or hair loss. 

Let's remember to pamper ourselves internally as much as we do externally. Nutrient rich food, water, and rest are essential to healthy hair just like the rest of the body. So spend your extra money at the farmers market or a yoga class (yes, I'm biased to those two). As for our hair externally, we should aim for clean and moisturized. Simple. 

First let me note that my horoscope the day my trip to Atlanta began warned me that things would not go as planned and I needed to go ahead and accept that...

A local hair stylist organized a bus trip to attend the World Natural Hair Show in Atlanta and I initially had no intentions to go. At the last minute, I was swayed. I won't go into the details of how the trip went down but I will have to re-think joining such a caravan in the future. Having said that, on to the hair show. I actually only attended the first day of the event and even then I only did a walk through of all the vendors. Well, I missed some great t-shirt vendors as it was so congested and overwhelming. More importantly, I was not pleased with some of the other vendors I did encounter.

There was a disproportionate amount of attention given to dreadlocks as there were products, hair accessories, and styling demos abundant. Meanwhile, there was little available in the way of styling and general maintenance education on "loose" natural hair. This was odd as there were far more attendees without dreads than with. It's very telling on where the styling and hair care industries are in their perception and approach to natural hair. It seems that the trajectory consistently finds its way back to straightening the hair and excessive product use and the only hair considered truly natural is that which is dreadlocked. One attendee and traveling companion witnessed a booth where loose natural hair was being flat ironed. Most of us bemoaned the presence of Asian beauty suppliers hawking products and tools with little to do with natural hair. There were even vendors pushing long, silky hair weaves. Even still, there were numerous product lines like Uncle Funky's Daughter and Miss Jessie's to give the product junkies a major fix. Some of the reps for these product lines were purported to be lacking customer service or just plain rude. But again, what concerns me most is all of the vendors who were not there with good intentions. This can be also be attributed to the organizers being part of the capitalist machine. It was for all intents and purposes a commodities fest. One of which I did patronize. I got an "I (heart) being black" tee from the company of the same name and two hair accessories from my already favorite, Tomoka's Twists who's owner/ creator is just as sweet in person as online.

I even got a chance to chat in the hotel lounge with a gentleman who was involved in the creation of this event and,well, pending the manifestation of some exciting plans he has, I'll be sharing a bit of that conversation at a later time. I know that seems quite cryptic, but trust me on this one.

I and several others have come to the conclusion that many of the natural hair stylists simply lack real training on caring for natural hair. Many of them still use the same products, tools, and methods meant for maintaining straight hair. They aren't necessarily to blame as they've been trained and continue to be by those who learned in hair schools or the like to work predominantly with straight hair and chemical treatments. This just isn't what we're looking for and it just won't work so, many of us choose to forego stylists. This is evident from the high usage of Youtube by those making the tutorials and those watching. This natural hair show reflects that same discrepancy in education because at its helm is a professed natural hair stylist. 

A journey that began for me fifteen years ago and seems to be culminating in a massive movement deserves an event with the purest of intentions. Until that comes, I have no problem operating grassroots--as I have all these years--educating, supporting, and loving natural hair one head at a time.