Natural hair care

[coscass]

It seems I have a history of wording things wrongly, to the point where people get up upset with me, but let me give this a go--

I googled "natural hair care" a while ago, before I started LHC and CO I believe, and I found a bunch of links. However, they were for african american hair. Once in a while I'll look things up like, "natural frizz reducer" or "natural shampoo/conditioner", "natural this or that" just out of curiosity. But it seems like anything I look up that has "natural" in it, comes up primarily as african american haircare. I was surprised to see that. Obviously anyone of any hair type can follow these sorts of things for the benefit of their hair, but I was just wondering- do most people assume only african american people know about CO washing, shae butter, aloe gel, and things of that nature?

I've probably worded this wrong again, and upset someone, and if I have I'm incredibly sorry.:(

[Dreams_in_Pink]

that's because african hair "seems" to be the hardest type of hair ever. At least that's what majority think. Our difference here is that we think natural treatments can (and should) be applied to all types of hair.

[Kaijah]

I've always thought it's because most African American hair types are likely to refer to their hair as natural (aka in full afro, curly, kinky states) versus relaxed (chemically straightened). Usually they have very fine, easily damaged hair that needs a TON of moisture to be happy in its natural state, so voila. All those high moisture content routines are really popular with a particular group, those are the results you'll find on Google.

And hey - never forget, if you don't ask, you can't learn. No one should be offended by you trying to understand.

[Tovah]

It's most likely because hairstyles that do no use processing for African Americans are called "naturals." I think you may do better with your searches if you use the term "organic hair care."

[coscass]

It's most likely because hairstyles that do no use processing for African Americans are called "naturals." I think you may do better with your searches if you use the term "organic hair care."
Organic! *facepalm* Duh, I should have guessed that next. Thanks!

[Silver & Gold]

It's a matter of semantics. When black people use the phrase "natural hair care" I don't think they are necessarily applying the term 'natural' to the items used on the hair but rather to the hair itself. Because people with somewhat straighter and silky hair have been held the cultural standard of beauty in our area of the globe, black women for decades have tried to torture their hair into submission to get it to fit some kind of perceived cultural standard of beauty. When black women decided to give a name to letting their hair be free to do it's own thing they used the term 'natural' to describe their hair.

When you google 'natural hair' you are thinking of things to wash, condition and style your hair with that are natural products. I think this is where the problem exists.

That said, a lot of black women who go natural with their hairstyle also find that natural products are the best to care for their hair. So the many forums dedicated to caring for 'natural hair' (meaning black hair) are a rich resource for learning about using natural products in your hair. However, not everything that works well for black women's hair is going to work well for a white woman's hair and visa versa.

ETA: After I posted I realized that I was redundant. I guess there was some cross posting while I was composing. Sorry.