01 THE NATURAL MOVEMENT
IN HAIR
All hair has Natural Movement to it—cowlicks and whorls; it can hug the head naturally or stand out from the head naturally; it falls forward or kicks back; the neckline moves upward, or inward, or downward or to the side; the strands have natural bends or coils or kinks, etc. We have the movement on the head and from the head, and then the strands themselves can have movement or bends to them.
When we work with what the hair wants to do and help it look great doing that, it
lets the hair do the work and minimizes what we have to do to it. We don’t have
to rely on styling techniques or products as much to force the hair. Working with
our natural hair movement can create a strong base for having longevity between
washes with minimal effort—refreshing is easy since we are just encouraging it to do
what it already wants to do. It can help the changes in weather and humidity to not
have a detrimental effect on how our hair looks.
When we allow the natural movement in the hair it stays healthier, because we are
not having to put stress on it to force it to do something different than it wants to do.
As we move away from forcing our hair, we find that the Curl Pattern can completely
change (and get stronger) and it can find its curl groups (definition) easier. The
confusion and stress are removed from both us and our hair.
The biggest difference when choosing to embrace the natural movement in our hair
is that our interactions with our hair turn from negative interactions— forcing, tension,
redirecting, taming, fighting; to positive interactions that connect us more with our
hair—checking in, helping, and encouraging. It gives us a growing understanding
and acceptance of our natural, unique expression of beauty. When our interactions
are working with and encouraging the hair—reading what it needs and giving it to
it—then we also get to see our hair respond by becoming happier and healthier.
Cooperation is relieving and enjoyable for both you and your hair.
SIDE NOTE:
I know some of you are thinking, “But, the natural movement in MY hair isn’t good and doesn’t look good,” and that might be true right this second, yet from my experience, most people who are unhappy with their natural curls or movement haven’t truly met their natural curls
and movement—they have just met the sad, confused version of their natural hair. Most of the negative behaviors in our hair are signs that it needs something or needs us to interact with it differently. Once we learn how to give our hair what it needs to be healthy and encourage our
hair to do its thing well, then it stops looking confused and tortured, and we begin to see its
beauty.
ANOTHER SIDE NOTE:
When voicing that I help people embrace the natural movement in their hair, I sometimes get
met with the response, “So, you do dreadlocks.” Let’s address this train of thought. Living with,
embracing, and encouraging our natural movement isn’t leaving the hair alone and unattended to fully do whatever it wants to do. Though I, personally, love the look of well-kept locs (and have had locs myself multiple times in my life), they are not what we are talking about when discussing embracing and allowing the natural movement in the hair. Locs are a style put into the hair that has a different routine, product needs, and upkeep than free-flowing curls and natural movement. As a Hair Professional, I don’t recommend wearing locs that have formed out of the neglect of your hair. It’s not healthy. Locs are a specialized style that needs the guidance of a specialist to be done well and keep the scalp and hair healthy.
CONSIDER THE TOLLS
The routine needed to give our hair what it needs to be healthy and for our curls to be happy isn’t actually very complicated or time-consuming—it is very attainable for most people.
Consider this... Anytime we are making our hair do something different than how it
naturally is, or what it naturally does or wants to do, it takes a toll on the hair—most
of the time it starts out minimal and isn’t noticeable until we repeatedly do it. Most hair can handle some tolls before beginning to not function or look good. We’ll talk more about this in Section Four. At some point, we will have to face the tolls.
We don’t have to cut out all tolls, yet I challenge us to consider them because they do affect our hair, especially over time. If we are taking a ton of tolls on our hair, we can’t be upset with our hair for looking good or acting beat up. Prioritize the tolls and then decide if there are any that you can stop or change.