Natural Hair Day???

I was wasting time online the other day when I came across the most hilarious piece of “news” one could possibly publish.  Stop the presses: TYRA BANKS HAS DECLARED SEPT. 8TH NATURAL HAIR DAY.   Now, before we get into this, please, take a moment to digest the uppercase info.  The story in a nutshell is as follows: Season 5 for the Tyra Banks show will air on Sept. 8th.  Tyra wants to “take it to the next level” and have women (including herself) “rock what they’ve got and be proud!” (Her words, which is why I’m being a good English graduate and using the quotation marks.)  She is encouraging women to go natural with her.

I read the article and had to laugh because, well, I’m not sure why, but I do know that confusion has already spread like wildfire.  Tyra’s definition of going natural is to wear her ‘real’ hair instead of a weave.  This in itself brings up the whole debate of  what is natural.  She didn’t say she wouldn’t relax it, show her kinks & coils or anything of that nature, and there I give her some credit.  She fed her audience enough for them to grab hold and tune in, but has made no distinctions or promises.  I read some of the comments from readers after finishing the article and needless to say, some were positive, most were not.

Here’s the thing.  I’m not going to hate on Tyra, but I will give my honest opinion.  I’m sure she’s done her part in some ways to help weaken the stereotype that the fashion powers have when it comes to models that don’t look like a pasty stick figure.  Everyone has differing opinions on what natural hair is, and I’m sure that to some, my hair wouldn’t be natural enough, and that’s fine.  To me, natural hair is free of chemical processing.  I have a semi-permanent colour in my hair at the moment, and I like it.  Sometimes I get my hair pressed.  Most times I wear it the way God gave it to me: curly and wild.  I think it is possible to be natural and have extensions put in or a weave.  The major factor involved is that it may be something you may do occasionally, and is not a case of never showing your real hair.  A friend of mine went on vacation and put extensions in: she swam every day, looked gorgeous and never once worried about the humidity or fussed about how her hair looked.  To me, it’s all about using your head (no pun intended).  There are a lot of women who have hair issues who can’t live and let live.  Instead, they project their junk onto others.  Personally, I don’t believe that every woman who relaxes, wears weaves or such is ashamed of their hair.  I think it’s silly to come to this conclusion, although I’ve read this comment quite a few times on different hair blogs.  There are women like that, sure, but it can also be a case of something just working well for a person and her lifestyle.  As for Tyra…well, I don’t think she falls into the ‘natural’ category.  What can I say, I deal with my hair every day.  I am my own stylist.  Sometimes the hair cooperates, sometimes it doesn’t.  I don’t need to mark my calendar for a natural hair day since every day has been natural for the last few years.