The 24-year-old Austin native is hardly alone.
The latter is what caused White to finally make her exit.
Through college, she heavily relied onprotective styles, including using wigs, to transition.
White says she would spend 30 minutes trying to get her hair into a sleek bun.
Black women’s hair remains a site ofprejudicedue to white/European beauty constructs that position straight hair as good hair.
A Google search of “best products for natural hair” will produce more than 900 million results.
But while White felt an affiliation with the digital community, Hooper did not.
“It was just more, I’m tired of my hair breaking off.
I’m tired of getting this chemical that burns on my head.
I just don’t want to do it anymore, so I’m not.”
But Hooper’s hesitancy about straightening treatments changed suddenly and she decided to try an at-home relaxer.
“Locs are the style that works for me the best.
It’s easy to care for,” she explains.
She believes people in the community are voicing less disapproval.
“It’s kind of been more acceptable in a way to relax your hair,” she says.
“Because I perspire a lot in my head, my hair gets tangled.
And it’s hard to manage.
It gets puffy; it’s all over the place.
And I hate that look,” she says.
“I decided to go back to perms which is much easier to handle.”
“You have to buy all these products to use on your [natural] hair.
And they’re not cheap.
“It’s weird.
relaxers, in Jarrett and Whites cases.
“Natural does not equal healthy.
Just because your hair is natural, does not mean that its healthy.
“We’re talking about a caustic chemical that has a super high pH.”
But Kikam also says Black women should be wary of self-diagnosing theirhair problemswithout receiving an evaluation from a dermatologist.
“Don’t proceed to relaxers and compound the issue without medical guidance,” says Kikam.
And to stay natural, persistence is a must.
And as far as manageability goes, Lenzy remains firm in her position too.
Ultimately, “This is your hair.
You have to do it every day,” Lenzy says.
As for White, she believes she made the right decision.
“As of right now, I love being relaxed.
I feel like it fits my lifestyle and how I like to wear my hair,” she says.
“The one thing I kind of wanted to stress is that I didn’t hate my natural hair.
I like my curls.
It’s just that it was really time-consuming for me.
But if that ever changed, I could see myself going back to natural.”
