Why is this generation more accepting of their natural hair and why?

Natural hair has never been more mainstream. It’s in movies and on or TVs. Companies have been falling all over themselves to make products specifically for women with natural hair whereas in the past their focus was on relaxers, hair color and shampoos. (Honestly, shampoos are advertised all the time, but I cannot ever remember seeing a TV ad for a conditioner). Celebrities are wearing their natural hair and gracing the covers of magazines. There are natural hair forums and events and education around caring for natural hair. Little girls and boys are growing up seeing their mommies, daddies, aunts etc. embracing their natural hair, taking care of it, working with it rather than fighting against its nature and that has created an environment where natural hair is unique and special and versatile and OK.

With more and more women embracing and wearing their natural hair and these women helping their little girls and boys to love their own curls, natural hair love continues to grow, and more and more people are accepting. The younger generations, having been exposed to more diversity of cultures, lifestyles etc. are adamant about equality and social justice and the importance of acceptance of what makes us each unique this has helped to fuel the idea that society as a whole is a lot more accepting. But is this true?

The truth is prejudices and biases are often unconscious and have been embedded in our society for years and years. It will take more than a single generation to undo the damage, even though a single generation can initiate and propel change. Our society is multigenerational. There are still bosses discriminating against staff members with natural hair and students being punished and traumatized for daring to wear their natural hair by teachers, administrators and their peers. Locs are still very much taboo and kinkier textures are not as well represented in media as looser curl patterns. Those who remain prejudiced are still passing on their prejudices to members of the younger generation that’s within their sphere of influence. Within the natural hair community remains the mostly unspoken hierarchy of hair types. The curlier the better. The longer the better and there are the usual arguments regarding whether coloring your hair revokes your natural hair community membership card or if wearing wigs and weaves means you haven’t truly embraced your own texture. We are still very focused on defining our curls, on fighting shrinkage on making hair “prettier”.

Millennials and Gen Z are truly more accepting of natural hair in themselves and others, perhaps because they have also had more exposure to it in the families, friends, on social media and in traditional media. But it’s not as though there haven’t been plenty examples of bigotry and prejudice from members of these generations. Society has made great strides towards natural hair acceptance, creating an environment for young ones to believe in all the beauty of their natural self. Their remains a lot to be done to keep the gains we have made and improve on them. In the past, the accepted wisdom was that natural hair was just too much work. It was too hard to care for and was not very versatile. Now we know that’s not true and that there are many easy, simple and quick low maintenance, low manipulation hairstyles that can help your natural curls look their best. The list below contains several of these styles.

• Wash and go with or without definition • Mini twists • Twist outs • Braid out • Finger coils • Roll, tuck and pins Make one of these your go-to signature style today.