Why I’m Becoming a Straight Haired Natural + How I’m Preparing

The decision to go natural isn’t one that most women of color take lightly. That’s because learning to care for coily hair in its natural state is completely different from caring for straight hair, including relaxed hair.

Personally, I didn’t have a problem with my hair when it was relaxed. My hair was long and healthy. But I wanted to take better care of my hair and my body. Putting chemicals on my hair every 8–12 weeks was not it.

See: 5 Reasons to Never Relax Your Hair Again

So, I went natural.

I’ve been on this natural hair journey for well over 20 years. I’ve learned a lot about my type 4 natural hair, but as my lifestyle has changed and my hair has grayed, I’ve discovered I need to make some changes.

For my hair and my sanity!

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not abandoning my hair in its natural state. Plus, I’ve always straightened my natural hair in the winter. I’m only choosing to now care for it in a way that makes it faster and easier.

Straight.

It’s similar to when my hair was relaxed — only without the chemicals.

Now, I’m not delush… Heat and humidity can wreck your silk press. However, living in New York, I only have to deal with that for about three months out of the year, and I’m working on finding products that will help.

Also, since I’ve decided to become a straight haired natural at the end of summer, my hair will have plenty of time for heat training my natural hair. I’m working with a stylist to help.

Benefits of Becoming a Straight Haired Natural

While there are many benefits of flat ironing or silk pressing your hair on a regular schedule, those benefits extend to women of various curl patterns.

Keeping natural hair straight can make it easier to detangle, monitor the condition of your ends, and reduce some of the manipulation that comes with maintaining tightly coiled hair.

One thing that’s pretty much unique to us all, though, is the elimination, or at least drastic reduction of single-strand knots when you keep your hair straight.

Those little fairy knots can be brutal, especially on fine natural hair that is in the type 4a to 4c range.

For me, though, there are five specific reasons I’ve decided to become a straight hair natural. I share all five in this video:

Potential Cons of Becoming a Straight Haired Natural

Everything isn’t all pie in the sky when you decide to keep your hair straight. That’s for sure, and I don’t want to paint it any other way.

These aren’t necessarily things that will happen to you if you decide to straighten your hair regularly, but the risk does increase.

Straightening natural hair regularly can put it at risk for:

• Heat damage (not exactly the same as heat training)
• Curl loosening — not necessarily an issue if you don’t intend to wear your natural curls
• Hair breakage — particularly when using too much heat, straightening too frequently or neglecting proper hair care
• Hair discoloration — specifically gray or lightened hair

That’s why becoming a straight hair natural isn’t simply about pulling out a flat iron every few weeks.

How you care for your hair before, during, and after straightening matters.

How to Maintain Your Natural Hair While Extending the Life of Your Silk Press

You can avoid or reduce many of the potential cons of regularly straightening your natural hair, but it’s important to consider the habits you maintain or develop to prevent them.

You’ll also want to stay on top of certain practices to extend the life of your straight hairstyles.

These include:

• Deep conditioning every wash day without excuse. Healthy hair receives the deep hydration it needs on wash day. (See: Deep Conditioning Is NOT a Scam.)
• Wrapping your hair every night. No sleeping with loose hair.
• Lightly oiling your ends. They’re the oldest and most fragile part of your hair, so you have to treat them accordingly.
• Using a dry shampoo as needed. This will help manage oil buildup on the scalp.
• Putting your hair in snug Bantu knots when exercising. Then, don’t take them down until your hair and scalp are fully dry.
• Keeping your hair covered when it’s raining. A satin cap is sufficient. You can let down those beautiful strands when you arrive at your destination.
• Lastly, not “touching up” your straight hair with more heat between wash cycles. Just let it be.

The longer you can maintain your hair without restyling it with heat, the better.

The goal is to get your hair straight on wash day, maintain it, and avoid repeatedly reaching for your hot tools until the next wash day. This includes a curling iron.

How I’m Preparing to Become a Straight Hair Natural

Again, the decision to straighten your hair regularly isn’t one to take lightly. For starters, you have to have the right products and tools.

You need a plan for cleansing, conditioning, heat protection, straightening, and maintaining your hair between wash days.

That’s especially important when you have fine natural hair.

Fine strands don’t have the luxury of having excessive exposure to heat or manipulation. Since I already know this about my hair, I’m being intentional about how I approach this transition.

I’m currently wearing my hair in twists while I prepare.

In this video, I go into detail about how I’m preparing to become a straight haired natural, including some of the products and tools I’ll be using:

Is Being a Straight Hair Natural Still Being Natural?

This is a question that’s bound to come up when talking about becoming a straight hair natural.

And yes, you’re still natural.

Straightening your hair with heat doesn’t chemically alter the structure of your hair. When you wash your hair, your natural texture is still there, assuming, of course, you haven’t experienced heat damage.

Being natural doesn’t mean you have to wear your hair in its curly or coily state all the time.

You can appreciate your natural texture and still decide that maintaining your hair in that state no longer works best for your lifestyle. Straightening natural hair is not a crime.

That’s where I am.

After more than 20 years of wearing and caring for my natural hair, I’ve learned a lot about my strands. Now I’m using what I’ve learned to make my hair work for this season of my life.

I used to wear my fine natural hair stretched, but even in that state, I was getting a lot of tangling at the roots.

Follow My Straight Hair Natural Journey

I’ll be chronicling my straight hair natural journey over on YouTube, so if you want to keep up with how I’m using different products & tools, how I’m styling my hair, and what I learn along the way, subscribe to my YouTube channel.

I’m also going to share the good and the bad because I fully expect there will be some trial and error involved. I’m learning a lot from other straight hair naturals with long hair though.

Dealing With Hair Breakage?

Breakage is not something I’m particularly concerned with. I’ve learned over the years how to protect my fine strands from that.

If breakage has been a problem for you, take my free analysis with the Breakage Detective tool. It will help you identify some of the habits that may be contributing to your breakage and give you a free guide along with helpful resources you can put to use right away.

You’ll then be added to The Faithful Strand newsletter for ongoing support.

Here’s to healthy natural hair, whether you choose to wear it coily, stretched, or afro to straight.