Time for my periodical Natural Hair Reckoning

[deecoily]

When a self-proclaimed "influenster" who is barely older than my domain name, who still chemically relaxes her thinning hair, comes at me to critique me and my advice, trying to say she knows more than I do about natural hair because she is a "licensed cosmetologist" --- you know I am going to heat up off the back foot.

It's a free society and I fully support women of the world being free to make their own choices. You are free to criticize me, and I am free to call out the BS.

On that note, I am not here to convince anyone that they have to do what I do. I am here to provide factual, independent, non-paid information about going natural, to advise those who are considering it, are doing it, have done it and who may need help continuing it. There are millions of women who have breezed through Nappturality to get help and support. And it continues today because honest advice never gets old.

I have been through the wars with natural hair and the people around it. Bad intentions hover like flies around a birthday cake and during the natural hair enlightenment period of the early 2000's we all were fending off a lot of angry and defensive women. I am still fending off the occasional misguided soul.

Nappturality was the FIRST website formed exclusively for Black women with AFRO (nappy) type hair to congregate and learn about our hair and I am so proud of that. We were attacked for our mission to focus exclusively on our own hair type. We were called Nappy Nazis, mean, unwelcoming to curly heads and all other kinds of offensive names because we took a stand against hair discrimination towards AFRO hair and fought for respect in a sea of chemical relaxers with multinational hair care companies telling us how bad and unmanageable our natural hair was so we NEEDED to buy their toxic poison that burned our scalps, dissolved the hair off our heads and caused cancers, scalp de-fatting and all kinds of nasties to our bodies because if we didn't, we wouldn't be accepted in their civilized society.

Nappturality is the big bang of the Natural Hair Revolution. It is a testimony to what can be done when Black women come together in their own place of power to help each other and themselves.

Don't confuse my passion with anger.
Don't confuse my determination with hate.
Don't confuse my temperance with fear.

Everything I do, I do because I love and believe in the Black community I am a part of.

So if you must criticize something,

Criticize the multinationals putting toxic chemicals into Black hair products.
Criticize the marketing companies lying to us on behalf of these companies.
Criticize the people who force their women to use these deadly products because they prefer straight hair.
Criticize the hair companies lying about what they are putting into the products aimed at Black people.
Criticize the government for easing regulations on the use of known carcinogens in cosmetic products.

And help other women to stop using chemicals too.

[LBellatrix]

MAN. They keep on trying, don't they? And yet here Nappturality is, still standing after all these years.

The truth is out here...STILL.

Signed,
LBell
Proud NP OG

[Joyfulocs]

And this is why I came back. Whew!

[deecoily]

Hey sisters it always makes me feel so good to see my OGs still popping in from time to time to keep the lights on. @LBellatrix

Yes I still get the occasional foolishness - usually they don't know any better and they don't know who I am or what NP did/does. I really thought we would have progressed more by now, but with all the hair product companies jumpig on the bandwagon now and promoting chemical-laced products full of shit and crackle it's still a marathon.

Oh and @Joyfulocs I noticed your join date is the default - do you remember what year you joined?

[Joyfulocs]

My join date is probably around the same as Lbellatrix.

[Joyfulocs]

And I'm glad you and my naps are still here.