Reasons to enjoy your short natural hair while it lasts

Isn't this lovely? (Source)

I get a lot of statement like ‘Oh, I cannot wait for my natural hair to be long and full like yours. If only my natural hair were this long,’ etc. Apart from the fact that my hair is not that long, and I really doubt that I should be anyone’s hair model now, I always tell them not to be too eager, and say ‘Enjoy your short hair while it lasts.’ At this point, they feel it is because I am trying to make them feel better, but really, it is because as your hair grows in its natural state, the more time, attention, care, etc, it would require from you. I also think short hair is cute, which I also tell them

Here are a few things that are sure to require more care and time as your hair grows longer.

Washing – This would take longer. You wouldn’t be able to wash your natural hair in one big lump again. To wash effectively, you would have to section it before washing. This increases your wash time to at least, three times the normal washing time.

Detangling - Carefully loosing and finger-detangling long full hair takes about 1 hour and more.

Making your hair - Obvious right? Putting your hair in those twists or other protective styles would definitely take longer.

Combing your hair- You can just comb your natural hair anyhow when it’s not too long, so far it is a little bit damp. This is because the comb will not encounter too many potential breaking points, since the strands are short. But once your hair gets longer, because of more breaking points, combing takes more time, requires more skill, and is sometimes completely avoided.

Wearing your hair out - You get to wear your hair out less when it’s long because your afro has a higher risk of being matted up, and your hair is prone to more breakage than usual. Wearing long hair in afro takes a lot of preparation and reparation, should any weather damage be done to the hair.

Basically, when you hair is long and natural, you have to treat it as gently as you treat an egg

So yes, I know you cannot wait for your hair to be as long as that of Kimmaytube, but enjoy it while it is short, because the more it grows, the more attention it would require. Failure to give it that attention would send it back to that short length, which ironically, is what you are trying to get away from.

P.S: Sorry for the late information, but we at African Naturalistas have tagged the month February as 'For the love of Fros', and have been sharing lovely pictures of fros to inspore you in your natural hair journey. To enjoy them, go to our facebook page here, like it, and be inspired by what you see.