I haven't had a perm since January, and recently cut the remaining perm off my hair due to a perm/color fiasco that took my hair out in patches. When I saw it for the first time in its all-natural state I was mortified. I looked like Celie from The Color Purple. It was nappy and I looked like a different person. But it made me think. Do I have a problem with being natural, getting back to my roots? Am I a sellout for preferring straight hair? Don't get me wrong, natural hair looks wonderful on some other people, but I hated it on me. Perhaps I just didn't know what to do with it, but I felt so insecure. I had it blow-dried, and felt like a million dollars again after it was straight. I got braids the next day and will continue to do so to ease the transition while my natural hair continues to grow-out; but my goal is to rock it naturally in about a month. Do you think I'm going to make it?

Thanks!
Newly Natural Nadine Orlando, FL

Follow up:

Julu Says... Nadine, I feel you. I currently have a perm, but for a number of years rotated between wearing natural and permed hair. You ask if we think you’re going to make it. Hmm, depends on your state of mind. Your hair only represents a small facet of who you really are. But at the end of the day, the only person you need to worry about satisfying is you. Had you ever considered going natural before the fiasco, or did its result cause you to make a rash decision? I say give the natural hair a chance. I can’t condone remaining loyal to anything that takes you through unnecessary changes-and that includes a perm. If you find in 6 months or so that your hair is once again healthy enough to be chemically treated and you want to give ‘straight’ another shot, then go for it. It’s all about personal choice. But perhaps this decision will cause some much needed introspection into how you view you, before you worry about how the rest of the world sees you. I understand we live in a society that would lead us to believe that straight hair is where it's at, but I also see more and more people who look like me going back to their roots - if only for fad’s sake. So whether you choose to wear it straight, locked, wavy, or kinky I don’t care - it’s your hair. Just don’t let the hair make you. Consider it like an accessory – something you’re fortunate enough to have, but it won’t make/break you or your outfit. I need my sistas to be whole..bunk a hair do! Write us back and let us know how you faired...

Drake Says... OK Nat, check this out. It seems to me that you already know you have a problem with how others view you, or you would have rocked the natural look all the way. Next, if you’re gonna go natural then there is a mentality that goes along with that. It says I'm a strong, powerful woman. You need to embrace that power and do what you really want to do - freak what society says. On another note, I am aware that women have to be careful when going natural to not damage their hair in the process; but your problem is more internal than external. Feel me?..namean

Fever Says... Nadine everyone has those fears at first when going natural - including men (wearing cornrows/locks). The majority of sistahs haven't been natural since childhood. We have let society pressure us into looking European for way too long. So many of us want to change our God given appearance to please our vanity. If you prefer straight hair, then you have to do all that comes with it – i.e. hot-oil treatments, clipping the ends, conditioning, wrapping..all of it. If going natural is what you aspire to do, it requires just as much work. It sounds like you aren't prepared for that. But if you are serious, let a professional do it and leave them girlfriends alone!!! Just because you can do lil girl’s hair doesn't mean you should do it for a grown-@ss woman. "Girl I bought all this damm hair and now my head looks like a mop! But it looked nice on Diamond…" Don’t let that be you boo-boo. Wear the braids a while, or do the fake locks and see how you like it. It takes time to do anything correctly, and this is no different. Good luck!