Beat The Thoughts of Perming Your Crown

Hey sisters! can I be real with you for a second? Going natural was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It was liberating and symbolic because my crown in its natural state told the world that I no longer conformed to western "beauty" standards. But then came the struggle. It was too real that at times I considered picking up the creamy crack (perm) to lay out those kinks and curls. How did I combat those thoughts? You are about to find out.


When I went natural nobody told me about the struggle. The natural hood looked so easy until I was hit with the emotional aspects of it later in my experience. My first emotional roller coaster came when I first went natural. At this time I found it difficult to style my crown. Thus, I kept my hair simple which I disliked. And when I tried to achieve a certain style, my attempt was unsuccessful about fifty percent of the time. Because of this I considered returning to the creamie crack.

And then came the dry hair. I never experienced dry hair until I went natural. My crown was chronically dry which brought about more emotional roller coasters. I became a hypochondriac thinking an underlying issue was the root of my dry hair. Fortunately I did more research and learned that I had to moisturize my crown more than I would when my crown was permed.

Anti-natural hair remarks is another factor that made me consider the creamie crack. I received negative remarks from some of my male friends. They literally told me I looked better with permed hair and should go back. And then came my braidtician who complained about my hair in its natural state. She found it difficult to braid, and did not know how to handle it in terms of combing and parting.

Hair care, man what can I say about this one. Out of all of the factors I listed above, hair care almost made me wave my white flag. Our natural hair is exquisite and requires hair care regimens that can last for 60 to 120 minutes. The moisturization process especially if you do it by yourself, can range from 39-50 minutes. Wash out can be an hour long, and twisting can take ninety minutes depending on the length and dept (fullness) of one's crown.

And then there is the fiasco of trying to figure out the products that work best on my crown. I used products that with poor efficacy rates on my crown, so I switched to the expensive ones. Unfortunately I became financially burdened by these products. One product alone can range from $15 to $20 USD. I had to abandon some of the expensive products for the cheaper ones.

The factors I talked about according to my journey almost made me give up, but I remained strong. To combat these struggles I released daily affirmations to myself. I also learned how to care for my crown by watching tutorials on youtube and read articles on popular blogs in our community. For the finacial aspect I switched to price-friendly products such as Shea Moisture, Dark and Lovely, and As I Am, which worked better on my crown.

Individuals have made it seem like the experience is Ice cream and peaches; it is more like ice cream and salt. In other words it is bittersweet. Never feel weak or less of a dedicated natural because of the vulnerable moments you experience. We all experience these struggles including the popular vloggers, bloggers, and founders of natural hair campaigns and organizations. If you feel like giving up; do not!!! Stay strong and endure the struggles that be. Form community or sisterhoods with other women who are natural, and never be ashamed to speak about your struggles.

Although the natural hair experience can be stressful, it is one of the best. I learned how to love myself – not saying that people with perms don't love themselves, – and found myself being a a random motivational speaker to friends who contemplated on going natural or giving up.

With that being said, like our support group called "The Curlhood Circle." It is a forum on Facebook we just started that allows women of color to talk about their natural hair experience, and receive tips, ideas, and educational information from fellow naturals across the globe. If you want to remain private you can always email us at embracethecrown365@gmail.com for private support.