Somebody ought to be shot

That's right I said it...for the mass ignorance of Black women worldwide on how to care for our hair. How did this happen? Every couple of years my hair would fall out in massive amounts. I didn't know what to do but try to hide it with braids or with the little hair that was left over. I thought that that was just how my hair was. I accepted it, begrudgingly. Today I was reminded of the cluelessness that I used to have. I was at the gym waiting for my cycling class to begin.(I had to come hella early cause these new years folks are taking up everything .) So I went into the women's locker room to do my weekly weigh in. When I looked in the mirror, I noticed that one of my twists wasn't quite twisted at the end. I wet my finger and began twirling. From the right I heard "I like you hair like that." I thought she was talking to the lady behind me with long straight hair, so I kept doing my thang. So she continued " with them twists. It looks pretty." I turned and smiled. "Thank you." She started up again, " I used to twist my hair up like that and wear it for two weeks, but I can't stand my hair. I don't want nothin' to do with it." Then I looked and noticed that she was wiping a PILE of her hair off of the counter. I went to the hand drier and when it started automatically, I noticed another PILE on the floor. She was wearing a hat but from what I could see her hair looked natural. I think she'd just com from the aqua aerobics class and combed her hair. Everything in me wanted to just start rattling off conditioners, styling tips, deep treatments andto tell the wonders of shea butter. "Don't forget the shea butter!" I thought. I tried to encourage her to twist it again herself ,then I would work the conditioners in to the conversation. " You should twist it, it'll save you some time. You won't have to comb your hair for two weeks" "No."she replied "I'm gonna get some braids."

I left there sad for her in a way but overall sad for us as a people. That was me about a year ago. any time I touched my hair or even looked at it the wrong way it came out in mounds. Why is it that a lady old enough to be my mama's big cousin, have no idea on how to care for her hair why is it that I went 26 years with out knowing how to properly care for my hair. If I had not accidentally stumbled onto naturallycurly, I too would have been looking for braids to take a vacation from my hair. I am soooooo glad that so many ladies are spreading the knowledge on the forums and youtube but we need to get this info out to to the masses... It makes me want to buy some airtime on BET or something. I'm very thankful that I found this information just in time to stop this cycle. I know my daughter won't be so ignorant. She will have the knowledge to work with wondrous beauty that grows from her.