More Liberal Environment
College is a much more liberal environment than corporate America, or most nine to five places. My daughter, who is in her 2nd year of college, is rocking 6 earrings, a nose ring, and a navel ring. She bops around her campus and works at a local restaurant.
She feels comfortable with herself, her natural hair, and her entire environment. It is as liberal as she is going to get, and as she finds her way, she is also finding her style.
Be as adventurous as you feel comfortable with, and that includes on working with your tresses. No one is expecting you to ‘fit in’, or telling you to dress a certain way to further your career.
Those are real issues that many women outside of college are facing, so this is the time to just ‘be’, without anyone telling you you can’t have color or a fro.
You are expected to experiment
This is the time to do all the things you have been dying to do, since you are no longer under the watchful and fearful gaze of your parents. Experiment! But only on the good stuff!
Not everything is meant to be experienced, but choosing how to rock your tresses is most definitely on the list. Do a shaved side, an undercut, or rock blue hair if you want, all while going natural.
Feel your own texture and see how well it looks on you, or just shave it all of if you want. This is the time to try it all out and see who you, and who you will become. Believe me, this is the time to test the waters.
The price
It’s much cheaper to be natural now than it was ten, or even five years ago. When I went natural, I had to spend twenty or thirty dollars on a product, but at 35 and working full-time, I could afford it.
I could not even IMAGINE trying to do that while in college! Most college students are broke, or darn-near broke, so spending tons of money on hair products is out of the question, and so is getting pricey weaves. Now, a natural can do just about any style or requirement (like trims) on her own with a YouTube video as her guide, or a blog to show her the way.
You can pick up super cheap or reasonably priced natural products for under ten dollars, and sulfate-free and silicone-free items for under seven dollars right at your local Target, or grocery. You can even get them with free shipping from Amazon.com from your smartphone. The availability is here, the price is right, and you will still have enough money to go out, to eat, and to pay for gas.
So what do you guys think? Is it easier to go natural while at college?
Tracy McCoy says
This is an interesting article. My daughter went natural during her first year in college. Her stylist was 90 miles away so bi-weekly hair appts were out of the question and she’d seen me transition from relaxed back to natural so she decided to join me.
BlackHairInformation.com says
Tracy McCoy It really is a great time to just enjoy the process, we thought it was a fun article 🙂
Josephine Zingani says
Hair is a preference there is no ‘should’ in it. No need to make natural hair mandatory for blacks.
Tranita Taylor says
When they why you “should” go natural while in college, I’m pretty sure they mean it as: if you are planning to go natural doing so while in college could be fun because of xyz. No need to read too much into things.
Felicia Davisderrickson says
To save money!