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hair care product category that now includes majority-owned companies. I believe more young black and mixed women are wearing their hair natural because that is who they are and they are more comfortable with themselves.

My husband's older aunt, a product of the segregated south and times of the pressing comb, still has some silent issues with the hairstyles I do with the girls. She doesn't mention my locs much but I can tell she isn't quite there. She is in her mid-70s. That mindset still exists. There are some corporations that have forced black women to either cut off their dreds, straighten their afros, or wear a wig to conform to a more European look of corporate acceptance. I am at an age where I don't buy into those stereotypes of beauty.

My "baby locs" as they are called since my natural curliness won't let it loc completely, are washed and conditioned every week. My natural hair style is that they are all layered, that happened naturally. I have learned so much about myself by my hair. I have patience now since I do my own hair and it takes about four hours to retwist it. I am more organic and if I'm not using Carol's Daughter Tui Shampoo and Loc Butter, I'm using Aveda's balancing shampoo and conditioner and my own mix of olive oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, rosemary oil, tea tree oil, and patchoulli oil to twist it. I get lots of compliments on how healthy and strong my locs are. That is me, healthy and strong. I do roller sets when I have a special event with my husband and have experimented with bantu knots and just pony tails. My hair is my crown and I wear it proudly, as a black woman with black hair!

Learn more about this author, Taye Foster Bradshaw.
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