Generation Napptural

By L. Cherie

Before Kevin Federline made cornrows cool, or Christina Aguilera made that blonde ‘fro famous, there was just plain old kinky, wiry, corkscrew-curled, nappy hair. The thick, and most times rough and tough afro-puffs were never a very popular as a style outside of the Black American community, and before long this look was smoked out by the likes of hot pressing combs, flat irons, and chemical relaxers, which burnt and processed those unruly, textured tresses into submission.

Shop Natural Hair Products by Black Women at whatnaturalslove.com

In retrospect I can remember those long hours spent in mom’s kitchen/salon, hiding my napps by having them transformed into rows of beaded braids. Not to mention the even longer hours trying to get rid my napps via the hot comb burning into my roots, while beads of sweat dripped down my neck. The burden of being born with naturally nappy, untamable, hard to manage locks for many years, was that of widespread shame among black women. But somehow, all of that has changed.

Today, that unforgettably textured look seems to be the newest hair trend on the rise, taking the hair world by force. Never before have we seen such versatility and style on the likes of the many nappy-haired beauties of the world. Tracee Ellis Ross of the hit television series Girlfriends, continues to awe us every week with her fierce Napptural curls spewing glamour in every hair style. She is one of many Napptural beauties who is not afraid to wear her hair out naturally kinky and curly, showing America the way it was intended to be. From cornrows, to dreadlocks, to Bantu knots, to the ever-so-fabulous Sisterlocks, women of color have never been more inspired and proud to sport their one-of-a-kind kinks.

Now, thanks to new designs in technology by cosmetologists and hair stylists worldwide, women everywhere are trading in there straight-haired weaves, extensions, and wigs, to get that highly desired more natural appearance. Without having to brave the challenge of starting anew with their locks, women of any hair type; even the super-straight, can rock the curly afros, kinky twists, or even dreadlocks with the help of synthetic hair solutions.

What’s even better about this hair revolution is the amount of support on the World Wide Web, which encourages the revival of the natural look and offers tips on how to care for this unique hair type. Web sites like, Nappturality.com, Going-Natural.com, Curlyhairsalon.com, motowngirl.com, and curlyhairaffair.com, have sprouted up all over cyberspace to pay homage to the nappy haired, and add confidence to the generation that’s undoubtedly making the Afro proud.

Its funny how what’s in as the latest trend changes over time what may have went out with the passing of a decade or three is now all the craze. Hopefully Generation Napptural will be able to bypass that revolving door of style; there are so many more Napptural hairdos that I have yet to experiment with.

(L. Cherie) Copyright 2007 (c)