Hey Naturalistas! Show Me the Money!

When I talk to other woman that are going natural (big chop or transition) I always get a few different reasons why.  One of the main reasons that keeps coming up is that  relaxed hair is expensive to maintain.  Touch-ups every 6-8 weeks to the tune of $80+, and then wash and sets every or every other week if you always need to look salon fresh.  People that know me know I'm thrifty (my husband says cheap, but whatever).  Money was definitely one of my reasons for going natural.  This sentiment seemed pervasive as many of the natural hair websites and YouTube channels that I frequent really emphasize using natural products in the hair...often time using tubs of concoctions that they've whipped up in their kitchens.  I've seen hair washed with apple cider vinegar, warm oil treatments with olive oil and a mayo hair mask.  Enter free enterprise...

I was so happy to discover that my favorite line of hair products while I was relaxing was creating a line of products for natural hair.  I was anxious about mixing things up in my kitchen.  I rushed right out and bought one of the items.  Then as I started looking around more I noticed that quite a few of the "relaxing" companies are introducing natural hair product lines.  Instead of trying to convince an ever growing market base to come back to the "creamy crack", these companies have instead decided to cash in on our dependency on convenience.  As far as I can see thus far on my natural journey, even buying these ready-made products, I'll still save a bunch of money going natural.  The next concern of course is the quality of said products.  Just like food...read the ingredients.  Educate yourself.

Now we just need more hairdressers to stop acting like the naturalista movement is a personal attack on their livelihood and figure out how to get in on this cash cow.  Too many hairdressers alienate new naturalistas by pressuring them to relax or by not knowing how to care for or cut natural hair.  It's called supply and demand.  We're demanding while a very lucky few are supplying.