Taking care of natural hair requires quite a bit of maintenance – washing, detangling, moisturizing and styling. Sometimes this process can take hours or even days. Being a lazy natural can greatly reduce hair maintenance but it has its pros and cons.
First, what does it mean to be a “lazy” natural? No, this doesn’t mean that you don’t take care of your hair or maintain it. It simply means that you take the easy route to successfully have beautiful, natural hair. I consider myself a lazy natural and there is no shame in my game!
Pros of Being a Lazy Natural
More Free Time
We all know the process of going through wash day. Hours to get the right amount of moisture and the perfectly defined curl. Less time spent doing your hair means more time to get things done around the house or grabbing a bite to eat with friends. But what does spending less time on your hair mean? It means keeping the hair in low manipulation styles, i.e. protective styling, another pro.
Protecting Hair with Low Manipulation Styling
Protective styling is a lazy natural’s favorite! Twist, puffs, braids, weaves, etc. These are just a few of the styles that allow you take a break from regularly manipulating and styling your natural hair. My all-time favorite of these is the twist, preferably a head full of mini-medium two strand twists that I wear for a week. This style allows me to get up and go. Twist can also be styled into cute updos or side ponytails, giving you easy, cute chic styling options till it is time for your next wash day. Another great lazy natural style is box braids or senegalese twists. Check out this article to give you some styling options for your braids.
Retaining Length and Seeing Hair Growth
Constant manipulation of natural hair can lead to an increase in shedding and breakage. Giving the hair a break will allow you to retain the length of your while also giving your hair a fresh start to new growth.
The pros definitely outweigh the cons, but it’s always good to know both sides of a situation…
Cons of Being a Lazy Natural
Lack of TLC (Tender Loving Care)
Too many times have I let my lazy natural ways get the best of me. Prolonging wash day, not taking that extra five minutes to oil my hair or rushing through a detangling session. Curl friends; don’t take that TLC for granted. That extra lovin’ promotes hair growth and a healthy scalp leading to beautiful, natural hair.
Longer Wash Days
Since you haven’t been manipulating the hair or have had it in a protective style for a while, your wash day will be more thorough than usual since you have gone longer without the extra care. Make sure your wash day is not rushed and you use moisturizing, strengthening hair care products.
Lack of Care for Hair in Protective Styles
Sometimes the get-up and go pleasure of the protective style gets the best of us and we get used to not doing anything to our hair. Make sure that you are still taking care of the hair underneath your braids, etc. Check out this article from fellow Curly Ambassador, Danielle, as she talks about Hair Care while Protective Styling.
Being lazy isn’t so bad, right? When done the right way, being a lazy natural is the answer for busy, hardworking curly girls.
