Ya’ll. I am tired of fighting with my edges to get them to stay in place. And I am no longer going to let social pressure force me to continue fighting this losing battle.
For those who are confused about what I am talking about, for black women, whether our hair is worn natural, relaxed, in braids or under a wig, no hair style is complete without slicking down the edges of your hairline with gel. Extra points for sculpting patterns, swirls and swoops. You have to have a Masters in Fine Arts to be able to keep up with the way some women sculpt their edges. And kudos to them.
How or when this practice even got started, I have no idea. But we’ve taken on this task and it’s become one of the most important practices of black girlhood. Ok. I’m exaggerating just a little, but you get what I’m trying to say, right?
And men aren’t even left out anymore, I won’t even go into some of the lengths men have gone to to secure their hairlines.
Now, I’m not going to avoid the fact that God didn’t really give me an abundance of edges anyway. While most peoples’ baby hair start before their actual hairline, I have about a half to a full inch of a baby hair hairline.
Look. See…
And, that’s all I’ve ever had. Now before you ask, I’ve never had my hair done in micros, braids or wigs. My edges were never torn out, that’s just all God gave me. And I’ve always been self-conscious about my lack in the edge department. I usual try to cover them with a deep side part or just completely avoid styles that feature them.
But, ya’ll I’ve reached the second level of freedom. And it feels so good. The 1st was embracing and loving the hair that grows naturally from my head. I stopped getting relaxers and went completely natural in 2013.
And the 2nd level - stepping away from my boar bristle brush and leaving my edges alone.
And I no longer feel self-conscious about it. It's such a pain to try to tame them by brushing and gelling them into submission. And those ungrateful suckers don’t even remain in place for very long. So guys, I’m tapping out, it ain’t worth it for me.
On another quick note. Isn't the natural hair movement about being proud of the hair that grows out of your head? So why am I trying to combine my 4B/4C type hair with 1A type edges??? But I digress. And I give all the props to the women who do this well. Get it girl! But me, I’ve joined team fuzzy edges.
So, where do you stand? Are you Team Slay Your Edges? Or Team Fuzzy Edges?
Let me know,
See you next week!