I am my hair...

and India Arie sold lies by the dozen with that song...and to this day women everywhere are lying about not being our hair. But the fact is: I am my hair and my hair is me. Just a house is still a house even if no one is there.

Your hair takes part in defining who you are and what you do, just as much as your eyes, skin color, overall size do. But what truly defines you is the level of control you give your hair (and those other things). Luckily for me, 99.9% of the women in my family live by the mantra that it is just hair and it will grow back - and they don't want that much of it anyway. And that is how I now view hair.

With that said, I am so over the marketing campaigns and nonsense spewing about how being natural is healthier and will make me more active. That is BS...and y'all need to stop the madness. The only thing stopping you from doing whatever you want is you - not your hair.

I have a JFM Kiddie Texture softner (chemical)
I workout 1-2times per day at least 5 days/week
I swim, play softball, run and sweat in my head during all of it
I haven't had a standing appt with a hair dresser in at least 5yrs.
My hair is a little stubborn - so am I
My hair is resilient - so am I
My hair can be protected, rebuilt and trained... well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad

So while I am my hair, my hair does not define me, my physical health or dictate my participation in anything. My hair does allow me to outwardly express my definition of beauty, creativity and style. My hair is a symbol of who I am - heck, my parents don't recognize me with straight hair (its always big and curly). 

Feel free to build whatever marketing campaign you wish but it would go alot further if you focused on selling your product instead of focusing on making me seem like less of a whole woman. Ladies, be your hair - be it natural, be it straight, be it curly or hand-made...but know that what you and your hair do and are together should be part of the larger picture of you and whatever your lifestyle is.