I Found the Perfect Style for My Natural Hair: a Blunt Bob With Bangs

Instead of waking up and running a 450-degree iron over my hair, I carefully wrap it with a silk scarf at night, applying argan oil to the ends, before giving my scalp its nightly massage. I only straighten it during salon visits, as opposed to every morning or the moment any sign of a kink appears. When it’s humid, I spray Mizani’s Thermasmooth Shine Extend Anti-Frizz Spray, and when it’s raining, I flip out the sides and slide on a beanie. During the summer of my first year in New York City, I braided the top layer and let some of my natural waves come out to play. If you go to a good salon and find the right hairstylist (shout out to Vanessa at Brooklyn’s O’Salon), your hair will continue to grow out while keeping its blunt shape. It’s been three months since my last salon visit, and my hair is still in a blunt cut. For me, this is the best protective style for my hair as it requires little styling, little product, and recutting every once in a while.

One thing I’ve noticed about the toxic pressures society puts on black women’s hair is that they are multifaceted. In my younger years, straight, long hair was the look, even if it meant damaging your ends. During college, having “natural hair” meant rocking a perfectly crafted ‘fro with the “right” (looser) God-given curl pattern. While the number of black women getting relaxers is decreasing, the notion that one particular look — slicked-down baby hair and smooth, loose natural curls — is acceptable is still prevalent.

I urge anyone with natural hair (or with relaxed hair) to experiment. Straightening your natural hair is fine if you take care of it. Leaving your hair in a blown-out Afro is acceptable. Laying down your baby hairs and putting your curls into space buns is acceptable. Abandoning the idea that my hair has to be long and luscious to be beautiful has freed my soul in more ways than one. For me, the blunt bob with matching blunt bangs (sometimes baby bangs when I’m feeling grungy) is my ultimate power move, and it’s one I’ll continue to wear with pride.