Ten words that change meaning when you let your hair go natural

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Ten words that change meaning when you let your hair go natural

Oil is now a magic potion while combs are torture

Going natural is definitely a journey worth the while. Natural hair is fluffy, smooth, empowering, and fascinating. But to reach this result you need patience, strength, hope, and emotional resistance. Not to mention, a new vocabulary.
Here are the words that change meaning when you go natural.

Shrinkage

Before: According to a dictionary: the loss of goods in a stock so basically the kind of words you would have never used in a conversation.

Now: Your worst enemy, a living nightmare which causes your volume to reduce. Yay.

Comb

Before: It would just slide in your relaxed hair.

Now: Torture, it’s Ramsay Bolton and your hair is Theon Greyjoy. There’s a new meaning to “the ones you love are those who hurt you the most.”

Oil

Before: Something you would use to cook.

Now: Magic potion, it makes your hair grow, shine, smell good. We love you oil.

Scarf

Before: When it’s cold you put it around your neck, or just to look fancy. Sometimes you might wrap it around your hair, just fashionably speaking.

Now: When you have a lecture at 8, it’s 7:55 and you don’t have time to dress your reckless fro, the scarf is your savior, you just wrap it around your head and look flawless.

Arms

Before: Rather useful tools to do basically everything in your life: cook, work, read, stabilize yourself when having sex, etc.

Now: Slave to the fro.

Braids

Before: A cool hairstyle, gorgeous, but way too long that you just admired on Solange but wouldn’t do on yourself.

Now: MUST DO. Yay to six hours, sitting, doing nothing but screaming as the hairdresser pulls your hair too hard. You know you have to. You know the result will be amazing. And you know that if you don’t… just remember that winter is coming.

Winter

Before: Snow, cold, snowmen, Christmas, endless occasions to eat….

Now: Knot, hair loss, dryness, baldness, suicide… your winter now is like the GOT kind but with higher stakes. Winter means hibernation for your natural hair: braids, twists, in which it can rest and be protected from the cold. Along with it, hours of braiding it.

Internet

Before: Savior of your essays, and presentations. Even though you know that “books are better”, the internet remains quite useful, especially in terms of copy/paste when you’re eight hours away from the deadline. Shout out to the memes on Facebook and Twitter that are why you didn’t finish this essay sooner. You know what we say: I hate you, I love you, I hate that I want you…
Now: Savior of your hair. It’s a resource for hair mask recipes, hair-inspiration from women with too-good-to-be-true hairstyles (which by the way never look as good when you try them). Anyways, the internet is a lifesaver.

Water

Before: Drink.
Now: Drink. And what you spray into your hair everyday mixed with your favorite oil. Now you know where the oil went and why the water bill is so high.

Summer

Before: End of school, time to party, drink… Wait, we already do that during the other seasons. So, party, drink without a guilty conscience. Travel… Summer is definitely the best.

Now: Time to rock the afro. Along with summer, the sun, your flawless curls, you remember why you started this journey. Bonus: you won’t have to explain to your summer love why he can’t put his hand in your hair.

@TheTab