Comments on: Ask Kcurly: Natural in the Military

By: NavyGirl

NavyGirl — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 23:12:02 +0000

I attend a military academy, and I am a black female. There is a salon provided for us due to the limited time we are allotted off the base. The hair stylists are wonderful, but they are encouraged by their managers to insist we get our hair relaxed in order to manage it. I must admit that I have attempted to be natural many times in my 3 years there, however my hair when down passes my collar and constantly pulling my hair back while it is in its natual state in a bun causes breakage (my hair is very soft). In order for me to maintain my hair along with my hectic schedule I am forced to wear weaves, braids, and a texturizer (not as harsh as a relaxer). The jokes and comments about my hair looking unprofessional are never ending. I am still searching for a way to go natural while still maintaining a military look. I have not officially entered the fleet yet, so my day to day routine for the past 3 years and the next two years will remain a training environment. Reading these post have motivated me to continue to love the hair that God gave me and to try to go natural one more time. I will be wearing a straw set, which is in reg…until my hair is strong enough to transition to another style. Good Luck to all the women in service who are willing to acknowledge who we are as black women and still serve our country! God Bless

By: MonaLisa

MonaLisa — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 10:40:55 +0000

Here is an idea, how about you just straighten your hair with a hot comb or curlers once in a while when you go to work? Or how about go and get a brazillian blow-out to straighten your hair. I am also natural, but I wear weaves, but when I do wear my hair out it is curled with rollers, flat ironed, or done neatly. Not saying your hair isn’t neat, but when you are beginning to re grow your hair in it’s natural state you have got to admit it may look a little not put together.

Take Care

By: Richards A

Richards A — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 04:49:00 +0000

I am also a military person, currently new to the Navy and when I went to BC I had my hair colored and cornrowed. I was not told to perm my hair……(I am sure they took one look at my face and knew they could not do that with me). I continue to wear my hair in a high fashion color and mainly use wigs. I found that the wig is a quick fix as I do not want to stress my natural tresses. I wash and condition every week and feel confident wearing my wig. My reasons for wearing a wig is due to the changing schedule in the military and if this means I must do my hair quickly, I will be rough with it and cause damage. My wig saves me major hair loss and I have a healthy full head of hair that has passed the TWA stage many many moons ago.

By: Shannon M

Shannon M — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:53:05 +0000

I am in the AF and did my BC a week ago. I have not had the courage to show off my small little curl, however I have seen a few women wear their hair natural. Even an TSGT with a fro, another with a TWA that goes up and out not even hang down. So maybe the AF is where you may want to go to if you still want the military. Even a white woman with curly hair in a bob had nothing said to her on her hair. Myself I have been wearing a wig until I get comfortable enough to be out with my natural coils..just still a little shocking to me but its growing on me. Hope this helps

By: Prtybrneyes

Prtybrneyes — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:24:01 +0000

Looks like naturals in the military need their own blog, lol. I’ve been active army for 6yrs and reserves for 2yrs. I originally went natural “by mistake” when I went to Germany with my ex-husband in ’02. I was 8 1/2 mths pregnant and didn’t know who would do my hair there. I started wearing braids until I made a year and got tired of them…took them out and cut off the permed ends. I was in the reserves at the time and would rock my fro every chance I got. When I transferred to active duty in ’04 I had to go to Leonardwood to reclass. I got a lot of side comments from the drills but I used to just quote 670-1 like everyone else. I stayed natural until the end of ’05. I did the big chop I’m ’08 while I was in Iraq and have been pretty much doing weaves and wigs. I get bored real quick so I switch my hair up around every month or so. While in uniform I’ve rocked bright natural hennaed hair (that got a lot of talk)…and I think my highlight so far as been an orange/red bob, lol. I mainly keep mine weaves up because I think keeping it this way does less damge then the wool beret we’re forced to wear everyday. I’ve found that everyone interprets the reg differently according to their agenda. Just puck hour battles and take care if your hair. I used to be anti weave and anti wig, but they give a quick fix with minimal work. I just don’t think that you should weave/braid or crop it short to satisfy anyone else. I’m to the point in my unit, that if I came with a Afro to work…it wouldn’t be any big whoop; it’ll actually be lowkey, lol.

By: Natural in the Military: Taking Action

Natural in the Military: Taking Action — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:38:00 +0000

[...] hearing “D”s story, I decided to delve deeper into natural hair in the military. There are obviously some biased [...]

By: Nikki

Nikki — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:23:38 +0000

It’s very unfortunate that you are going through this, I am actually shocked and appalled–Natural Hair is absolutely beautiful and there should not be an issue as long as you are professional in appearance and your hair doesn’t touch the collar & fits under your cover. I am natural in the Air Force and I haven’t encountered any issued thus far, although I save my extreme/cute/large hair styles for the weekends. During the week I usually wear my hair back (front slicked down) in a banana clip or I wear mini braids/twists for a month or so. My hair isn’t terribly long (near my chin). I wish you the best. Take Care.

By: Evelyn

Evelyn — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:40:09 +0000

I just wanted to say I am sorry that happened. I am trying to transition to natural now and it is hard especially being in the navy. Being “natural” is frowned upon. I blame it on the ignorance of the society we live in. I am made fun of sometimes because of the natural state of my hair. Not too long ago I got braids and now I am told I cannot wear them because they do not conform. This is frustrating–but on their defense they say “well you’re in the military.” This adds to the many reasons why I cannot wait to get out. I finally have my degree and some experience in the field I have my degree in so I should be set when I do eventually get out. Anyways…going off subject–you should try to go natural and wear a wig. That way at the end of the workday you can take it off and be you. Wearing weaves work too but they sometimes add unnecessary stress to your hair…same with braids. I’m sure wigs have it’s down sides but I haven’t noticed any so far (I wear a wig over the top of my braids ).

By: Valerie

Valerie — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:52:08 +0000

Hello, I’m in the military now and just went natural. I just wear wigs while at work and when i’m home i’m free to be me. Dont let anyone change u, just learn how to work the system. Being in the military is a great thing and dont let something so small change your mind about it.

By: Ebony

Ebony — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:05:04 +0000

Yes, I to believe that you are just being singled out. I have been natural for about 9 months now. Everyone I work with loves my hair. I get compliments all the time about how they admire me for embracing my natural texture. So dont give up hope every command is diffrent.I am Navy.