There is a lot of controversy surrounding whether natural hair is better than weaves and vice versa. It can be hard deciding what works best for you when you’re facing opinions and bias based on the texture of your hair. How do you decide what to go with and feel good about your decision? Here’s what I found out about natural hair and weaves.
Natural hair is the state of your ethnic hair without being compromised or relaxed with chemicals to change its texture. Weaves are artificial hair that gets intergraded into your natural hair. Often time’s weaves alter the appearance of a person and are more supported by society.
There is nothing wrong with natural hair or weaves, regardless of the perception that society puts on the different types of hair. You can choose to try different styles of hair, and in order to pull off a certain look, having all the information you need to make a decision is crucial. Let’s take a closer look at what makes each of these a favorite for different people.
The Costs Involved to Maintain Your Natural Hair vs. Weaves
Weaves are generally much more expensive than natural hair because, you know, you never had to purchase your natural hair as it was God-given. Natural hair products can cost a pretty penny, especially when you use high-end brands, and unlike men, we do not have an all-in-one product. Women have to buy shampoo, conditioner, detangling products, and so on.
These take a sizable amount of your money and continue to do so a couple of times a year whenever your products run out. With weaves, you not only have to fork out a hefty amount depending on the length and type that you want, but you also have to buy similar maintenance products that you would buy for natural hair. That makes weaves so much more expensive to maintain.
Another cost to consider would be the cost charged by a hairdresser to install your weave. Although natural hair does require professional services for things like blow-drying or highlights, it is still much cheaper than the different methods used to integrate the weave to your natural hair like track and sew or using special adhesive glue, which all require additional money.
| Average Woman (Weaves) | Average Woman (Natural hair) | |
| Average amount spent on weaves | $456-$2400 | $0 |
| Average amount spent on hair products a year | $80-$400 | $73.4-$360 |
| Average amount spent on hair salons a year | $720-$1000 | $257.43 |
You can clearly see that the costs of wearing and maintaining a weave are much more than those of maintaining your natural hair.
How Easy is it to Maintain Your Natural Hair vs. Weaves?
Maintaining weaves is just as easy, if not easier, than natural hair. Weaves do require more consideration when it comes to the type of shampoo used to make sure that they do not get damaged. Mild or wig shampoo is often recommended for weaves.
Weaves are almost always already styled, so you can get ready in a hurry, whereas natural hair requires time to style and tame because no one wakes up without a bedhead. Weaves tend to also be easier to comb, and if you have clip-on weaves, then it is just a matter of clipping them on correctly.
There are Many Options and Versatility
Although natural hair can be styled in many different ways, bleached, colored, and accessorized, weaves have much more versatility, which gives you many options to choose from. Weaves have many different colors that you can choose from, ranging from dark colors to lighter colors and even ombre and different color patterns that hair suppliers create.
Textures of natural hair can be manipulated by using chemicals or equipment like straighteners, but weaves have many more texture options. These include but are not limited to:
- Silky straight hair
- Deep spiraling waves
- Loose waves that are often considered to be romantic waves
- Tightly coiled kinky waves
- Waves that appear to have a wet look to them, and
- Weaves that have already been braided.
You can easily change the length of your weave, whereas cutting your natural hair means waiting for a while for your hair to grow out again. This makes it easier to switch things up whenever you want to. Weaves can also add volume that is difficult to replicate with your natural hair.
You can experiment and test out different things without worrying about them being permanent.
Is a Weave Bad for Your Natural Hair?
Weaves can cause irreversible damage to your natural hair if the hair follicles are damaged due to the weave not being applied, maintained, and removed correctly. The constant pulling to your natural hair that is usually done in order to wear a weave can lead to hair breaking and falling out.
There are different ways that you can prevent your hair from getting damaged.
- Make sure that your natural hair is well taken care of before getting a weave. Continue to follow a healthy hair routine of conditioning and shampooing to keep your hair strong and moisturized.
- Only get a professional to install your weave to ensure that it is done correctly. Also, monitor the progress throughout, and don’t be afraid to be vocal when something is too tight or painful to minimize any hair pulling so that you do not lose hair unnecessarily.
- Get into the habit of giving your natural hair some time to breathe by switching things up every now and then. Do not eagerly jump into a new weave hairstyle directly after removing one.
Conclusion
Whether you decide to be team natural or processed hair, you should be proud of it. Hair is a source of pride and should not be made to feel like a trigger topic. The significance of hair has always played an important role in defining a woman’s beauty, not to mention her worth.
Your hair can be treated as your ultimate accessory. All kinds of hair can be a reflection of self-love and beauty.