Its Natural

We are on a mission to negate the stereotypes and long held false impressions attached to women of color and we are starting at the top – with hair.It’s Natural! is a mentoring program of sorts for young women of color, particularly African American and Latina girls who are ready to embrace their natural beauty. Young women of color, particularly African American girls, are so bombarded with images that negate the depth of their natural beauty. Because of decades of media, literature, images, and society looking down on the beauty of Black women – and for many other reasons, some mothers have found it necessary to use chemicals to relax their daughter's hair. As a result there are countless young women all over the country with severely damaged hair due to excessive chemical treatment without proper maintenance.In our work with young women it has become increasingly evident that the depth of the destruction that pop culture has caused our girls is overwhelming. Young women of color have been stripped of their sense of self-worth and misguided into underestimating the beauty and value of their own culture. Our children and their parents don’t even realize the damage they are doing, not only to their children’s hair, but to their chances of growing up with a healthy sense of self-esteem. It’s Natural! is not about being “anti-perm” we are “pro-esteem” and understand that self esteem is achieved through a healthy sense of self-worth. It is, from our perspective, almost impossible to understand and embrace your worth if it is constantly being diminished. It is not our position to judge women based on their personal choices; our philosophy is that every woman – at some point in their life should be able to look at themselves in the mirror, exactly as God created them, and love everything they see.It’s Natural!, which is a program of Just Be Inc., provides young women, 18 and under, a comfortable space to explore their options in the process of transitioning from relaxed hair to natural. Our site will serve as a clearing house for information regarding all aspects of natural hair and natural hair care from salons around the country to the latest products and styles.We will host monthly forums on hair care and offer space for testimony from young women who are in transition or have made the transition from relaxed to natural. Our goal is to provide guidance and support during a time that is hard enough for adult women, but especially difficult for younger women.It’s Natural! will offer resources and tips on a wide variety of topics related to the transition process and specific to young ladies, like: how to change your diet to change your hair, understanding your hair texture, how looking different can lead to being different, and loving the skin your in, among others. The It's Natural! Challenge Just Be Inc. wants to actively help young women in their process of "hair self-discovery" and through the many phases of finding healthy alternatives to processing their hair. As such, we are launching the It's Natural! Challenge. Here’s how it works:Just Be Inc. will be partnering with natural hair care salons, stylists and product lines around the country to sponsor, in the form of a year long mentorship, young women 18 years old and under who are ready to make the transition from relaxed hair to natural hair. The year long mentorship will include:? An initial consultation with one of our partner natural hair care professionals ? Regular salon visits during the transition process that may include: o Treatments o Hair Maintenance o Styling ? Journal space on JustBeInc.org to document their progress throughout the transition ? Live chats with other mentees during the transition ? A supply of natural hair care products from one of It’s Natural! sponsors ? A peer sponsor who is a young woman who has completed her transition from relaxed to natural ? The freedom to find joy in your natural beauty in a loving, nurturing environmentCriteria: Young women age 18 and under can write a short essay about why you are ready to make the transition from relaxed hair to natural. The essay should include the reasons why you have come to this conclusion as well as how you think your life will change once you have made the transition.Each entrant has to have written permission from a parent or guardian, which can be downloaded from our website.