The Importance of Personal Research

In an era of self-appointed gurus and specialists("professional" or otherwise), social media and you-tube videos, naturals and transitioners must be VERY CAREFUL of how they breakdown the information and recommendations they receive and its application in regards to how they go about caring for their [natural] hair.

You don’t know how many times I’ve stumbled across things or have heard things that are just flat out WRONG. Not just in my opinion….just wrong. Period. I don’t fault the folks who are spreading misinformation completely, because they themselves receive that information from somewhere or someone. Or rather, misinterpreted the information and believed it. That's not to say that there aren't many helpful you-tubers with useful information, because there are many. The same applies to bloggers. There are some awesome and helpful blogs out there! :)

You may ask, "Well how do YOU know what you’re talking about over here?" That’s exactly what you should ask!! You should ALWAYS ask questions. You should ALWAYS want to know the “hows” and “whys”. You should never just take things JUST at face value.

This applies to life in general.

I could go on and on about how I’ve done my own research over the last 7 years of being natural (again). I could discuss my trials and errors, and disclose ALL of my [reliable and credible] resources and how I continue to research and grow in my understanding, but it is still our collective responsibility to ask questions and to always seek enlightenment.

Think about it.

You hear a claim about a med or something topical that’s supposed to do xyz. Do you just go and use it without doing the background research? No. You find out ABOUT the product, its intended use and purpose, the side-effects and how it can affect you. Even seek out individuals who may have used the product. You also talk to a professional (or someone knowledgeable) who knows about the product and then after processing the information you receive, you make a WELL INFORMED DECISION. Sorry for the caps, but it’s important I get this across.

As someone who spent the last three and half years researching and kicking out lengthy papers regularly for Grad school, I understand and value the importance of doing thorough [background] research, and I implore my Naturalistas to do the same. If a product claims to do something, learn about how. Find out what makes it do the things it claims(if it does), and/or determine whether it’s just slick marketing packaged in a pretty jar with an appealing name.