Natural Hair vs. Real Hair vs. Fake Hair

If your hair is relaxer-free but you wear it straight, by pressing or flat-ironing it, is your hair natural?? Are you "liberated" in the sense of having natural hair as opposed to relaxed hair?? This issue was presented on the Tyra Show today (thanks to Sierra of Pretty Natural Divas for the info).

In my opinion...I think if you are relaxer-free then you are LIBERATED. Period. That's really the whole point. Your hair is free of relaxer and other chemicals so it is in it's natural state. Applying heat to the hair to straighten it may be damaging, but I don't believe it changes or breaks the chemical bonds in the hair, thus the hair is still natural. Before I got a relaxer, I would press my hair consistently but I never once thought it wasn't natural. To me, it was just the styling of it and I could go back to my curly hair whenever I wanted. The discussion of "real" hair vs. "natural" hair, I think, should focus on hair growing out of your scalp vs. extensions/weave tracks/wigs that are used for your hair.