I come to you as a Black woman, wife, mother, sister, daughter, stylist, artist and creative. I am a complex individual that lives and loves to create dope hair on dope people — especially Black women.
Black women have finesse, skill, poise, beauty, fashion, creativity and so much more #BlackGirlMagic. Yet, in today’s society of Black Lives Matter — where people are having hard convos and deep discussions — let me add my two cents…
STOP TELLING BLACK WOMEN HOW TO WEAR THEIR HAIR!
I can’t tell you how many times — countless times — I’ve created a bomb color on a Black client, and she decides she wants to straighten her natural hair. When the photo is posted to social media, there’s always the comment:
“Oh. It’s nice, but I wish I could see it in her curly state.”
Or if it is curly… “I wonder what it would look like straight.”
Or the times that I — a blue haired, naturally curly woman — decide to straighten my hair, and I hear “Oh. You look cuter with straight hair.”
Some people may not see anything wrong with those comments, but ask yourselves: do we say that about other races that choose to blow out their curly hair? Or heck, just want to change their style? I doubt it.
Black people, especially women, already have a hard time finding representation of ourselves in societal images. To then have to read or hear comments that pose one option as better than the other is perplexing and frustrating.
Although it’s YOUR HAIR, everyone has an opinion on what you do with it. This stems from a white society that chooses what European standards are “preferred” and the old power over Black bodies.
NAH, STOP TELLING BLACK WOMEN HOW TO WEAR THEIR HAIR!
One of the most beautiful things about being a Black woman is having a versatile coif of hair. We do what we want to with our hair. It’s that simple. To all my Black women, do you!
You are Black girl magic with relaxed or natural hair. Flat iron or curly. Defined curls or Afro textured. Edges laid or not. Short or long. Color-free or bleached.
DO YOU! You are enough, you are beautiful, and you are a standard!
