"My loose curly/ wavy hair is way better than that kinky shrunk of a mane you have!"
*INSERT SHOCK FACE*
Can you believe hair texture discrimination is a thing?
This type of discrimination runs rampant in the natural hair community.
Many tend to prefer hair with looser curls, while hair with less definition in its curl pattern and kinkier hair that shrinks when dry, is deemed less desirable.
The marketing and brand imagery for some natural hair product brands is focused on the loose curl/wavy hair consumer. Starting at TV and print ads to social media like Instagram, Facebook, and more, you consistently see the products and imagery marketed to a specific niche. This type of marketing further asserts a stereotype that "healthy hair" is loose, shiny, bouncy, and long. So where does this leave kinkier naturals? Where is equal representation when it comes to the advertisement? The lack thereof has some thinking, "this won't work on my hair", or my hair is hard to deal with.
Naturals with kinky hair texture but equally healthy hair don't have the same inspiring stories and images promoted to them. Kinky hair doesn't shine and tends to be more fluffy than voluminous.
However, if you don't know the ins and outs of healthy kinky hair or that kinky hair does not shine and tends to be more fluffy than voluminous, today's marketing can leave you with hurt feelings about your hair.
Let's ALL yell this, ALL NATURAL HAIR IS BEAUTIFUL!
These days, we are seeing more and more women with natural hair. The chemically treated hair era has been on a steady decline for some time now, and I love to see it!!
Curly and wavy hair is beautiful, and so are the kinkier textures. The top priority, is the health of your hair. Are you keeping it moisturized? Are you keeping up with your trims? Are you treating your hair with deep conditioner and steam treatments to add and retain moisture?
Are you getting styles that will not cause tension-which can cause thinning and hair loss?
These are the core questions you should ask yourself on your healthy hair journey.
No one texture is better than the other. The best thing to do is to learn how to manage and care for your specific hair type while hair health is the main focus. Work on enhancing your hair. Work on polishing and making your hair type appealing to you.
Plus, you know we got you when it comes to beautiful and ell styles. You can book through our text only line at 301-747-0387
At the dawn of the natural hair era, when we all started throwing out relaxers and rolling our eyes at "Just for me" ads, Many thought it was just a fad! How wrong were they?! We have seen a boom in all facets of the natural hair industry in the past 10 years.
Everyone, their mama and aunty's, has saturated the web with natural hair care tips, video tutorials, podcasts, product review posts, and much more with a deep focus on natural hair care and styles. We have seen a major cultural shift and sprint towards unlearning what we have been taught about black hair.
Remember when we all thought, silk-pressed hair was the only hair deemed professional?! It wasn't that long ago, but we sure have made strides. Black women have moved through a lot to have the majority accept our hair as is. Particularly professional, military, and police women.
Although there are still some naysayers and outright haters, when it comes to natural hair of any texture, I hope one day we will accept and embrace hair of all textures in our community.