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The Shrunken Place: Why I Can’t Laugh at This Viral Video
I had been sent the link by multiple friends, who just knew it would be right up my “awww” alley. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a little girl telling her daddy, in the politest way possible, that he did not do her hair right. The clip has since gone full-on viral, as this mini…
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She Got That Glow: We Got the Secrets Behind Yara Shahidi’s All Grown-ish Up Look at the SAG Awards
The 2018 Grammys are tonight, but the fashion world is still raving about the looks from last Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards. And we can’t breathe one word about that evening’s red carpet without acknowledging our current and forever #Fave, Yara Shahidi. Like, we may have to come up with a concept stronger than #Goals…
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Gift Black: These Black-Owned Headwear Brands Have Got You Covered
With Christmas just weeks away, the hunt for the perfect gift is in full force. With black folks’ buying power expected to rise to $1.3 trillion this year, according to a Nielsen consumer report, the importance of buying from black-owned businesses is growing as we grow. An analysis of black entrepreneurship suggested that if we…
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Is #TeamNatural Ready to Go Coed? 9 Natural-Hair ‘Guy-rus’ Who Might Teach You a Few Things
While I was talking wash-day routines with some of my natural friends, we found ourselves scrolling through a seemingly endless list of natural-hair gurus giving all types of product suggestions, protective-style techniques and hacks for maintaining healthy hair. After clicking on about the 12th video geared toward women and our natural-hair needs, our guy friend…
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Black Codes and Dress Codes: Will Black Hair Always Be Against the Rules?
Graduation season is here—that time of year when we get to celebrate academic achievements, watch with anticipation as the graduates move on to life’s next step, and hear about all the students being banned from prom and graduation for dress code violations. As a jolting end to that list, we’re hearing more stories of students…
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9 Times Michelle Obama Texture-Teased Us
Around this time five years ago, the natural-hair-blog streets went into a full tailspin when a photo of Lady Obama wearing a kinky, curly, asymmetrical style circulated the internets. Twitter detectives soon discovered that the image had been photoshopped, and our textured-black-hair-in-the-White House dreams were dimmed. But Sunday evening, we got a glimpse of that…
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From Relaxers to Some Shampoos: Too Many Products Marketed to Black Women Are Bad for You
I have spent plenty of shopping trips browsing the “ethnic hair care” aisle. Women of color know all too well the constant hunt for the perfect product. As our hair-care knowledge, needs and routines (not to mention the seasons) change, we restock our product drawers accordingly. Whether you have a relaxer or are now natural,…
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Is My Natural Hair Holding Back My Career?
At a recent interview, I sat in the waiting area for the hiring manager to come and greet me and did my usual scan of employees while I waited. The receptionist was black (and wearing micro braids), and a man, who looked to be on the custodial staff, was speaking Spanish to another younger woman,…
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Victoria’s Secret Runway Show Sparks Natural-Hair Debate, Pitting Asian Women Against Black Women
Monday evening, Victoria’s Secret held its annual star-studded runway presentation. The usual fashion “it” girls strutted down the runway to performances by Lady Gaga, the Weeknd and Bruno Mars. It was pretty standard VS runway—with one kinky exception. Four gorgeous black models walked the runway with their natural tresses this year. I remember the coil-collective…
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How to Deal With the ‘When Are You Going to Do Something With Your Hair?’ Question During the Holidays
Being the youngest of my siblings, I watched them navigate many family gatherings where they were asked questions about their career goals, relationship status and state of womb occupancy. For a long time, I was always seen as the baby, and no one seemed to be rushing me into those next steps. It wasn’t until…
