black hair
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Fashioning a New Congress: What This Freshman Class Wears to Work Matters More Than Ever
When Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Mn.) was sworn into the 116th Congress today, the Somali-American became the first woman to serve wearing hijab. Fellow freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mi.) chose to wear a traditional Palestinian dress called a thobe to the confirmation, as a nod to her heritage. Both made history in November as the first…
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Usher Got a Conk for the New Year—and the Internet's Got Jokes
The new year traditionally marks new beginnings: renewed commitments to health, progress and prosperity—and, in the case of many, a new look. We can only assume that’s what R&B singer Usher was thinking when he decided to go Team Unnatural on the eve of 2019, debuting a ’60s-era, Sammy Davis-styled permed pompadour the likes of…
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Black Hair Matters: The Affirmative Power of Politicians Like Ayanna Pressley and Stacey Abrams
When Ayanna Pressley got her Senegalese twists done for the first time about three years ago, it was a moment of affirmation and recognition. “I just really loved it,” she told The Glow Up. “I felt my most authentic and powerful self.” Speaking over the phone this past September, Pressley explained that when she was…
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Fried, Dyed and Laid to the Side: Hazardous Hair Products Are Being Marketed to Black Women
From deep conditioners, to relaxers and gels, on any given day black women put tons of products in our hair. We don’t just wake up like this. Well, sometimes we do, but. Wait. OK. Back to the story. African Americans have tremendous spending power. In fact, according to Nielsen we spend about $1.2 trillion a…
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Watch: Nappily Ever After's Sanaa Lathan Says You Don't Need Marriage to Be Complete
Sanaa Lathan broke the internet when she revealed her big chop last September. Lathan, who has dazzled the big screen since the late ‘90s, has rocked a number of styles throughout her career— but this moment was different. Lathan’s big chop was a part of her role as Violet Jones in Nappily Ever After, which…
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Creating Trends, One Tress at a Time: How Ursula Stephen Does NYFW
We love seeing the results of celebrity hairstylist Ursula Stephen’s work, so when we were invited backstage to watch her create four distinctly different visions for New York Fashion Week, we jumped at the chance. With the help of The Glow Up’s trusty correspondent Makeda Sandford, we were able to catch a glimpse of how…
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Celebrating the Natural Hair Journey: Behind the Scenes at Texture on the Runway
New York Fashion Week is well under way, and models with various textures of hair sashayed down the runway to represent. Why have a show dedicated to showcasing coils, curls and kinks, you say? Because natural hair matters. Texture on the Runway—founded by Naturally Curly—featured braids, afros, up-dos, and locs as styled by some of…
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Stranger Danger: Random White Woman Narrowly Avoids Catching Hands After Touching Black Woman’s Hair
Here’s the problem with growing up in a world that tells you you’re entitled to everything (even owning and colonizing people at various points in history): If you don’t know (or learn) better, you’re inevitably bound to touch something—or someone—that doesn’t belong to you. That’s what happened on Thursday in a Georgia establishment called Little…
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Aspiring to the A-List? Viola Davis Talks Inclusion, Inequities and Acting in Her Natural Hair
It’s strange to consider a world in which Viola Davis isn’t considered “A-list.” The woman already has a star on the Walk of Fame and is just one Grammy away from being achieving “EGOT” status (surely, someone’s got an audiobook that could use her talents, no?). So, when a new interview with the star in…