black hair
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Can You Guess the Black Icons Who Wore These Hairstyles?
From Michael Jackson’s Jheri curl from the Thriller era to Colin Kaepernick’s iconic ’fro, one thing’s for sure: Black folks know hair, and our hair often makes a statement. But be clear, we are more than our hair; black people are supremely dynamic with a myriad of interests. Our strengths and scope of knowledge go…
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New Licensing Requirements for New Jersey Braiders Remain Tangled in Legislation
Looks like it’s one step forward, one step back for New Jersey braid practitioners, as legislation introduced to abolish the current licensing requirements for braiders was conditionally vetoed by Gov. Phil Murphy, with suggestions for revisions before he’d reconsider. As The Glow Up reported in July, New Jersey Assemblywomen Angela McKnight (D-Hudson) and Shanique Speight…
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Why Do Black Republicans Usually Have Such Bad Haircuts? An Important Exposé
Before we begin today, I believe it’s important to make something clear. Bad haircuts/hairdos isn’t the same thing as bad hair, because bad hair doesn’t really exist. Of course, there is black-people hair. And this comes in myriad grades and textures. Certain types of this hair has been (wrongly) referred to as “good.” Naturally, if…
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Splitting Hairs: Celeb Hairstylists Kim Kimble and Tokyo Stylez Sparked a Shady Debate Over Legitimacy
One is a legend in the hair game and the other is steadily making a name for himself creating of-the-moment looks for any number of famous heads, but an exchange of shade between celebrity hair gurus Kim Kimble and Tokyo Stylez this week sparked a lengthy debate about who really gets to call themselves a…
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Non-Compliant: The War Against Black Students' Hairstyles Continues
When it comes to finding low-maintenance hairstyles for our children that are school-appropriate, it’s beginning to seem we’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t. Last week, a video of a first-grader in Florida being turned away from his first day of school because of his dreadlocks sparked viral outrage and discussion; this week,…
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The Dress Code Is Discrimination? First Grader Denied His First Day of School for Dreadlocks
Imagine this: You escort your son to his first day of first grade, all buttoned up in his brand new uniform and eager to begin the school year, only to be turned away because your child has dreadlocks. That’s what happened to Clinton Stanley and his son, Clinton Jr., when they arrived for their first…
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Bundles or a Bag of Chips? Would You Buy Hair from a Weave Vending Machine?
We don’t know if this is pure genius or just plain hilarious, but apparently there’s a niche market for weave-related impulse buys. Earlier this week, a viewer of Washington, D.C.’s local CBS affiliate WUSA9 Tweeted into the station’s “The Most DC Thing” segment to report the unusual sighting of a vending machine for bundles of…
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'I Really Stepped Into Myself': Lena Waithe Says Cutting Her Hair Liberated Her from Gender Norms
Lena Waithe doesn’t owe anyone an explanation for who she is, how she loves or why she cut her famous locs last month; but the writer, actress and producer graciously gave one to Vanity Fair’s cameras while on the red carpet for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Grants Banquet on Thursday night. After joking that…
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Nappily Ever After: Sanaa Lathan's Netflix Original Untangles Our Issues With Hair
A woman’s identification with her hair can be a powerful thing, but for a black woman, it is a tangled identity fraught with the ongoing effects of racism, respectability politics and beauty standards that have historically marginalized our hair along with everything else. With the rise of the natural hair movement, it’s sometimes easy to…
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International I Love Braids Day Brings Black Self Love to Brooklyn
Debra Hare-Bey is a proud and self-proclaimed “braider”—by trade and tradition. In fact, the Brooklyn native has been braiding for decades—she recalls being “that girl,” on the stoop braiding people’s hair. Years later, Hare-Bey decided to make a career out of braiding. After all, braids—and the rich culture and traditions from which the styles come—are…