I may not ever become a natural hair guru like my fellow naturalistas, but I can drop some basic knowledge. I can tell you from experience that my hair doesn't like a 50-step ritual. I also can tell you some of the more expensive things just don't work for me. I can suggest some cheap alternatives that have given me pretty good results. Basically, I don't act like I know it all when I don't. I don't give bad advice to avoid any naturalista from losing her hair and then being able to blame this lady. So why is there some Tyra-approved "expert" doing the very same thing I strive to avoid? (video is on autoplay once you click the jump.)
How to Loosen Tightly-Coiled Afro Hair Without Straightening -- powered by http://www.typef.com
Heaven help any newbie who decides to listen to the lady with the huge afro and the baaaad advice. And we're talking natural hair 101 basics kind of bad advice. I actually said "clutch the pearls" when she made the following suggestion in her little video:
How to Loosen Tightly-Coiled Afro Hair Without Straightening -- powered by http://www.typef.com
Okay, first of all I had to FISH for this video. It's private on YouTube, but available on the Type F website. Still, CLUTCH THE PEARLS! First of all, using heat in your hair as a naturalista is all a choice. I haven't used it since I've gone natural. This JoAnn Roberston person is making it look very bad. Listen to me, naturals--you do NOT put a brush in your hair period. Not that kind of brush. I'm on the fence about denman brushes and tangle teezers, as people claim up and down they satisfy the curly look. Yours truly is a twist out kind of girl. My hair stays coiled for about 4-5 days before it needs a wash again. It's poofy, but a lady has edges. My moisture game could be better, but I stick to the ground rules--no brushes, no dry combing, and certainly no ultra super close hair dryers all in my tresses.
I'm shocked something like this was allowed to be on YouTube. She has MORE videos as a matter of fact. She's got people who aren't natural laughing harder than they already are, thinking we're all a bunch of crazy fools. That's ticking me off because being natural is a beautiful experience. It's also a taxing one that needs the utmost attention. Some women do let their hair go wild and free like hers, but it doesn't LOOK like her hair. I looked at her hair and touched my own tips praying to the natural gods that my ends didn't look like that. I'm going to do a trim check this week.
I can't begin to document all the blogs and comments who are just as angry and just as insulted as I am that this "stylist" is running around some website trying to "teach" natural women how to do their hair. Honey, they are so many MANY other great sites out there who do it so much better. This is not one of them. As much as I love Tyra and her interesting self, she's got the wrong person doing this. She needs a real natural hair stylist who isn't going to have women of color who are natural using shoddy tips involving wet hair, brushes, high heat, and parabens. If you choose to use a dryer, it's supposed to be on a cool heat. Otherwise, you're supposed to let your hair air dry. Hair isn't 'sposed to smoke. Why this lady was given the green light to make so many videos about hair damage is beyoooond me.
If you're going to teach, teach well. Suggest products that are designed for natural hair. Suggest things that will LOVE natural hair and not abuse it. I think the YouTube comments make it quite clear what the "F" in Type F should really stand for---FAIL! If you really want some great tips on natural hair, the following blogs are where I get my tips:
UPDATE:
Someone on my Facebook page let me know that the videos by this lady are no longer on the website. If you try and find them, you'll get a cute picture of confused Tyra and her shoes. However, there is ANOTHER lady trying to do locs on a lacefront wig. It never ends. It never ends, naturalistas.
I'm shocked something like this was allowed to be on YouTube. She has MORE videos as a matter of fact. She's got people who aren't natural laughing harder than they already are, thinking we're all a bunch of crazy fools. That's ticking me off because being natural is a beautiful experience. It's also a taxing one that needs the utmost attention. Some women do let their hair go wild and free like hers, but it doesn't LOOK like her hair. I looked at her hair and touched my own tips praying to the natural gods that my ends didn't look like that. I'm going to do a trim check this week.
I can't begin to document all the blogs and comments who are just as angry and just as insulted as I am that this "stylist" is running around some website trying to "teach" natural women how to do their hair. Honey, they are so many MANY other great sites out there who do it so much better. This is not one of them. As much as I love Tyra and her interesting self, she's got the wrong person doing this. She needs a real natural hair stylist who isn't going to have women of color who are natural using shoddy tips involving wet hair, brushes, high heat, and parabens. If you choose to use a dryer, it's supposed to be on a cool heat. Otherwise, you're supposed to let your hair air dry. Hair isn't 'sposed to smoke. Why this lady was given the green light to make so many videos about hair damage is beyoooond me.
If you're going to teach, teach well. Suggest products that are designed for natural hair. Suggest things that will LOVE natural hair and not abuse it. I think the YouTube comments make it quite clear what the "F" in Type F should really stand for---FAIL! If you really want some great tips on natural hair, the following blogs are where I get my tips:
Also, just GOOGLE! Google can overwhelm you with natural hair stuff, but it's a start. It's how I was able to pick and choose and find my way. It's also how I did research, made mistakes, and found out about the tips and tricks of the natural hair game. It is a lot to take in and as one lady put it, "a video for 1:39 minutes just is not enough to cover all that needs to be done to natural hair". So very true. Just because our nappy roots look like they can take a beating doesn't mean it SHOULD. Coarse hair is actually the most fragile and the easiest to damage. It requires moisture, care, and time. Please, PLEAAASE naturals, boycott this loco lady. Let her and Type F know that it ain't cool to drop such tired knowledge on the natural hair masses.
(Shout out to Luvvie G for inspiring me to write about this. :) )
UPDATE:
Someone on my Facebook page let me know that the videos by this lady are no longer on the website. If you try and find them, you'll get a cute picture of confused Tyra and her shoes. However, there is ANOTHER lady trying to do locs on a lacefront wig. It never ends. It never ends, naturalistas.