- I really wanted to start this episode with Solange's
Don't Touch my Hair, but we couldn't afford the rights.
(upbeat music)
Okay so this is a big one.
Today we're debunking some common myths about black hair.
Now it'd be almost impossible to encompass every
single thing about black hair in a four minute video,
but before we actually get into the myths,
let's take a few seconds to cover some of the basics.
The thing to realize about most black hair is
it's just hair.
It just operates a little differently compared to
the hair texture of other races and ethnicities.
Afro-textured hair tends to be more tightly coiled
and more porous than other textures,
more susceptible to dryness and less tolerant
to over-manipulation.
Of course that doesn't mean all black hair is the same.
Black hair can come in literally all kinds of shapes,
colors, and sizes.
From kinky to wavy, from jet black, to blonde,
the possibilities are endless.
Natural black hair is hair that's texture has
not been chemically altered with relaxers,
texturizers or perms.
Common natural black hairstyles include:
afros, braids, locks, twists, bantu knots and cornrows
just to name a few.
Got it?
Good.
Onto the myths.
Myth number one, black people don't wash their hair.
Okay first to anyone who thinks we don't wash our hair,
really bruh?
No!
Black people do not have a debilitating fear of water.
When a black girl says she doesn't want to get her hair wet
it's just because she doesn't want to mess up her hairdo.
Healthy hair, whether it's white, black, or asian
should have a good balance of natural oils
that our scalps produce.
Black hair actually thrives on moisture.
With naturally straight hair the oils are able to
travel down the entire hair shaft more easily,
which may lead to excess oil, meaning you might want
to wash your hair more often to avoid it feeling greasy.
But if you've got kinky or curly hair, like most
black people, the oils can have some trouble
navigating all those spirals, making our hair
more prone to dryness.
Therefore, washing too much, especially with shampoos
that strip our natural oils, is actually
counter-intuitive and even unhealthy.
But we do wash our hair!
Myth number two: Black hair just doesn't grow.
There's this huge misconception amongst some black people
and non-black people alike that black hair
just doesn't grow.
Listen, if you ever see a black girl with especially
long hair, don't just assume it's a weave and
definitely don't ask her if she's mixed with something.
As if you have to be mixed to have long hair.
All human hair, no matter race or ethnicity
grows at least half an inch a month,
so black hair does grow, but because black hair
is so tightly coiled it could take longer to see the length.
Shrinkage is real.
Afro-textured hair tends to be weaker than straight hair
making it more prone to having the ends break off.
But this doesn't mean our hair can't grow long,
it just means we have to take extra care of it
in order to retain the length.
It's mine, it's real and you can't touch it.
One method for retaining length and keeping
black hair healthy is protective styling.
Basically keeping our hair under wraps with the use
of styles like buns, wigs, twists, box-braids, weaves,
and other forms of extensions.
Which, brings us to our next myth.
Myth number three: Real talk you only see black women
out here wearin' weaves.
Look changing your hair is fun!
I do it all the time!
Sew-in weaves and lace-front wigs are no different from
the clip-in and keratin-bonded extensions we see many
white celebs rock, but somehow weaves have become
synonymous with black women.
I mean okay, that's partly because black ladies
know how to lay a weave and they've pretty much
innovated and perfected the art of the undetectable
install, but there's also this icky connotation
where some people demonize, especially men,
black women who wear weaves for being fake.
Britney Spears, Lauren Conrad, Miley Cyrus,
Reese Witherspoon, John Travolta,
these are just a handful of white celebs who have
definitely rocked a weave or a lace-front or two.
And I shouldn't have to say this, but wearing a weave
doesn't make you fake or mean you lack confidence.
It just means you like to play with your personal style.
Myth number four: Blonde hair and straightened hair
are cultural appropriation.
Okay, not to go too far into the
whole cultural appropriation debate,
but let's do a quick primer.
Cultural appropriation happens when a majority group
takes the cultural practice of a minority group
often without credit and the minority group
continues to be demonized or stigmatized for
that same cultural practice.
Cultural appropriation cliff notes: it's not cool when
you do it, but it's cool when we do it.
If your counter argument for those who call out the
co-opting and Colombusing of styles like
cornrows, bantu knots and afros is but black women
dye their hair blonde, here's why that doesn't work.
First, there are numerous examples of black people
with naturally blonde and even red-hair colors,
secondly and most honestly importantly: blonde hair
is not exclusive to white people, hell straight hair
is not exclusive to white people.
And three, white people are not being penalized
through laws or social norms for having blonde hair.
In fact, having blonde hair is a
status symbol for many people.
But black hair has been historically stigmatized
as unruly, unprofessional, unkempt, and ugly.
A study published earlier this year found that
black women are almost twice as likely to experience
social pressures at work to straighten their hair
compared to white women and that white women,
who make up 38% of female managers in the work-force
are more likely to rate natural black hair as
"less beautiful" and "less professional"
than smooth hair.
The perception around natural black hair is so negative,
in fact, that up until 2017 the US military actually had
a ban against locks and natural hairstyles,
including twists, cornrows, afros, and braids.
The ban known as army regulation 670-1 actually
described natural hair as matted and unkempt.
Really?!
Tell that to any of these fly women.
Black hair because it's synonymous with black people
has always been vulnerable to scrutiny, discrimination,
and co-opting without giving credit.
So yes, it's hair, but for many black people
there's also a lot of pride in how we choose to
express ourselves through our hair, in spite of everything.
Thanks for watching, we'll see you next time,
right here on Decoded.
(upbeat music)
Bam!