I’m so overwhelmed, I haven’t had a chance to watch it. But I did get a chance to peep the comments over at Necole Bitchie and I’ll admit, my expectations aren’t high. (** Youtube removed the original clip, so I feature this clip courtesy of Dime Wars).
From what I understand, the natural spokesbella quotient was low. And that’s a shame. But like I said, I’m in the middle of a crazy move, just got back from a trip… I haven’t watched it yet. Have you? What did you think? Should I watch, or will this episode of the Tyra show just raise my blood pressure?
I must say, although I applaud Tyra and her show for even attempting to scratch the surface the show ultimately left alot to be desired! The show gave a little insight as to why some of us still stick with the “creamy crack” but fell short on showing a wider variety of natural sisters who were secure within themselves to rock their natural beauty. While understanding the time crunch I feel several issues were sadly overlooked such as the lack of knowledge that black women tend to have about our hair, the dangers of using these chemicals, the lack of acceptance that we ultimately face in the work place when wearing our natural hair as well as other topics that could help educate other races as to some of the challenges that we face. Once again, I applaud the effort but would LLLOOOVVVEEEEE to see a show where more detailed information/facts are provided while helping to educate all viewers.
I had no interest in watching. I am so OVER the whole good hair/bad hair debate. It doesn’t matter how you wear your hair…natural or permed, the objective should really be to just have healthy hair….PERIOD!! The topic of the show should have been “healthy hair”, and they should have discussed what a lot of black women are doing now to have beautiful, healthy hair. With sites like hairlist.ning.com, and with all of the other information on the web, there really is NO EXCUSE for any black woman to be walking around with dry, brittle, damaged, hair.
oops! The website is: hairlista.ning.com.
the video has been removed. I agree with Natural_Oasis that the topic is just too deep to have one show on it and there needs to have been more secure women. I dare say an overwhelming over 70% of black women with coarser hair textures are not secure, confident nor happy with their hair texture and there needs to be more addressed on why that is so…i understand the corporate aspect as I came from a legal environment and worked in a corporate law firm for several years, but i wore my braids anyway and am not sure whether that alienated co-workers as I rarely got client contact.
in any event, i work for myself not and have been natural and braids wearing for nearly 10 years now…
i didn’t watch the episode and am not trying to get a boil today. got too much already on my plate.
I didn’t watch and having seen clips and read other people’s comments I’m not sure I will. I’m not a Tyra fan so her “dressing up ” for this ep by rocking braids when she is the queen of weaves annoyed me from the start. I’m not saying either is better than the other, but I dislike that she felt she had to wear braids for this discussion. It sent a subtle message to me that she was pretending to be a natural girl for purposes of this discussion only.
2 months ago I stopped bariding my hair and I started wearing my hair natural but I straighten it with a hair straightner.
The white women at work would touch my hair and ask if its real. One of them even asked me is it really yours I though black people couldnt grow their hair…
After 2 months of answering such stupid questions I finally sent an email to the whole dept explaining that yes my hair was real and its as real as my dark brown skin and full lips.
What’s funny is Tyra still has weave in them cornrows so technically that isn’t all that natural either. I’ve been both, I’ve had the relaxer when I was young, then I grew it out all natural and was completely before my time, then I pressed and curled it and now I have a relaxer again. I don’t know what my actual texture would be at the moment and honestly, I’m entirely too lazy to find out. I go to the hairdresser twice a month for two to three hours each time. The only upkeep I have is wrapping it and oiling it. My boss has natural hair and yes her boss(black man) has things to say about her afro. Personally, it’s just a hair choice. There is not some deep psychological reason to everybody’s hair choice. Sometimes it’s just a style.
@ L’afrique c’est chic
That is the funniest thing I have ever heard! While, I was tempted to say something like that to my coworkers after I Big Chopped, I never had the guts. You just made my day! Did you get any reaction after your email? I am dying to know:)
Forgot to set my tv timer, saw the clips tho. I think it mite jus raise ur pressure lol. Jus from the clips i wanna b*tch slap that “white girl flow” girl. Can i just say ig’nant “A” comment? Like seriously, MOST anyone can have “white girl flow” with a relaxer. That is NOT the natural state of ur hair, that is chemically created boo. I have been told all my life that i have “good” hair. i take offense, what ure sayg that sum1 else doesn’t? No matter the texture to me any hair is “good” when it’s healthy. I am proud that I can make my hair beautiful to me, by means of the styles and the gentle loving care that i give my hair, in its NATURAL state. To me that is the true definition of “good” hair. I don’t need some creamy crack to get “good” hair. I’ve got “black girl swing” thank you VERY much!
I already had a heads up from nappturality that this show would be coming on soon but I missed it since I was at work. I did see a clip though and it was pretty sad. I definitely think the show could’ve been done in a better way but Tyra simply didn’t use the opportunity wisely.
My department actually called a meeting over my email.
For a while things were a bit frosty. But then people began to apologise for their ignorance.
I tuned into totally by accident and found parts of the show frustrating and and parts enlightening. There was very little representation about natural hair except the pursuit of avoiding it because it is too hard to comb. I never knew mothers put weaves and relaxers in their girls hair younger than 10. A video was shown of a mother relaxing her 3 yr old’s hair. The results were fine but the lack of natural and health oriented sensitivity was unreal, except in the mother of the dark-skinned little girl who hated her hair and loved her hannah montana wig. Ironically her mother refused to relax the girls head at such a young age, and even though the girl made shocking admissions, I was most confident in her growing up with healthy hair respect b/c of her mother. One mother didnt date black men too avoid having nappy-headed babies. Imagine what messed notions she’s giving her little girl.
On a completely other note, Tyra’s earrings were rocking! Does anyone know who they’re by or where to find them?
Thanks
FYI Sandy: My first relaxer was in the third grade, so I was about 7 or 8.
FYI Sandy: My first relaxer was when I was 5 or 6. I got burns so bad in the front of my head that my 1st grade teacher thought my mother was abusing me. My friend has been weaving her daughter’s head since she was 2 or 3. Ridiculous!
I did not watch (was not interested).
I have had a relaxer as a young girl, once I was over 18 I cut my hair short and started growing it natural, I’ve had it that way since.
I still wear weaves, braids and press my hair .
I also wear it curly, wavy and natural.
Honestly I like to switch it up and I ? my weave, but it does not mean that I hate my hair or myself.
I like a variety of styles and weaves permit that with ease…at least in my case.
Some individuals my have issues with their hair but I’m not one of them. I don’t take offense when people make assumptions either, that always happens in one way or another.
Dee/NewlyNappy: Time to confess: I got a relaxer at about 8 or 9. They were called Vigorols. I’ve been natural for so long, I must have completely blocked that out! (The relaxer took my hair out btw and my mother stopped using them on me completely)
Don’t waste your time watching the first few minutes had my blood pressuring rising. Obviously the woman on the panel had their own personal issues of feeling beautiful. They needed to be on a show on how to love yourself not what society wants you be or be like.
Let me say first that I’m not a nappy hair nazi and I wasn’t expecting the show to bring anything enlightening to the forefront. It just kept the conversation going, and even though Tyra can annoy me to no end I applaud her for having a show dedicated to this topic. I can say that it really broke my heart to hear some of what the little girls were saying from the one that preferred a matted Hannah Montana wig to her own beautiful hair to the little girl with very long hair that wanted her mom to cut her hair because children picked on her.
I choose to wear my hair in its natural state but I don’t look down on people that choose to relax their hair. I also don’t think that natural is synonymous with loving yourself and straightening your hair means that you hate who you are, in the end it’s a preference. And you can be natural or straight and hate or love yourself.
I didn’t catch the show but first heard about it having aired over at Crunk and Disorderly. My first reaction was similar to Milaxx’s comment: why did Tyra – normally the lacefront queen – feel the need to rock cornrows for this one episode? Surely it would have been more honest to wear her normal style and speak her truth? I’ve got the sense that she was trying to portray herself differently – all the better to judge those caught up in the “good hair” delusion. But I generally find her to be sanctimonious and fast forward through her talking whenever I watch ANTM.
@ afrobella, If you aren’t expecting much then your blood pressure should be fine. I just wish I could report one of the mother’s to child protective services for torturing the 3 year old with a perm!!!!
they needed a happy medium. ” no reason to relax your hair.. to White girl flow.
it was sad.
I was at home, but by the time I realized it was on I had to leave for work. I have mentioned before (with the Oprah weave situation) and I will mention again, please try to get on oprah and Tyra. You miss Afrobella and Motown girls need to write letters and try to get more television exposure. It would be a good treat for us who already know about natural hair and how to take care of it. It would also be good for those who aren’t educated because I saw some of the Tyra show online and it may just make your blood boil. With two African American woman with television shows, they need to just keep it real and have real natural hair experts on that can open the eyes of the girls that say they want to grow up and have flowy weaves like oprah (oops) I only meant like Tyra since lady O claims she never had a weave.
Honestly, one of the reasons I decided to grow out my relaxer was based on a comment my stylist actually thought was a compliment.
I’m sitting her chair after I had just received a touch-up for my relaxer, blow out and pressing with a CHI iron.
I saw her reflection in the mirror. She was proud of her work.
“Your hair looks like a white girl’s.”
Instead of of appreciating the “compliment”, I was appalled.
Just like I was appalled when white colleagues would coo over a freshly relaxer bob and ignore it the week I missed my appointment.
Appalled like I was when they poured the praise on the twist-out made shiny with gobs of product.
I get mad at myself for even buying into the lie that I had to fit in.
@milaxx – I see your point completely, and from the momeny I saw the freeze frame of Tyra with cornrows, I said to myself “Lord, I can’t right now.” I’ll watch and add comments later. But for now I will say Tyra ooks gorgeous with the cornrows and I wish she’d wear the style even when she isn’t making a point.
#9 – Newly Nappy “black girl swing!” I love it! I need that on a teeshirt =)
#12 – Sandy – I got my first relaxer at age 7. I believe the box recommends for ages 8 and up, actually. 3 is definitely far too young and my heart bleeds for that little girl. To have a mother so misguided… it’s beyond sad.
@18 – I agree with you and that should be the topic for an upcoming post. I have so many relaxed-hair role models in my life, in my family – I could never ever think my relaxed-hair sisters are less enlightened or intelligent than I am. Having said that…you know what? you really inspired me with that comment. I’m totally writing a post about this. Thank you!
@22 GeorgiaPeche – from your keyboard to Oprah’s or Tyra’s ears! I hope the opportunity arises someday. I’d love to speak my piece.
Good is a moral quality. Good hair is hair that grows. And with that being said I wish my beautiful black bella sisters would not chemically style their hair thinking that that is a must do. I see more and more women with little to no hair (thinning/balding)at younger and younger ages. We love you as you are make the world love your natural real hair!
It would be wonderful if the diversity of black women was celebrated instead of viewed as confusing or demonized.
How wonderful it is that we can rock braids, curls, short, long, straight, wavy, kinky, weave, etc, owning our style and creativity!
However, appreciating diversity requires a strong love of self which apparently we are sorely lacking.
Sorry. This show was not the right angle for TV. Who cares if “other” folks do or don’t understand our hair? What I think Tyra should have done is had women with natural hair( all ethnicities) sit in the audience and for Tyra to wage a campaign, by wearing her hair in various natural styles for a week. People need to accept differences in each other; I think Tyra chose the wrong opponents of natural hair for this show.
I agree with you Sandra…but Tyra would never do that…she belongs to the church of yaki, lol.
I’m growing out my relaxer right now. I am 27 and have been getting relaxers since I was 8. I made a promise to myself that by the time I was 30 that my head would be chemical free. So I started in January with a weave sew in and I just got a set of micro braids on Monday..hopefully the big chop will come in August.
You all wish me luck.
But I have to admit that when my stylist removed the weave and I got a glipse of the 2.5 inches of new growth on my head…that was the first time I had seen my actual hair texture in 20 years. It’s going to take some getting used too..but I am determinted to reach my goal.
It’s funny to hear about the “big chop”. When I was younger and transitioned out of my relaxer the firs time, I never chopped my hair off. We just stopped getting relaxers and I had braids,cornrows and the like. Every time they cut a little of my relaxed hair out, but I never lacked for length. I think the shortest it got was maybe right at the top of my shoulders all the way around. Do you all do the big chop because it’s not healthy to leave it that way and phase your hair out gradually?
I “big chopped” in December 2007 after 7 months. I never wore braids, cornrows, weaves, or anything like that, so I’ve always had my hair out. I got tired of dealing with it and chopped it off. I did braid-outs during the transition, but I eventually just said go for it, and had a TWA. Even now it curls up so tightly it still looks like a TWA (2-3 inches shrunken), but stretched it’s 9-10″. I think it can be healthy as long as you take care of it, which you obviously did.
WTF – where did she find these women? I think I now have high blood pressure. I am embarassed to be on the same planet as those two.
I’m fine with women who relax their hair, hell I flat ironed mine for the first time in 6 years earlier this year.
But I’m not OK with black women hating the state of their natural hair. How could you say you have a relaxer because you’re an American, and boast about your white girl flow. That’s some serious self hatred there.
While I applauad Tyra for trying a topic like this, she lacks the skill needed to moderate such a weighty and valuable topic.
Is it just me or does her production team simply have a knack for finding black people with horrid self hate issues?
If you were born in the 80’s or before chances are you had a relaxer at a young age. It was just what some parents did to manage their child’s hair. I mean nobody has even talked about jeri curls, but you all know somebody who had one.
Wearing your own natural hair as recent as five years ago just wasn’t thought of by the masses so it will take some time for people to let go of those old ideas…Ice Cube held on to his curl five years past the trend.
*born in the late 60’s thru the 80’s.
big chopped last july have worn wigs and now braids…saw a friend who stopped perming and grew it out…she just looked crazy for a loooooooong time…half perm/half ‘fro!! no ma’am!
I tried to resist watching this videos(for days since it was posted) and I am amazed that young people still use that term “good hair. White girl flow” – what the heck is that?? As an “Old Head”(54 y.o.) words escape me ..and that is very rare! Auugghh!!!
I wish I could see this show in full, but dont think it comes on in the uk anymore,
I am natural and wear hair pieces, I wore a twist out with added pieces to puff it out more. my european colleagues were in aww but a black guy says oh ok so you doing an 80s look. the tone and look on his face said it all. why should natural hairstyles mean a fashion rewind and not a fashionable current.
in that clip when the girls says Tyra has loose curl and wavy hair and Tyra corrected her and said no. My hair is kinky curly and a bit of grease and gel keeps it flat. priceless. perceptions
sorry more of a ramble as not seen the whole thing but shame on that woman who relaxes her 3yr olds head, shame shame shame
Oh my goodness!!!!! BlaqueIndigo was in the audience at 1:32. I love her videos. But enough about her. I’ve been natural since October after having relaxers since I was 2. honestly, I’ve found that, if anything, my hair is MORE manageable, as well as softer and shinier. I decided to flat iron it about 2 weeks ago and realized that that just was not me and was OVERJOYED when my curls came back. I’m sorry but I no longer see the point in having straight hair when we are just not meant to have it. God gave us this natural lusciousness and who are we to correct God?
Ok I’m glad I didn’t watch this episode of Tyra. The panel of ladies that were sitting in the first two seats were nuts. Plain ol’ nuts. What is ‘white girl flow’? Listening to them speak you can tell that they weren’t even sure about whats coming out of their mouths because none of it made sense. From what I’ve seen, Tyra should have done her research and have more women with natural hair to elaborate. However a woman wants to wear her hair is her choice. No need to be abrasive. It just saddens me how blinking idiots like those 2 women on the panel would make statements like that, for me it was embarrassing to watch. You’d think they would sit up there and articulate themselves better than that. It just makes you vex.
The sadist in me rather enjoyed some of the clips of her show. Once I heard the names of the girls, I knew what came out of their mouths was going to be wild. It was very entertaining, because it was so silly.
I always hear about how rough the texture of our hair is supposed to be. I think with the kind of products people put in their hair (petroleum, mineral oil, harsh shampoos, etc), I believe those are what is making it feel rough. A relaxer goes under the scalp and makes the new hair growth rough too.
Many years ago I used to think my hair was rough, a pain-in-the-butt, coarse, and hard. However, once I learned how to treat it right, it’s very very soft.
I wear my hair in twists and braids, and they swing quite freely over my shoulders. The hair doesn’t have to be straight in order for it to flow, or swing, or whatever.
Tyra could have done a how-to-treat-natural-hair segment, sending someone to a stylist isn’t helpful. Education is the key, it would cause less mothers to treat their daughter’s hair like an irritating nuisance.
Oh goodness. Where do I begin? First time poster here. I missed the first run of this show and finally watched the episode earlier this evening. Let me say that it saddens me the effects of slavery are still apparent. I did like that the young girl in the red at the top of the show tried a natural look, she was open to it.
I really tried to watch with an open mind. I found this episode not only irresponsible, but ineffective. Tyra coming out in cornrows had me smh. The self hatred made my tears well up. It’s one thing to read it online, but to see it out in the open had mespeechless. And there was Tyra with her forever wearing wigs and lacefronts was just laughable. I mean she is so ill equipped to tackle such a multifaceted topic. The panel wasn’t made up of experts to debunk the myths, just another “woo is me” show about black women’s insecurities.
Thanks Tyra.
PNW Coils, you really hit the nail on the head. All I really should type is “Amen” but this topic is too fascinating to me.
I am curious about where I can see the whole episode AND where I can see that documentary that Chris Rock made for his daughter called “Good Hair” (http://festival.sundance.org/2009/film_events/films/good_hair). I really need to see how a black man, a father, looks at this when he considers how these issues, images and opinions will influence his daughter.
Maybe Tyra should’ve left it up to him (or somebody who had a little more capacity to look at the issue critically), but at least she tried. I can’t excuse her, but I have to acknowledge her effort and understand that she’s just catching on herself (and doing it slowly, at that). She can also reach people who have absolutely no clue. Do I care that several people don’t understand that most black women don’t wash their hair daily? No. But I love that it was the first question because it was illustrative of the fact that we still have quite a bit to learn about each other. Do I care that people think locs are dirty and somehow cannot be washed when they’re first started? Absolutely not. But it shows that we have quite a bit to learn about ourselves, our hair and the options that are available to us. If Tyra can reach a few young girls and show them that they have options to consider, then it’s a start. Furthermore, if she can convince a few mothers that maybe they should hold off on the toxic chemicals with toddlers or (better yet) at least read the ingredients, she’s done something. Maybe more people will watch the show and see that the underlying issue isn’t what’s on people’s heads, but what’s inside them. Will that be because of Tyra? Maybe not. But she did put it out there in a way that others haven’t…or can’t.
I don’t watch any talk shows, so not many hosts come to mind. All I can think of are Oprah, Ellen and Wanda Sykes. While I think Ellen is much more clever, I don’t know how I’d feel about her doing it. I doubt Oprah will spend this much time on a topic her core audience can’t relate to. I doubt Wanda Sykes would even entertain this discussion, but she’s slated for Friday night so she’ll be lucky to get a dozen episodes in before she’s cancelled. But I digress, my point is that Tyra is in uncharted territory with a unique opportunity because of who she is: a black woman who has made her fortune in the beauty industry. She’s not an academic, an artist, a journalist or a politician–she’s a retired model who was trained to be beautiful. I personally believe that she’s just finding her voice, and her opinion, on many issues and that she hasn’t given much thought to her impact, much less done a critical examination of the issues. Her producers find interesting, tragic, entertaining characters because they are motivated by ratings. They may be a trainwreck, but they get people to look. Mission accomplished. Nobody really seems to be interested in getting viewer to think or act.
Bella, as much as this makes me tired, sad and frustrated, I’m going to keep watching and listening and I hope you will too. You would’ve been an excellent panelist, and maybe soon you will be, but until then, keep up the excellent work with these posts and discussions.
I’m white, and my best friend is black and has straightened her hair since i have known her (since she was eleven) and i’ve never understood why. I’ve never thought there was more to it than choosing to have hair straight or curly. I realise now that there is a pressure. Personally, i believe naturally curly hair is so beautiful, and i have spent hours in the past curling my hair. I honestly didn’t realise it was like this for black women.
That made me laugh out loud… in disbelief and liberal amounts of sarcasm. I used to relax my hair back in the day cuz my mum took me to the hairdresser on my 14th birthday and that was that. I’ve always had a love hate relationship but not because I had the whole good/bad thing, but because I had a hard time finding products that work.
No I have beautiful big ass curly ‘fro that I love, my fiancé loves; my friends and co-worker love it too. I get more compliments now than when I was at the salon every damn Saturday dropping £60 per visit.
Anyway. Everyone has their cross to bear and I suppose if hair is the thing that someone is losing sleep over then life must be good.
I am really glad I missed the show because the few moments I witnesses in the clip had me wanting to bop the first two panelist in the forehead like they should have had a V8. In addition to that, I was majorly turned off by Tyra’s “for show” rows, but greatly appreciated her including herself in the “weave/wig/perm” brigade.
I agree with another commenter who stated, whether hair is permed or natural the aim is to have HEALTHY HAIR, and yet another who stated that most often hair becomes coarse and brittle simply by virtue of the product we use. I think it’s past time for the “good hair/bad hair” hatchet to be buried and a focus on healthy/unhealthy hair be born in its place. As my Granddude used to say, if you got hair at all, that’s good hair. And so it is.
I have been natural for two years now, and while it is my personal choice for health and financial reasons, I would never insist that any other woman take this journey unless they truly felt it in their heart to do so. However one chooses to rock their tresses is just fine with me as long as it’s seen as an extension of the complete and whole woman/man they are, not a definition of it.
Thanks for inspiring a Blog post, Afrobella. *smile*
I had trouble watching the show. I only caught segments of it because it was really painful to watch. I wish they had some black women with beautiful natural hair up there and some natural haired black children. From what I saw, I don’t think this episode delivered a good message. It’s sad because there was a lot of potential there for Tyra to advocate for natural black beauty but she didn’t say too much from what I saw. Instead it looked like having black hair some kind of horrific thing. I mean I know our hair can be hard to manage but it’s beautiful… to me at least.
The show can be found in its entirety on youtube. I just watched the show…and it was sad…it hurts to see black women fell shame for themselves in the way that they did – their ignorance towards their own self hatred amazed me…”white girl flow”???? I dont have a issue with anyone who chooses a relaxer…I had a perm since the fifth grade…I was just tired of starting form scratch, burns, breakage….decided at 25 I couldn’t do it anymore…now I am natural. We can’t keep doing this to our young boys and girls.
In highschool, I had a boyfriend who only was attracted to light skinned women, and spanish women, eventhough his mother and all of his aunts were darkskinned women. So during the years of shaping myself as a women- I had a black boy telling me that I was unacceptable – that my features were unacceptable. Not to mention family members who had issues with their complexions as well. I created this image of what I needed to look like.The media does it, and more importantly we do it to our selves.
I thank god for my husband who has helped me through my journey and loves my hair, even on the days when it has been difficult for me to figure it out. I have been natural for 1 1/2 years now. Again, no hate to women – do what you want but just MAKE SURE you really know why and where it comes from – is it the versatility of being able to do different things with your hair – or does it stem from something deeper?
I think it was a great show, although upsetting to see some people still segregate their minds. I think Tyra’s willingness to at least touch the subject is great and she should be applauded for that. Maybe if they do another show, they should include more people comfortable with their natural hair and not just the ignorant ones. The little girls being brainwashed made me so sad. I think black folks should focus more on their health than hair. One particular mom and her daughter were quite overweight which is putting them at risk for diabetes and god knows what else, yet as long as her hair was straight they were happily oblivious to that fact.
I found that show rather enlightening. Yes, those first two speakers were a bit on the self-hatred side but it just mirrors the beliefs of a number of Black women. I stopped perming my hair 8 months ago and while my hair has yet to be revealed (transitioning with flat twists and twist outs) my family has provided more than enough reasons why I should get a perm. I’m apparently “going to look like Kizzy”. I’m doing my “India Arie”. And I’ve recently learned that “no man will ever want me”.
The thing is, I am old enough to realize that you already have enough adversaries in society; there is no need to add yourself to the list. The young girls on the show do not. We need to be doing all we can to show them that yes, straight hair is beautiful but so is unstraightened hair.
And I wish people would stop connecting kinky hair to unkempt hair. “You’re going to look like a slave” is a common statement as if slaves were the epitome of healthy hair practitioners. I know if I was a slave, my main objective would not be to find a good deep conditioner.
??,aleks,???????? ????, ????????????? ?????? ????? ??????..
We as African Americans have a choice to make. Either we are going to move forward or stay behind. The debate about natural hair or relaxed hair is old and worn out. This bottom line – WE HAVE CHOICES!!
(Posted too soon…my response continues…)
[Edit: The bottom line…we have choices!]
We need to focus on self acceptance – be comfortable in your own skin (and hair). Find a hair style that YOU like – not because you feel mainstream America will accept it or one texture is better than another. African American hair can be nappy, straight, curly, course, kinky, relaxed, braided, weaved – we’ve got it like that! Let’s be proud of who we are and rock the style that YOU prefer!
Mothers, teach your daughters to be proud of their skin color, their hair, hips, eyes, and lips!
More importantly, ladies…GET OVER IT!!!
I don’t watch a lot of TV anymore. I actually hate most TV shows that are on nowadays. I heard about this episode of the Tyra Banks show from naturallycurly.com and decided to watch it on YouTube out of curiosity. Anyway, I was completely disgusted by most of the panelists on this show. The ones that made me the most angry was the girl who said she had good hair because she had the “white girl flow” and can swing her hair. The very ignorant, overweight mother with the microbraids who decided to get knocked up by a Latino/Hispanic man just to have a child with “good hair”. The lazy white woman with the lovely biracial child who put a relaxer and some weave in her child’s hair. Apparently she is too effing lazy to learn how to take care of biracial hair without using chemicals and weaves! And last, but not least was the most lazy, ignorant light skinned mother who put a relaxer in her 3 year old daughter’s hair!! I mean this is a form of child abuse! I don’t have kids but if I did, I would never put a relaxer in my little girls hair at such a young age. I am in my 40’s and have mostly type 4 hair. My mom pressed my hair from the time that I was 7 or 8 years old until my senior year in high school. But when I was pre-school age, she kept my hair natural and just washed it and used some royal crown hair grease and put it in pigtails. Most very young Black and biracial girls hair is not that hard to manage. It just takes a little time and knowledge about using the right kind of products. I feel that all that the 3 year old girl needed was a good moisturizing shampoo and a good detangling conditioner and some type of oil, and comb her hair out with a wide tooth shower comb. I also got angry at the 2 sisters, one said that she had “good hair that didn’t need relaxers and her sister had the so-called bad hair. (My personal opinion about the sister with the “good hair” is that she probably had some lace front weave in, so that’s why she didn’t need a relaxer.) I have an older sister whose hair is a little more kinky than mine but I could never embarass her like that on national TV. The mother and daughter with the short afro. The daughter with the short afro was very attractive and neat looking. The mother had a lot of nerve to say that she was embarrassed to present her daughter out in public to people. I thought that the mother looked much worse, her hair was ugly, stringy and overprocessed. She really needs to do a big chop herself. I felt sorry for those poor kids. They are going to grow up with very low self esteem and self hatred. I was deeply saddened by the little girl with the Hannah Montana wig. She did not need that awful wig to be pretty. I felt that the little girl was pretty on her own and with her own natural hair. The only woman that I really liked was the lady in the locs and the pink top. I felt that she made the most sense since out of all of them. Also, the girl in the red dress was OK. I hope that she has the courage to go natural. Sorry for the very long post but I had to get this off of my chest.
I can’t watch the clip right now. I find it really hard to watch Tyra’s show often times.
But to comment on what Natural_oasis said – that’s one of my issues with Tyra’s show. She tries to tackle these huge issues, gets a panel of people that cut each other off, or she cuts them off, or any time someone gets CLOSE to making a real point (whether I agree with it or not), they cut to commercial or the show ends. I just never feel satisfied. They barely scratch the surface on that show and I do mean barely.
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Man, that Tyra show on “good hair” was painful to watch. Some of those women were self hating. Sad. *sigh*
While I haven’t watched this episode of the Tyra show about “good/bad hair,” you all couldn’t be surprised that Tyra’s show was going to be a hot mess. I mean look at Tyra, she’s a hot mess, along with many of the sisters who are entertainers. Tyra, Beyonce, Rhianna, and Ciara, are probably some of the most low-self esteeem sisters on the planet, so what else can we expect from them. They try to basically sell themselves as product by using their bodies, sex, and their “so-called” beauty to appeal to mainstream, basically appealing to lame white people. Think about, when have we ever seen Beyonce or Tyra wear their own hair? It’s not that they couldn’t because they have enough money to get their hair done, its just that they want to look at white as possible with all of the that ugly, blond weave!
That pissed me off. Everytime I see this, I think they chose the wrong people. They should have a chose a nappy chick like me that could be confident and explain that there are others like her on sites like nappturality, there are teens younger than her that grew enough tits to just chop their hair off and if you were confident with yourself, you’d praise yourself instead of waiting on others to praise your natural hair. It doesn’t matter if you dont get any compliments, you like it, so it works.
This saddened me. I think that Black women here in the states and even around the world struggle with the (is my hair good or bad) questions. I believe that however you decide to wear your hair, you should believe that it is beautiful and you should be happy. You should not however, down someone else for their choice to be natural, relaxed, or however another individual wants to wear their hair. It’s not our place to tell another individual how they should wear their hair. And it’s also not some other person’s place to tell me that I shouldn’t even think about going natural. I’ve been transitioning for about 6 months now. And I have heard many different things from people. I’ve had people ask and say: What are you going to do with your hair once it’s natural? Your hair is so thick how can you take it? I think all curly hair is ugly no matter what race you are. What’s wrong with you? Your hair would have kept growing even if you kept a relaxer. More power too you. Only you Rachel only you.
I’m so fed up with peoples comments the next time someone asks me something I’m gonna be like. What am I gonna do once all my hair is natural? I’m gonna do me. And about my hair being thick, I’m proud of it. Most people would kill to have my thick hair. And that’s your problem if you think that all curly hair is ugly. Nice way to say that you aren’t prejudice. And why am I the only one that could do it? You could too. GOSH!!! What is wrong with people these days. Why can’t everyone stop meddling in everyone’s business and let people do what they please. Who cares if you wanna keep your relaxer, I want my natural curls back. It’s more fun to play with. I like the versatility. I can wear my hair straight or curly. As long as you are truly happy with your hair and you aren’t talking about someone else because of the way they choose to wear their hair….YOU BETTA GO GIRL!!!
THE WOMEN IN THE YELLOW & BLUE TOP ARE IGNORANT. U HAVE THE WHITE GIRL FLOW?? ARE U FOR REAL?U HAVE GOOD QUALITY HAIR? AS FAR AS I KNOW WEN U HAVE “GOOD” QUALITY HAIR IT IS “GOOD” IN ITS NATURAL STATE AND DOES NOT HAVE TO BE CHEMICALLY PROCESSED TO ACHIEVE THAT SO CALL GOOD QUALITY WHICH I BELIEVE IS NONSENSE, BECUZ ALL HAIR IS GOOD HAIR. 4 THE 1 IN THE BLUE, IF U DONT HATE THE TEXTURE OF UR HAIR Y STRAIGHTEN IT? CUZ ALL U ARE STATING IS THAT U STRAIGHTEN UR HAIR BECUZ OF HOW U THINK SOCIETY WILL PERCEIVE U. U LET SOCIETY DEFINE U AS A PERSON,BUT U SHUD BE THE ONE DEFINING URSELF AS A PERSON NOT ANYONE ELSE. & WHAT THE HELL IS AN AFRICAN COMB? THE STUPIDITY OF BLACK PPL TODAY.THIS IS Y SOCIETY IS LIKE THIS TODAY BECUZ OF PPL LIKE THEM. UNTIL WE BLACK PPL LEARN TO ACCEPT AND LOVE OUR SELVES FOR WHO WE ARE, DEN WE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED OR LOVED BY ANYONE ELSE. WE BLACK PPL SHOULD BE PROUD OF OUR ETHNICITY AND EMBRACE OUR UNIQUENESS INTEAD OF BEING LIKE THE WHITE GIRL, THE INDIAN GIRL OR THE LATINA GIRL WHO MOSTLY HAVE STRAIGHT HAIR. BUT FUNNY THING, WE BLACK PPL STRAIGHTEN OUR HAIR TO PUT BACK THOSE SAME CURLS IN BY USING CURLERS ETC. I DONT GET IT. BUT WEN A WHITE GIRL DECIDES TO BRAID HER HAIR THE FIRST THING WE BLACK PPL SAY IS THAT SHE IS TRYING TO BE BLACK. Y IS IT ACCEPTABLE FOR OUR HAIR TO BE LIKE THEIRS BUT THEIRS NOT BE LIKE OURS WHICH WE DONT REALLY CARE TOO MUCH ABOUT? NEXT POINT…WHAT IS SO DIFFICULT ABOUT MANAGING NATURAL HAIR? PPL MAKE A BIG FUSS AND DEAL ABOUT NONSENSE. THEY ALL SAY STRAIGHTEN HAIR IS SOOOOOO MANAGEBLE AND NATURAL IS NOT. THIS STATEMENT IS SO UNTRUE IT MAKES PPL WHO SAY THIS IGNORANT. LIKE THE MOTHER WHO PUTS WEAVE IN HER 8 YEAR OLDS DAUGHTER HAIR SO IT CAN BE “MANAGEABLE” AND EASIER TO DO. LET ME TELL U STRAIGHTEN HAIR CAN BECOME JUST AS TANGLED AND HARD IF NOT GROOMED PROPERLY AND IF THIS HAPPENS IT TENDS TO BREAK EASIER THAN NATURAL HAIR BECUZ U HAIR HAS BEEN CHEMICALLY BROKEN DOWN. THE MOTHER ALSO STATES THAT PUTTIN WEAVE IN HER DAUGHTER’S HAIR CUTS DOWN THE TIME IN THE IT TAKE TO DO HER HAIR ON MORNINGS. AM WAKE UP CALL… HOW ABOUT U BRAID THE LITTLE GIRL’S HAIR WHICH CAN LAST FOR 1-2 WEEK(S) AND EVERY MORNIN U WUDNT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT DOIN HER HAIR EXCEPT JUST MOSTURIZING IT LIKE EVERY 2-4 DAYS. EVER THOUGHT OF DAT? AND FOR STRAIGHTENING A 3 YEAR OLD’S HAIR…… 😐 MY GOSH U HAVE SOME SERIOUS ISSUESSSS WITH UR LIFE DAT REALLY NEEDS TO BE SORTED OUT. AND FOR THE WOMEN WHO HAS TO GO OUT HER RACE TO GET A CHILD WITH “NICE” HAIR LOL JOKE. U REALLY SHOW UR STUPIDITY RIGHT ON INTERNATIONAL TV….NEXT, WHAT DOES A LITTLE GIRL AT 5 YEARS OLD KNOW ABOUT LOWER CLASS. HER MOTHER HAS DEFINITELY BEEN BRAINWASHIN HER. SHE NEEDS THAT THOUGHT OUT OF HER HEAD NOW OR SHE WILL GROW UP AND TELL HER CHILDREN THE SAME THING, WHO WOULD PASS IT ONTO THEIR CHILDREN AND SO ON. I’M PROUD TO BE BLACK AND AM GONNA WALK WITH MY HEAD HIGH AND SHOULDERS UP. WHO HAS A PROBLEM WITH IT THEN THATS THEIR PROB NOT MINE. IT IS NOT THAT I’M SAYIN IT IS BAD TO STRAIGHTEN UR HAIR AND IT MAKES U ANY LESS BLACK. WHAT AM TRYIN TO SAY IS THAT WEN A PERSON WHO STRAIGHTENS THEIR HAIR FOR THE WRONG REASONS FOR EG. BECUZ THEIR NATURAL HAIR DOES NOT SHAKE/BLOW IN THE WIND OR HAVE THE “WHITE GIRL FLOW” OR U THINK U WILL BE ONLY ACCEPTED BY SOCIETY IF YOU HAVE STRAIGHT HAIR, THEN IT MAKES U APPEAR IGNORANT AND DISGRACEFULL TO OWN ETHNICITY.
I have been wearing my hair natural for just over a year and I love it! I gave away all of my curling irons etc and replaced them with natural hair products.
I too felt that Tyra was being fake by wearing cornrows on the show, even though she had good intentions.
I wouldn’t hate on a woman because she chooses to relax her hair (I too was in that state of mind that relaxed hair was the best hair) but I have matured and that has changed. I was once known to say “I will only stop relaxing my hair when they making relaxer”
I love my natural hair…. lets hope that those narrow minded sisters can see its beauty too!
I have been natural for a year now and love it. My hair is 4a textured and I have been growing my hair out. It is in a huge fro now that I wash everyday with goddess hair growth shampoo and conditioner here http://www.worldofentertainment23.com
I love this stuff. It grows hair very fast and strong. I also use silicon mix leave in conditioner to keep my cuticles moisturized and healthy. I eat a healthy diet and excercise 5 days out of the week. If I relaxed my hair would be touching my butt by now.
Tyra Banks may be a successful black woman, but I still think she is fake. What was with that cornrow weave? I’ve honestly written her off with Oprah.
Ty lives in a whole different world then black women, and her attemps to relate are strange and come across as desperate.
Good hair/bad hair? Could that particular episode get anymor lame?
Ummmm from the looks of her real hair, I don’t think Tyra’s cornrows were fake so some of you need to take that back about them being weaved. We saw her real hair. Once again another stereotype amongst the black woman.
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