Madame Noire | Black Women's Lifestyle Guide | Black Hair | Black Love

It’s been two years since Thandie Newtown decided to go natural—a decision the British actress says she made after watching Chris Rock’s “Good Hair” documentary and seeing that Lye, the active ingredient in a lot of relaxers, can melt a coke can. She recently chatted with her good friend and long-time makeup artist, Kay Montano, to discuss what the transition has been like, and Thandie says she feels much more liberated as a woman and more confident as a mother about the example she’s setting for her girls who have similar curly manes. Check out a few highlights of the interview:

On having a wilder look with big, curly hair

“I have to feel comfortable with having ‘all eyes on me‘, which I do when I work, less so in life. Ironically I don’t want to draw attention to myself because of celeb spotting, but my big hair, for a time will work as a disguise! Straight hair has been ‘on trend’ for years and years, so having big-ass curly hair means I’m stepping outside the mould, outside what’s accepted and applauded. It takes a little courage to do that.
Mainly, I want to wear it natural because it looks amazing!”

On the stigma surrounding natural hair

“The stigma with some black women seems to be that ‘nappy hair’ is almost as bad as loo roll trailing from your shoe. I have always let my daughter’s hair be wild and scruffy. I love the shapes and fluffy halo. But when they were ‘papped‘ in the States I had remarks about how I don’t take care of their hair. The truth is I choose to keep it that way. When I see hair that’s been pulled, stretched, brushed till bullet smooth I just think ‘ouch‘. I have my limits mind, sometimes I have to beg Nico to let me tidy it up for fear of her looking like she’s been neglected!”

How her mother handled her hair as a child

“Mum wanted me to fit in, and I don’t blame her. My hair hampered that. Poor Mum. I remember when I was 7 at my convent school, it was school photo day so all the kids came looking their best. Mum did my hair in 20 or so ‘corn rows’ with green wooden beads on each end to match my school uniform. The nuns were appalled, they wouldn’t let me have my picture taken. I felt embarrassed, disappointed, ashamed. Can you imagine how my Mum must have felt? There was a mild rukus and the next day I had my picture taken. But then I read this year a piece in The Independent about a student who appealed against not being able to wear his hair in (what the school felt was a hoodlum style) braids, and he won. That’s 30 years since the Nun’s dissed me… This sh** keeps going round and round.
Apart from the school photo incident it was 1 or 2 plaits every single day, and a bun when I was doing ballet. Never, ever, ever loose. Never.

The trouble with hairdressers today

“To be honest I do struggle with hairdressers, even now. The main problem is that hairdressers (and some at the top of their game) don’t understand how my type of hair changes dramatically depending on what climate, substance, effects it. Water in anyform is like a cheeky magic wand – even mist! But with the correct tools ad managing my kind of hair can do ANYTHING, which is brilliant! So hairdressers like the genius KerryWarn, or Maarit Niemela, are leagues better than others because they can work black hair from wet to dry in any style.
I’m surprised that more people don’t understand this (even though hair salons still seems to be culturally divided between ‘black’ hairdressing or ‘caucasian’ hairdressing), there are many black models and actresses around that they work with.
I think a problem for top hairdressers is that most black models and high end clients have weaves (Indian hair), so the technicians never work on authentic black hair. Whether black, white, blonde, brunette, I’d head to a local black hairdressers any day of the week- because if a technician can work black hair, you can work ANY hair.”

I’m totally with Thandie on the hairdresser thing, you can’t even show a beautician a certain haircut without being told “that’s weave it won’t look the same on you.” I guess that’s why she took matters into her own hands. She told Kay she had to learn how to do her own hair, and now—”I can braid, fit extensions, do my own weave, cut it, blow dry it bone straight, make hair pieces, fit wigs, style it beehive, forties, Afro, you name it.”

Can you relate to Thandie’s experience transitioning? Have you been able to find a good hairdresser or do you take care of your own mane?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• Stupid H*e Isn’t So Stupid: 7 Other Random Videos That Should’ve Been Banned
• Tracy Morgan and Why It’s Hard To Judge Family Relations
• Men of a Certain Age: The Pros and Cons of Dating Much Younger and Older Guys
• Undercover Brothers: Not-So-Famous Brothers of Famous Celebs
• Why Won’t My Hair Grow?!” 4 Reasons Why Your Hair is Stalling
• 7 Things That Could Change The Way He Feels About You
• I’m a Survivor: Maia Campbell Talks New Career and Sobriety

If you’re natural, you’re sure to have a number of these annoying single strands knots (aka fairy knots) lurking around your hair. To be honest, they are totally normal due to the structure of afro-textured hair and there is nothing you can do to get rid of all of them—unless, of course, you choose to cut your hair. However, there are ways to keep them at an absolute minimum. Keep reading to find out how!

Solange recently signed a modeling contract with Next Models Management and is already gracing the catwalk! The stunner strutted her stuff at the Alberta Ferretti fashion show in Milan without missing a beat. I couldn’t help but notice that her hair looked a bit different… still big, but different. This isn’t my favorite big hair look on the diva because the curls just seem too perfect, or maybe it’s the length? Something just seems off. What do you guys think? I still love her regardless though!

Cool Product Alert! curlBox makes it easy for the natural sistas who are on the prowl for hair products and can’t seem to find the right ones. Each month, you will receive a box of 5-7 product samples that you can test out on your hair, some of which haven’t even hit store shelves yet. It only costs $20 to subscribe and you can cancel anytime—pretty good deal for 5-7 different products if you ask me. The first box of goodies ships out on February 7^th and they’ve already sold out! If you want to be notified when the march shipment is available, visit their website at www.curlbox.com for exclusive VIP access.

We love getting updates on the wonderful castmembers of A Different World, the iconic and unparalleled show about Black college life. Do you remember Cree Summer aka Freddie, the bohemian alternative chic who was either fighting the power or spouting the joys of veganism? Okay, so I don’t remember exactly if she ever preached about a meat-free diet. But in any case, I loved her enthusiasm for all things non-status quo.

The real life actress behind Freddie has been working steadily since the show ended in 1993. She was only 23 then and quickly capitalized on her quirky voice to launch a career voicing animated cartoon series. In her illustrious voice over career, she’s even gotten to work as the voice of the green M&M in commercials.  Now 42, Summer is happily married with a new baby girl named Brave (we’ve been unable to confirm the age of her daughter).

Summer recently talked to CurlyNikki.com about her hair life and her new family life. Check it out!

More on Madame Noire!

• Let’s Be Real: Things in Life You Need to Blame Yourself For From Time to Time
• Color on Campus: What It Really Feels Like to Be the Only Black Girl
• The Most Painful Things A Woman Can Say To A Man
• 10 Artists That Blew Up…But Shouldn’t Have
• We Are Family: Shocking Celebrity Relatives!
• Vitamin B(eautiful): Nutrients To Help You Stay Healthy and Gorgeous

So I caught the latest addition to the Shit that So & So Says meme called Shit that Natural Hair Girls Says and I got a good chuckle out of it because it just reminded me of how sometimes the whole fascination over natural hair gets to be ridiculous.

It reminded me of the time a couple of years back when I was at this conference, waiting for elevator with a bunch of other Black women. Anyway, as I was standing there, leaning against the wall wishing for this slow-behind elevator to hurry up, one of the women, a lady with a TWA (Teeny Weenie Afro for those not familiar with the hair lingo) decided to strike up this conversation about my hair.  She asked the customary questions that I usually get from curious gawkers: how long had I’d been growing my dreadlocks, do I do them myself, what kind of products do I use, you know the normal stuff.  I don’t have a problem with folks asking me questions; in fact I am flattered by the attention.

However the conversation took a drastic change from pleasantries to outright offensiveness when she started talking about her own recent “big chop.” In between gushing over how wonderful she feels to be free of chemicals and how long she agonized over the decisions, she started doing what a lot of newly converted natural divas do: defame and attack women, who choose not to wear their own hair.  She actually felt like she was sharing some sort of camaraderie with a fellow natural sister-in-arms; however, what she was actually doing was drawing the unnecessary scrutiny and alienation from the other Black women, who stood around us in annoyance at her hair prophesying.  And you know what? I was annoyed too.

Like most ladies, I love my hair.  However unlike most natural converts, I am not, nor have I ever been, sentimental with my hairstyle choice. I don’t know its birth date, I didn’t document the stages of hair “growth” and I never thought my transition was a “journey.” In fact, the only thing I remember about my hair “journey” was getting on the subway’s Broad Street line and making my way down to South Street to get my hair done.  Hell, if I am really going to be honest, I don’t even twist my own hair. I pay someone else to do it because I do not have the time or the patience (also known as lazy) to diddle around with my hair.

And yes, I love my dreadlocks.  But mainly because it’s versatile enough that I can dress it up, dress it down and never had to worry about rain or humidity.  However natural hair isn’t more or less maintenance than any other hairstyle I had.  I still have to get it done, when I wash my hair at home, it takes forever to dry and I still have to find ways to style it, just like I would with any other hairstyle. And while I have grown to appreciate my hair in its natural state, I can’t quite say that I have reached some heighten sense of hair consciousness to feel that I am somehow superior to all of those “other girls” who still relaxed their hair.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating or basking in your newly defined and accepted natural beauty. However, some women, not all but some, treat natural hair like it’s some sort of secret society sorority club where membership is exclusive and password protected. In fact, they are on the same scale as the Born-again Christians, who post uninvited Bible scriptures on your Facebook wall and recently converted Vegetarians/Vegans, who go on and on during your lunch break about how much energy they have and healthier they feel now that they stopped eating hamburgers and pork chops two days ago.

In some of these natural hair circles, some women do more than just trade hair care tips.  They actually use these grounds as some sort of nappy-jihadist recruitment/training camp, where they attempt to enlist a legion of hair cops to hand out tickets to those women, who defy the virtues of the Afro-Gospel.  I see these women on various blogs, Twitter accounts, among friends, family and as strangers in supermarkets, lay down their vicious authority on women, who do straighten or weave their hair. Oh and don’t think that just because you are natural you are excluded from the inquisition. Just ask any woman, who was “caught” using the wrong product, wearing a wig while in “transition” or not having the right grade of naps to be considered a true natural.

From journalist to entrepreneur to counselor, Candace Kelley is a woman of many hats. Black Star News observes that it’s her drive and hair that has inspired so many people.

“My parents planted the seed that education was the key, because at the end of the day, if you have the same degree as the next person, you would probably fair very well,” Kelley told Black Star News. A graduate of Howard University and Seton Hall Law School, Kelley was born in a family of three girls and two artistic, educator parents.

After graduating from law school she joined Court TV and has since been involved in the media industry. She is the hostess of the weekly thirty minute radio show “League of the Extraordinary” on 89.7 WGLS-FM. True to its name, the show has had some extraordinary guests on the air. Kelley has had the opportunity to interview stars such as Mary J. Blige and DMX as well as Lexington Steele, a Wall Street broker turned porn star and Bishop Fred Rubin, a former Orthodox Jew who married an African American woman and now leads a predominately black Pentecostal church.

“We are historically religious people, and when I came across the story of this Jewish man who…I don’t know if inspiring is the word, but it certainly for me was worth looking at in more depth because it really spoke to the opposite of what we are used to hearing,” Kelley said to Black Star News of Bishop Fred Rubin. The story of Bishop Rubin and his wife has been commemorated in a documentary which is currently in post-production.

In addition to the radio station, Kelley is also actively involved in various television recording, shooting, editing and documentary projects. What makes Kelley’s media success inspiring to so many black women is that she’s done it all while sporting her beautiful natural hair on TV.

So many women saw Kelley on TV and contacted her to inquire about her hair that she started Curl Prep Natural Hair Solutions to showcase her product that elongates natural hair. Kelley has been natural all her life except for two years, and has been making her homemade products back in the 80’s before the surge of natural hair products became available on the market. Although it started as simply an informational website, two Whole Foods stores in New Jersey are now carrying her products with two more stores expecting to debut her products soon.

“Once you’re in the system, other stores start to pick you up – it sort of happens in progression,” she said.

But Kelley doesn’t stop with her entertainment or hair product credits. She and her friends are in the midst of putting together a seminar to help guide people in developing their ideas. Among the seminar benefits, they plan to offer copyright procedure assistance and free websites.

Bobs are a chic choice for any hair fashionista that doesn’t mind getting her hair chopped off. After a while, you may find that you’re getting bored with your new style but that’s probably because you’ve underestimated the versatility of the bob. Just because you don’t have length doesn’t mean you can’t switch it up. Here are some styles that show how you can play up your do.

Read the rest of this entry »