Don’t Believe Everything You Hear: Popular Misconceptions About Afro-Textured Hair And Haircare

You Can Judge A Woman By Her Hair Type

I don’t have to tell you because you already know, but we get summed up a lot by how we wear our hair. And this isn’t just women of color, this is women in general (ask any blonde how she feels about the dumb blonde stereotype). But I’ll never forget when a former co-worker was surprised to learn that I not only wasn’t vegan, but also ate pork. Not all women who wear their hair natural want to live in an ashram, burning incense and making their own handcrafted sandals out of hemp. There are lots of Louboutin-loving naturals who are just as into fashion and trends as their weave-wearing or relaxed-haired counterparts. Just as having chemically altered hair does not make one a sellout, or mean that we’re buying into Eurocentric standards of beauty. As a woman, each one of us has earned the right to enjoy our hair (unless, of course, you insist on wearing those dreadful wigs with the artificial-looking hairline one inch above your eyebrows. That should earn you eternal damnation to the seventh level of hell in Dante’s Inferno. I’m only kind of just kidding.)