In the early 2010s, we saw a rise of black women with tight, kinky, coarse hair putting out videos and blogs documenting, and educating other black women on how they took care of their coarse hair and what products they used for healthy long kinky* hair.
This was revolutionary at the time and it eventually led to the rise of the natural hair community as black women ditched their relaxers and did the viral and big chops we all remember so well. The best part? We finally got to see women embrace their kinky* hair!
Now, of course with the profitability of the natural hair community, we saw an increase in more products on the market with quality formulations that catered to natural hair. It almost felt like texturism was finally on its way out.
However, as we stand today over a decade later, it seems to have just been hiding in plain sight. Think about it for a second… why is type 4 hair only considered “done” when it has been manipulated into a texture other than the natural texture it grows in? Twist outs, braid outs, Bantu knot outs, sleek puffs, and other coifs are all a manipulation, aka a change to the natural hair’s texture.
These styles add a LOT of time to the styling process and this is after the huge chunk of time of washing and detangling that natural hair every week. It’s time a lot of us simply don’t have.
It’s no wonder that many have taken a step back in the natural hair community and are opting in mostly wearing wigs, crochet braids, weaves, and braids all in an effort to save time and let’s be honest…. sanity. This has all been caused by undercover texturism which is still alive and well.
It has been reinforced by society and its eurocentric beauty standards that deem straight and looser textures as more acceptable. We have seen companies and media present the natural hair movement with lighter skin women with looser textures as they took to the front and center as the faces of the natural hair movement.
With the rise of influencers in the past decade, we have seen those with looser textures get more views and subscribers along with praise in all social media platforms for simply having “good hair”.
Texturism has played a key role in black women avoiding wearing their natural hair for the majority of the year with most claiming to be “protective styling”. We eventually have to ask “Are you done protecting your hair or are you just trying to avoid wearing it?”
The unfortunate categorization of natural hair into type 1-4 was able to single out women with type 4 hair, especially 4C hair, for discrimination from society for having unkempt or unprofessional hair. The Crown act that was recently signed into law prevents discrimination based on hairstyle and hair texture to deter the continuous discrimination black people with coarse hair have faced.
With the admiration of looser textures, we saw a sudden desire of black women trying to achieve those textures. Women with coarse hair begin to spend hours styling and buying excessive amounts of products to try to manipulate their 4c hair to achieve a more “defined curl”.
The term product junkie arose from the need to acquire products that gave you a more defined wash-and-go, braid-out, or twist-out. Sleeking edges has become the norm today with styles not considered complete until the edges are laid. Girl, if you need industrial strength gel to keep your edges down, then maybe your hair was never meant to be sleek in the first place.
All this made many think of 4C hair as ‘high maintenance ‘ and too much work for some women. Unable to replicate the defined curls on product packages or on their social media feeds, it brought about reinforcing the false misconception that 4C hair is hard to deal with and limited in styling options that will make one look beautiful.
And it is for this reason that we have seen a huge return to relaxers as women want to have an easier time of styling. No shade to anyone who has chosen this path. I understand that the pleasure of being able to wash and air dry relaxed hair aka finally having literal wash and go hair must be revolutionary to some.
For those who don’t want to return to relaxers but with the need to fit in still present, we have seen an increase in wigs wearing in the past few years as women prefer to keep their natural hair hidden under braids, wigs, and weaves. Wigs*, weaves and other protective styles have also allowed women with kinky hair to wear “easier” hairstyles to deal with.
Texturism has left women with 4C women overwhelmed and exhausted as simply wearing their natural texture in it’s natural texture is still seen as revolutionary and leaves them exposed them to unnecessary scrutinization.
I don’t claim to have all the answers but just to shine a light on the issues as I see them. Maybe rather than the natural hair movement, we should have had an “own my hair” movement. Whether relaxed or natural, I would love to see black women just wear their own hair more often.
I challenge you to wear your own hair for the next year. Style it how you like, just don’t add extensions*, wigs* or keep it braided. Wear a hat if you are having a bad hair day but don’t make it a habit. Just try to enjoy your own hair. You might just find it freeing.
