3 Natural Hair Bloggers Reminisce About The Early Days Of The Movement

Nikki Walton, author of “Better Than Good Hair” and “When Good Hair Goes Bad,” helped build and shape the online community around natural hair with her blog CurlyNikki.

“In 2008, I launched CurlyNikki.com with, like, 300 readers from other curl talk and natural hair care forums,” Walton told HuffPost. “I didn’t start CurlyNikki for it to become a day job. I just knew that I wanted other women to experience the freedom and quality of life change that I had experienced. To go from being concerned about my hair 24/7, whether it was for a job interview or graduate school interview or vacation ― the first thought I always had was, ‘What am I gonna do with my hair?’ To be able to help women get over those hurdles and see past their families while they stood firm in their own self-confidence, that is what I wanted to help people do.” 

Over the last 20 years, women have found advice and sisterhood in the network of blogs, social media accounts and YouTube channels focused on Black hair. For our Black Hair Defined project, we spoke with three women who have been pioneers in the space. 

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The Business Of Black Hair

Marlene Duperley of Doris New York started her line of Black hair products after spending time in her mother’s salon growing up. She notes that the salon is an important gathering place for the Black community. “Community salons, like barbershops for men, are meeting places for women,” she said. “We gossip, laugh, tell stories and create a safe haven for each other greater than most people know.“ 

Hair has been a true marker of resilience and pride in the Black community. But due to the emphasis of Eurocentric hairstyles in the United States, Black hair continues to be policed, discriminated against, shamed and unrepresented in the hair care industry.

Work is being done to allow members of the Black community to show up as their true selves. There’s the natural hair movement ― which seeks to affirm natural tresses, kinks and curls ― and policies like the CROWN ACT (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair), which passed in both California and New York State in 2019, addressing discrimination against Black hair at work.

Black entrepreneurs like Karen’s Body Beautiful,Scotch PorterandDoris New York have taken matters into their own hands by creating products and dialogue centered around Black hair care. We talked to these three founders about rising to the occasion and using their businesses as a means of social uplift for the Black community.

To learn more about three founders who are using their businesses as a means of social uplift for the Black community, head here.

: Elias Williams

YOUR FAVORITE HAIR PRODUCTS ARE DOING MORE DAMAGE THEN YOU THINK!!

@reverseracism