Beauty News: 'So Is That Your Real Hair?'

JUST A FEW FUNNY BEAUTY THINGS ON THE INTERNET

• you’re just so beautiful 2 me i could cry (and did)

• “Hey Diva!!!” Now say it back.

• It’s 1996 and Braids by Sabrina cost $75 on Crenshaw + Florence. (Some LA history in the comments)

• I don’t wanna be saved

• Follow Studio Symoné for the funniest beauty videos on the internet.

BEAUTY NEWS

1. We have to talk about the WNBA and NCAA!

Growing up, my dad was a college basketball coach. I was not very good, I played softball, but I’ve always had a healthy appreciation for the game.

I wrote about athletes as true beauty influencers in 2021 and how I could already see beauty brands playing into this, but now beauty is full fledged part-of-the-conversation. 

Athletes are the beauty influencers of 2021. Several Black women, most notably Sha’Carri Richardson, Naomi Osaka, and Simon Biles, took the center stage of conversation in the sports world and made bold moves to claim their own agency in a world that views them, both as women of color and athletes, as a commodity. Gymnast Sunisa Lee of Team USA won the women's individual all-around gold medal — and became the first Hmong-American to compete in the Olympics — all while wearing white acrylic nails with a nod to the Olympic rings. South African runner Caster Semenya continued to speak out after her denial of a spot in the 2020 Olympics. Throughout 2020 and 2021, we saw the women of the WNBA gain more recognition for their activism around women’s rights, abortion, racism, LGBTQ rights, and voting rights. By nature of their careers, athletes use their bodies to make statements. This year, their decisions on and off the courts shifted perspectives on mental health and gender in a serious way, and deserve recognition for it. - Via 2021’s Biggest Beauty News

I’m positive you can read something more recent. Speaking to WNBA players, I think it’s important to remember how they spoke out loudly against police brutality, abortion, women’s rights – as well as advocating for their own fair pay – when it could’ve cost them their careers. Before the beauty endorsements, this is what I was initially reporting on and including them as part of my beauty newsletter for these reasons. The beauty industry has come around to them, it is not the other way around. Due to increased viewership, the WNBA may expand to 16 teams by 2028 and could have their own media deal, separate from the NBA. This is all so exciting. I’m hoping to be able to bring a group of #ssgirls to a game.

2. Beyoncé showed us her real hair and everyone from the New York Times to TMZ wrote about it, but these stories don’t seem to get to the why? At least not enough for me. Why are people shocked? Why is there this stereotype that Black women don’t have long hair? Why is it so hard for people to believe? Honestly, I’m looking at the public and thinking about these questions, more than I feel the urge to tirelessly explain how wigs and protective styles work and that Black women don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I think there are some other angles worth exploring.

   1. Textured hair types need more hydration and moisture than straighter hair types. Beauty brands have historically not considered textured hair, Black hair during product development. Without hair products with ingredients that help to keep textured hair strong, I could see how our hair was more prone to breakage, meaning that short styles may have been more common among us. Even using the wrong products can be detrimental. It wasn’t until we started making our own products that delivered the care our hair need, did that it began to change. While I can see a time when more Black women did have a tendency to wear their hair short, I also could speculate a shift. You can look to the early 1900s, with haircare inventions by Annie Turnbo Malone and Madam C.J. Walker — and even the creation of our own beauty salons, which happened around the same time. So technically, “Black women can’t have long hair” has been an outdated stereotype for over 120 years, well over a century. And even before then, it may have been less common, but that doesn’t make the concept “Black women can’t grow long hair” true.

   2. There is something else. I notice a weird undertone that growing long hair is reserved for white women — not something Black women are capable of. In relation to beauty standards, the idea that long, straight hair is superior aims to stamp Black women with a perceived mark of inferiority. Equating hair length to self worth is insane, yet mindset lives rampant in a narrative based in lack of knowledge more than truth.

   3. I am glad Beyoncé’s video became a touch point for us to talk about Black women and Black hair, I just want to make sure we examine why we are having the conversation to begin with. Come to find out many of us (Black girls) do have something in common with Mrs. Carter. Getting asked the question in some turn of the phrase, “Is that your real hair!?” At this point, it’s a joke among us. Because we know chances are slim you’ve ever asked the white girl with blonde microlinks if that’s her real hair 🙏

3. RELATED: Cécred and BeyGOOD have committed to an annual $500k fund for hairstylists in chosen U.S. cities, by way of scholarships and business funds. On April 20th, they announced the awardees. Want to be considered for the next round of business grants? Applications open May 1, 2024. Pass along to your fav hair stylist. [Now this is my favorite news. I love posting about all of the grants, classes and workshops. Send ‘em my way, please!]

4. Spelman College is expanding its cosmetic science program. Chemistry majors can now add a concentration in cosmetic chemistry. Those in other majors can minor in cosmetic chemistry. Press release + program overview

5. Hydration news: For the first time, the EPA is putting a limit on the amount of  “forever chemicals” found in tap water. PFAs are a group of chemicals found in everything from cleaning products to personal care items. If you’re looking for a good explainer, The Daily did an episode this week on “forever chemicals” and how rampant they are within the products we use here in the U.S. 

6. A new state bill removes the 500 hours requirement for braiders in Louisiana. Instead: 

   If passed, the bill would replace the licensing rule with a permitting process that does not require hundreds of hours of education. While the bill would allow braiders to work without a license, the state Cosmetology Board would still require licensing for salons that perform other services. — nola.com

7. Thirteen Lune collaborated with American Airlines to upgrade their amenities, specifically skincare offerings on flight. Brands include names such as Joanna Vargas and Relevant, the skincare brand of Thirteen Lune co-founder Nyakio Grieco. These kits will be available in first class, business, and economy premium.

8. Ben Nye makeup (Banana Setting Powder!!!) is filing for bankruptcy following a number of talc-related lawsuits. 

9. After founding The Honest Company 12 years ago, Jennifer Alba is stepping down as Chief Creative Officer. I thought this was pretty notable considering how long Honest has been around. Carla Vernón will stay on as CEO. She became the first Afro-Latina CEO of a publicly traded company when she took on the role in 2023. I was not aware of this! (Side note: Have you ever received a sample from a brand you don't expect to have a good version of a certain product? Their concealer is so good, great for a natural look.)

10. Missy Elliott is going on tour, and it’s the first she’s ever headlined. As an artist and rapper Missy Elliott is someone who has helped defined beauty in hip hop through a futuristic lens,  really interested to see what sort of costuming, hair, makeup will come from this show. Ciara and Busta Rhymes will join her. 

11. Lynette Nylander has a new podcast via NTS, Sound & Styles… and hairstylist JAWARA is her second interview! I learned JAWARA’ mother is Sister Carol, and his aunt is Sister Nancy. Now that’s iconic 

Long Reads

Soul Loss and Eyeshadow Palettes

Inside Ukraine’s Wartime Salons - Sophia Panych

Danié Gómez-Ortigoza: Hair Braiding To Unite the Climate Movement – Yessenia Funes

My personality, summed up in a headline: Let's All Just Move to the Spa — Garrett Munce.

To Black Women, “Girlhood” Is More Than A Trend - Cierra Black

Glossy Pop Newsletter: What Vacation did next — How the 3-year-old brand continues to shake up the sunscreen category - Sara Spruch-Feiner [Vacation is a brand I actually pay attention to. I like their commitment to an aesthetic that could be tacky with the wrong creative direction. Somehow, they did it justice.] 

What Else I’m Into

Watching docs, listening to music, researching new topics, taking in art is all part of my education. It informed my beauty work, so I want to share these pieces of me. I am not sure if this is connected to “taste” but… there has been a lot of conversation around taste, and what taste is. I also wonder how that term is connected to service. Is it? A desire to share that’s rooted in wanting to spread knowledge based on what you’re experiencing. This idea that sharing your taste is about more than a posture or about you, you, you. Maybe I’m stretching it, but nonetheless, in spirit of learning, let’s get into it:

• Just watched The Pan-African Festival in Algiers (1969). Musicians, dancers and representatives of national liberation movements joined Algeria in celebrating their independence from France (1962). The way war and genocide is spoken about, you’d think they were talking about Palestine today. Yet, this is juxtaposed with images of art, freedom, and strength from African people across the continent. After you watch it, THEN go look up how it was made. You’ll read that it was not initially embraced, and why. Watch here for free.

• The Day I Met Björk: Spike Jonez curated by Huberto Leon. A digital zine in collaboration with WeTransfer. It’s filled with unseen photos from the day Jonez and Björk met for the first time. The photos are silly, fierce, and otherworldly. I am obsessed! It’s free to download. (Also: love the work the WeTransfer editorial team has been doing for a minute. The site is WePresent.)

• Enjoyed watching The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix) on the making of “We Are The World.” What a moment in time. Sad to think about how a song like this could never be made among today’s American pop stars.

• This tea got me through winter; through my ruptured ovarian cyst, through two very severe colds. A blend of turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger delivered the anti inflammatory qualities I needed.

Peace.

Darian