Bad hair advice from magazines!!Vent

[melodee]

I hate it when magazines are ill informed and give tips that don't really apply. This is especially true of mainstream mags that try to include tips for blacks. Now I appreciate that they are trying now, when years ago they simply ignored the fact we even existed. But they often group all blacks in the same hair type/category and give bad info.

In this month's Glamour, there was a section on haircare, and they categorized women into straight(white girl), wavy(white girl),curly (seemingly white girl, and coarse (black girl). The black girl they pictured had fine hair, it didn't look coarse--I think they meant nappy or highly textured instead. The section said that a diffuser is the best tool for this hair type because it dries hair without frizz. A diffuser is our best tool? How many of you think so?

Anyway, it got me thinking about just how much do these beauty/hair editors know about our hair? And why can't I be an writer--I know more than they do. This also apples to SBH, they give some poor advice sometimes too.

Have any of you seen bad hair advice?

 

[MizaniMami]

Well, I go to a mostly white hair forum from time to time and they actually gave (and give) me the best hair advice. I learned about aphogee, protein treatments (emergencee and keraphix among others), becoming ingredient savvy, AND they hooked me on to my staple(s), among other info too. At first I was very reluctant to try the products that they used/recommended. I thought they were too expensive and that expensives lines were only for whites or people with straighter hair.

I used to think that black hair was so different and we had to load our hair with butters, oils, and grease. When in fact I learned from them a little goes a long way, oil is good in moderation, and the poo/con should provide atleast 82% of the moisture. They even hooked me on to jojoba oil, evoo, and sweet almond oil

I have learned a lot from you girls too, but the white forum I go to (makeupalley) was/is my first forum experience. They give 90% of the same advice that you girls give, but the other 10% difference is the products they suggest.

So in a sense I am saying that I kind of disagree with your post BUT I do understand where you are coming from. I am only speaking from my experience with the girls that I know.

 

[so1913]

I hate it when magazines are ill informed and give tips that don't really apply. This is especially true of mainstream mags that try to include tips for blacks. Now I appreciate that they are trying now, when years ago they simply ignored the fact we even existed. But they often group all blacks in the same hair type/category and give bad info.

In this month's Glamour, there was a section on haircare, and they categorized women into straight(white girl), wavy(white girl),curly (seemingly white girl, and coarse (black girl). The black girl they pictured had fine hair, it didn't look coarse--I think they meant nappy or highly textured instead. The section said that a diffuser is the best tool for this hair type because it dries hair without frizz. A diffuser is our best tool? How many of you think so?

Anyway, it got me thinking about just how much do these beauty/hair editors know about our hair? And why can't I be an writer--I know more than they do. This also apples to SBH, they give some poor advice sometimes too.

Have any of you seen bad hair advice?

I wouldn't say that was "wrong"...for relaxed hair, I'd say no, you have no use for a diffuser. However, as a natural with a curl pattern to my hair, a diffuser is one of my "must have" tools. They were probably referring to those who wear their hair in the state they were describing.

 

[melodee]

I understand that--I guess I am saying that the pic did not match the tips. The girl in the pic had straightened hair, not hair worn natural. And also, I'm saying that alot of us have curly hair ( and therefore use diffusers), but this should be also listed under the curly section. And Coarse isn't supposed to describe the curl pattern. So the artivle was sloppy IMO.

Also, some white folks do have good advice--I agree on this. But ALOT of Mainstream mags seem to lump all women of color into one category--be it skin or hair. HAven't you seen the articles that say, if you're skin is fair, rosy, medium golden, olive, or dark( meaning everything from Michael Michelle to Alec Wek). This is what I'm getting at.

 

[melodee]

Oh, forgot to mention so1913, your hair is really looking great.

 

[MizaniMami]

I understand that--I guess I am saying that the pic did not match the tips. The girl in the pic had straightened hair, not hair worn natural. And also, I'm saying that alot of us have curly hair ( and therefore use diffusers), but this should be also listed under the curly section. And Coarse isn't supposed to describe the curl pattern. So the artivle was sloppy IMO.

Also, some white folks do have good advice--I agree on this. But ALOT of Mainstream mags seem to lump all women of color into one category--be it skin or hair. HAven't you seen the articles that say, if you're skin is fair, rosy, medium golden, olive, or dark( meaning everything from Michael Michelle to Alec Wek). This is what I'm getting at.

I truly do agree with you. But I think goes the same for us, we clump them all in the same categories too ("they all look alike" lol), I know that's not the issue though.

 

[misscrystal]

Well, I go to a mostly white hair forum from time to time and they actually gave (and give) me the best hair advice. I learned about aphogee, protein treatments (emergencee and keraphix among others), becoming ingredient savvy, AND they hooked me on to my staple(s), among other info too. At first I was very reluctant to try the products that they used/recommended. I thought they were too expensive and that expensives lines were only for whites or people with straighter hair.

I used to think that black hair was so different and we had to load our hair with butters, oils, and grease. When in fact I learned from them a little goes a long way, oil is good in moderation, and the poo/con should provide atleast 82% of the moisture. They even hooked me on to jojoba oil, evoo, and sweet almond oil

I have learned a lot from you girls too, but the white forum I go to (makeupalley) was/is my first forum experience. They give 90% of the same advice that you girls give, but the other 10% difference is the products they suggest.

So in a sense I am saying that I kind of disagree with your post BUT I do understand where you are coming from. I am only speaking from my experience with the girls that I know.

I think that what it comes down to is hair is hair. That would account for why the advice you got here and there are the same. I'm so glad I stopped buying into the belief that "our hair" needs a bunch of grease and hot irons.

 

[so1913]

I understand that--I guess I am saying that the pic did not match the tips. The girl in the pic had straightened hair, not hair worn natural. And also, I'm saying that alot of us have curly hair ( and therefore use diffusers), but this should be also listed under the curly section. And Coarse isn't supposed to describe the curl pattern. So the artivle was sloppy IMO.

Also, some white folks do have good advice--I agree on this. But ALOT of Mainstream mags seem to lump all women of color into one category--be it skin or hair. HAven't you seen the articles that say, if you're skin is fair, rosy, medium golden, olive, or dark( meaning everything from Michael Michelle to Alec Wek). This is what I'm getting at.

Oh, Ok. I see where you are coming from now.

 

[so1913]

Oh, forgot to mention so1913, your hair is really looking great.

Awww, thank you sweetie! I just need some of your length and I'm good

 

[Isis]

And why can't I be an writer--I know more than they do. This also apples to SBH, they give some poor advice sometimes too.

Have any of you seen bad hair advice?

You can be a writer and set these magazines straight, if you want to. I agree, I've seen some poor advice in recent weeks for black women's hair in magazines. They probably use the same writers for their hair beauty columns and they are not keeping up with info or doing their research.

 

[carameldiva]

i totally agree with you melodee. Sometimes i see all kinds of crap in these magazines, for example they say that mineral oil, petroleum and lanolin are good on natural and relaxed hair, not.

 

[Healthb4Length]

Yeah I get a little annoyed sometimes reading those hair magazines. Most of the times they give bad advice especially Hype Hair! But SBH's colomnist Peggy Dillard gives some good tips, she's pretty accurate. W/ "other" magazines I don't even pay attention to their "tips" cause if I did I would be in trouble.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

Anyway, it got me thinking about just how much do these beauty/hair editors know about our hair? And why can't I be an writer--I know more than they do. This also apples to SBH, they give some poor advice sometimes too.

Have any of you seen bad hair advice?

You know, I think about this from a slightly different perspective. While there are similarities to black and non black hair - I think we have very different moisture and breakage differences. It makes me sad that there aren't black scientists out there who are familiar with the problem and formulating products that are customized to our hair needs. I think there would be a big difference in approaching our hair from a scientific standpoint as opposed to the crockpot chemists like Qhemets/Carols Daughters/BBD's where they just seem to have dropped Petroleum and mineral oil and voila it's a revolution in black haircare.