Oprah Winfrey Shows Off Gorgeous Natural Hair for O Magazine

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!!!

New Black Beauty Trend? Oprah Rocks Her Natural Hair on the Cover of O

By Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine




By Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine | Beauty on Shine – 2 hours 13 minutes ago



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Oprah's big, beautiful, natural hairstyle on the September cover of O Magazine. (Photo: O Magazine)African-American women who are embracing their natural hair got a boost from the media mogul this week, when Oprah appeared rocking a fierce, full afro on the cover of O magazine for the first time.

It's how she looks when she's not in front of the cameras, she says, and she swears that it makes her feel "unencumbered."

Related: How to create natural-looking African American hair for Barbie dolls

"When a public figure of that stature embraces textured hair, it tells the world what we already know: natural is beautiful," the writers at Clutch, an online magazine aimed at Black women, point out.

In her makeover-themed September issue, which comes out August 7, Oprah admits that she has been so frustrated with her hair that she was once tempted to cut it all off.

"I wanted to wear it close-cropped, a la Camille Cosby, but her husband Bill convinced me otherwise," she writes. "'Don't do it,' he said. 'You've got the wrong head shape and you'll disappoint yourself.' I took his advice."

Curly girls of color are quick to point out that Oprah's "natural" style could easily be a braid-out or air-dried chemically relaxed or texturized hair -- it's far more "styled" than "wild." There are entire threads devoted to which kind of relaxer she uses -- Dr. Miracle's No Lye relaxer, according to one senior member of the Black Hair Media forum, though other members insist that Oprah swears by an expensive, all-natural phytospecific relaxer -- and even more where people wonder whether the star is secretly sporting a weave. (She has repeatedly said that she isn't.)

African American hair comes in all sorts of textures, can be grown out long (depending on the curl type), can be fine or coarse, and is surprisingly delicate and brittle. Weaves, braids, and other "traction" styles can pull hair out at the roots over time and frequent heat styling can damage the hair that's left, prompting many modern women of color to adopt a more natural look.

Oprah has gone natural before, wearing her hair in a high, tight halo early in her TV career after a bad perm caused much of it to fall out. "I was bald for a period of time, as an anchor woman in Baltimore," she told her audience last year. "I was 23 years old, and I had thick hair, and it messed up the chroma key, which is that blue wall they put behind you. And the news director came to me one day and said, 'Your hair's too thick, and you need a complete makeover'."

Since then, her long-time stylist, Andre Walker, has admitted that Oprah does relax her hair but works hard to keep the chemicals to a minimum.

"I don't believe you can do two chemical treatments at once and still have healthy hair," he said in an interview with O Magazine. "If I'm putting a relaxer in her hair, I don't do color. And if I'm doing color, no relaxer. Because heat is also very damaging, I try not to use blow-dryers or irons on Oprah's hair more than three times a week."

Her natural hair may make a powerful cultural statement, inspiring women of color to accept and celebrate the type of hair they were born with. But the bottom line, Oprah says, is that real makeovers are more than skin deep.

"The only real way to transformation," she writes, "is through the mind."
 
I try not to use blow-dryers or irons on Oprah's hair more than three times a week.

Well if it's only three times a week, I ...wait what?! :shocked:

Aside from that, she looks beautiful and I'm happy to see more mainstream acceptance of textured hair.
 
This part right here:

"African American hair comes in all sorts of textures, can be grown out long (depending on the curl type)..."

Depending on the curl type huh? hmm....
 
Stormy said:
This part right here:

"African American hair comes in all sorts of textures, can be grown out long (depending on the curl type)..."

Depending on the curl type huh? hmm....

Yup the good hurr ! *side eye*
 
Andre said she uses chemicals minimally...I thought she was supposed to be natural all along...which is it dammit??

I never listened to crap he said anyway but lawdy her hair is luscious.
 
I remember her saying that the reason why she's had all of her hair on her head is because she only allws 1 person to touch her hair.

A few yrs back, she posted a twit pic of her hair in its natural state. It was long & curly.

I'm having a bit of technical difficulties, but here's the pic
http://bettychambers.com/?p=93
 
Last edited:
Atdow71 said:
I remember her saying that the reason why she's had all of her hair on her head is because she only allws 1 person to touch her hair.

A few yrs back, she posted a twit pic of her hair in its natural state. It was long & curly.

I'm having a bit of technical difficulties, but here's the pic
http://bettychambers.com/?p=93

Oh, I thought she was relaxed/texlaxed too.

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Oprah isn't natural shes texlaxed.

That's what I've always thought. Even the magazine cover doesn't look like what I would expect her natural hair to look like, it looks texlaxed.

I tried to find the clip of her getting a relaxer on her Oscar special show. She showed the box (Dr. Miracles) and video of Andre putting it in. I think it was just 2 years ago. She could have grown it all out since then, but I don't think that she has.
 
Ok, not to spoil the party (because, yes, Lady O does have a luscious mane), BUT . . . if she is "natural" . . . she seems to have some heat damage going on (or is it just me :look:) Or she's just texlaxed *lol*

Looking below, I think it's just weight loss and better makeup...

She def had work done!

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The curls galore look was always my favorite on Oprah:



 
I think when she say's 'natural', she means its all her hair -no weave.

Her hair is beautiful either way.
 
I think when she say's 'natural', she means its all her hair -no weave.

Her hair is beautiful either way.

Her hair is beautiful. But I thought natural meant no perm, no pressing, no hot comb, no tex-lax...? Seriously just asking...:perplexed
 
athenat said:
Her hair is beautiful. But I thought natural meant no perm, no pressing, no hot comb, no tex-lax...? Seriously just asking...:perplexed

Yeah, thats my definition of natural too, but I've known a few older ladies who have used the word 'natural' to mean their real hair.

I have no idea if Oprah is relaxed, texlaxed, or natural, but its gorge! :-)
 
i think "natural" is starting to morph into something new these days. it's not all cut and dry. bottom line is that black women are using less heat, less chemicals, less adherence to the American beauty standard. that will translate into healthier and longer hair for black women and an inclusion, if not a change, to the the American beauty standard.
go Oprah!
 
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