Having not watched the Oscars last night I woke up this morning to a lot of exciting news: Viola Davis won (finally), Moonlight (amidst some white tears) won for Best Picture, Katherine Johnson (on whom Hidden Figures is based) graced the Oscars stage, Janelle Monae’s gown was epic and.… Halle Berry’s hair was terrible.
I saw the pictures and I was confused. I checked them twice and I still didn’t get it. I searched “Halle Berry Oscar Hair” on Twitter to get a gist of the insults and it seemed to be, “the hair looks like a beauty supply store wig” (it’s been confirmed that it is her real hair) and “the hair is too big.”
So, a few things… I guess we’re going to just ignore the fact that naturals be spending hours with some Curlformers and a hooded dryer to get curls like this. And had the same head of hair been transported to the YouTube faves, folks would be screaming YAAAAS!
I mean, are these looks not similar? Cuz these are the natural hair gurus folks stan hard for, and frankly I think they all look cute.
And also… Halle is 50. She has passed into universal black auntie territory along with Mary J. and the rest which means, when it comes to style, she can pretty much act with impunity. If she wants to rock some big curls — hell if she wants to rock a beauty supply store wig — she should be able to do so without it making the HuffingtonPost.
Why do you think Halle’s hair caused so much hype? Was it justified? Why or why not?
I loved her hair!
I love her hair. I wish woman would stop tearing each others down. Halle love what god gave you! It’s healthy and beautiful!
I personally don’t think her style of hair was very flattering.
Thanks for raising this. .…Hmmm.…“Auntie territory”??? wtf .….. Spoiled reading this for me… smacks of ageism, which is ironic given the apparent intended tone/aim of this article. Please don’t even imply that she’s past it because she’s not 38!
She was giving me Foxy Brown realness. I guess too many people just found out she’s black.
Not sure which is sadder, the fact that her hair made the news or the fact that she was being publicly torn down, mostly by her own. Never mind the fact that she was the first Black woman to win an Oscar and looks darn good for 50 with a healthy head of hair. #priorities
Hattie McDaniel was actually the first black woman to win an oscar for ‘Gone with the wind’ back in 1939!
Her hair looks beautiful. I saw a video of some black guy bashing her hair and saying that it looked like a mop and I immediately disliked the video on youtube because I disagreed with it. There is nothing ugly about her hair. It looks like a silkier and longer version of the bomb bantu knot out that I am rocking right now.
I think Halle Berry has always conformed to the European standard of beautiful. Last night she stood for not conforming with straight hair or a weave. I was extremely proud of her.
Her hair looks OK to me. I don’t see what is the real issue.
White people complaining about her hair. Her hair is beautiful, I hope she knows that.
Sorry, No more Candy for you, I don’t agree, I am white and I think she totally rocked it!
Nope! It was the ignorant, self-hating, ultra critical (even to a child as young as Blue Ivy) black folk! I swear, we are going to be the death of ourselves one day!
I don’t understand the issue with her hair either. It truly complements her beauty. I think people need to get back to the adage of “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
I had/have no problems with that hairstyle on Halle. A flashback to the 70s. What i am having more of a problem with is the hoopla about the la la land movie. Do not understand the attraction to this movie at all
For me Halle wearing the natural look and representing was fabulous! However, shape on natural hair is crucial and unfortunately it was the shape that was unflattering on her. As beautiful as Halle is even she can’t pull that look off if the shape of the hair isn’t right. She needs to fire that stylist.
love it, she is 50 yet she looks younger and the hair suits her perfectly. she is stunning to me. love it
I thought she looked beautiful!!
I think sometimes we need to take a step back. It’s not like her natural hair is not beautiful, it is stunning and let’s not make it about her age either it’s simple the fact that her hair wasn’t very flattering for her. She could have still had her beautiful big curls but styled to suit her face. Let’s not lie not every natural hair style works for everybody. Her hair and makeup team could have done better. That’s just my personal take on it.
You couldn’t have said it any better
When your job is completely or partially based on your looks, it can be very exhausting to be scrutinized everyday by people… I understand why people think her hair looked wiggy: her curls were very defined with the same size and put on top of her head. However, I still think this shoud not be news! It’s like the people commenting on her hair conveniently forgot that she is the only black woman who won an Academy Award for best actress (Viola Davis won Best Supporting Actress) and one of the sexiest woman in the world. I mean, with this… Read more »
But her hair doesn’t look like Taren’s or Naptural85’s. I get what she TRIED to do but it didn’t work. It looked like she woke up from a quick nap and forgot to fluff it back out.
THAT’S IT!!!
I thought she looked awesome! I lurve it! I can’t understand all the fuss and agree TOTALY with Phyllis woman should stop tearing each other down.
People are crazy. Her hair looks amazing.
The difference with the bloggers and her is their hair looks balanced, round even shaped. It just needs to be more uniform all around. Nothing wrong with rocking a natural style but it just looks slightly off. When you see it from the side her hair looks piled up on the top; like you going up the hill. It kinda looks plopped up there like the stylist rushed and said: “Girl you Halle Berry.… work!” Then gave the side-eye as she left. That’s how I usually look on a windy day until someone says “Hey girl fix ya head!” #WindAbuse… Read more »
This is exactly it. It wasn’t balanced and even. The curls looked good.
Why aren’t black women allowed any nuance in our criticism? The same would be leveled to a white celebrity on Fashion Police, “her hair didn’t look even for the dress she was wearing.”
Here hair is beautiful!
While people tears, huh? Well, your article is black people whining. Jerk.
She didnt say ALL white people, but there were some upset white folks..#facts
I didn’t get the issue with her hair either. We have hairgasms over other forlk big hair so.…
Absolutely gorgeous, love the hair, it’s mayoral, it’s beautiful and I wish of could get mine to look like that!
There is a mean streak underlying Halle’s bashing that is only reserved for black women (we’ve seen this vitriol used against Leslie Jones, Gabby Douglas and even Blue Ivy, a child!).
HOWEVER. Since she’s not the first black woman to rock curls/coils on the red carpet (Lupita, Viola, Tracee ellis, Janelle all do so regularly) I would say some of the critique may be genuine. I think her Stylist should be blamed for not shaping her hair better. It appears a bit top heavy. I hope she doesn’t allow the haters to keep her from rocking her amazing curls!
Her hair is what happens when you let white people style your natural hair. I went to her hair stylist’s Instagram and he did that it was an asymmetrical afro. That’s why the shape looks weird.
[…] day later, I ran across an article by my faves at BlackGirlLongHair where they questioned why people had an issue with Berry’s hair. They compared her afro to […]
I am a white girl with frizzy hair… I would kill to have Halle Berry’s hair. I think she looks amazing!!!!
I love Halle’s dress, and I would have loved her hair except that it was tilted/slanted. Had it been symmetricaI, I would have loved it! I also think it a wig! I have nothing against wigs, but as Ms Singh says below ‘someone plopped up there… Then gave the side-eye!!”
LOL
[…] day later, I ran across an article by my faves at BlackGirlLongHair where they questioned why people had an issue with Berry’s hair. They compared her afro to […]
Beautiful idea, but it was just shaped wrong. It was lopsided in the front and smooshed in the back and just wrong. Like she fell asleep in the limo and no one tended to it when she arrived.
I loved her hair!
Whatever your opinion is, if it’s negative, keep it to yourself. She’s at the Oscars; she has earned the right to be there. Her dress was beautiful and so is she. Maybe a different style would have looked better, then again maybe not., This is what she chose.
The shape doesn’t fit her face. Her face is too narrow for all that hair plus the cut makes it looks like a bad wig.
I am in love with Halle’s hair. Why is it as women of color, Black women, we always have to be negative about how someone of our race wears her hair. For real, I believe that God made our hair the best hair irregardless of how some Black women feel about their unique and very impressive hair. I am tried of our beautiful women not embracing their God given beauty. Back to Halle, leave her hair alone and let her be free to wear her hair the way she wants to wear it. Enough is enough about Black women being… Read more »
Halle’ natural hair is beautiful, no doubt about that. Let us be objective and honest though when constructively critiquing the matter. Thae hairstyle in particular she used on that night, did not add anything to her already stunning face. It just looked like an awful mess on her. Maybe another woman of colour may have rocked the same style and it would have simply looked better. I think everyone has become used to Halle rocking styles that make her look finished and flawless. This hairstyle did not. The end.
Laura,
I was going to say the same thing. It’s not that the hair was a hot mess or ugly, just not right for Halle. She slays either way, but I think she slays best with short hair or a style that makes her look finished and flawless, as you stated.
I am in TOTAL agreement with you! Halle looked beautiful to me…I’m confused ????!
I think Black women are overly criticized and by everyone. We need to stop it and take a step back. Her hair wasn’t perfect, but it was hers and it was healthy — that’s the definition of “Good Hair”. Get behind the new definition and leave your criticisms with your friends. A little girl is listening and deciding if she should go natural or not.
As an avid youtube watcher, fanatic, etc. i would not be screaming “yasss” at all…anyhow, I dont think its a natural hair on the red carpet kind of concern. The issue I saw was that it looks lopsided…the right side doesnt have the same density (or teasing of the curls) as the left side does. Which causes the hairstyle to also take away from her face. It is super annoying seeing the “black women are so critical” statements all the time. Its a red carpet event…and fans of hair, fashion, etc…are watching to opine on those very things.
Personally, Halle’s hair didn’t have shape or anything. It was like a white person with. I experience with natural hair decided to try their hand at a roller set
I thought she looked beautiful. Hair and all. Just could have shaped her
hair better. Other than that perfection!
People you loved the hair, but didn’t even notice that it didn’t look good on her!!
Halle usually slays, but that Oscar wig looked a hot mess–point blank period. And my view (just an opinion) doesn’t have to suddenly jump to “we’re so negative towards our own/this is why we can’t get ahead” stuff. It’s not that serious. Everyone has a hit or miss–that one just happened to be hers. We’ll all be alright–especially Halle!
I don’t believe that was a wig. That particular style didn’t suit her.
It was nothing wrong with the style she chose, but the execution is what made it look bad. The front looked lifted up and that’s what made it look like a bad wig. She just needs a new hairstylist that knows how to style curly hair so it looks good and not like a cheap wig!
I think the hair has caused a stir because not everyone recognises that Hall has auntie status; because the hair from some angles looks haphazard and misshapen; and because in comparison to her other signature hairstyles (the curls and the pixie cut) it doesn’t look as precise which messes with people’s fantasies.
Had more to do with the shape of it (symmetry is lacking) than the fact that is was “big.” I think the comments referring to her hair as “too big” were by people who don’t have the language to articulate why the hair wasn’t as flattering. There’s literally a science/art to good looking hair. Some people may not understand that immediately. We see the hair, it either looks good to us or it doesn’t, and the thought stop there without breaking down why the styles are or aren’t appealing to us. Her curls weren’t the issue. The size wasn’t an… Read more »
Beautifully perfectly said. It looked uneven and malshaped. Plus, It didn’t really “go” with the dress. It happens to white, black, Halle, Harry…anyone. Its not because she has curls. Relax.
She looks good to me. Some people have something bad to say about everything.
She looked fabulous. Fierce. It was so refreshing to see a woman of color with a curly ‘fro and an Afro of any texture would have rocked, too in a sea of conservative hair. So it’s okay for white models to wear this, after a great deal of hair manipulation, but not okay for Halle to wear her natural hair? I wish other Black actresses had been so bold…and why is wearing this hair even a thing? Remember Diana Ross?
Oh mystery solved! So the reason why Halle’s luscious curls looked a hot mess is because it was styled by a non-black celebrity hairstylist called Castillo! He confessed to hacking off 5 inches (5!!!) of her otherwise amazing hair to create a ‘heart shape’ to frame her face. So that is where problem was. There’s nothing wrong with her hair. It was the person who styled it who messed up. Why did he need to chop off all those inches and pile it up on her head? There are many YouTube naturalistas or even black hairstylists working from their homes… Read more »
Please it was lopsided. Smashed in the back. You showed some very selective photos of her hair. It wasn’t about twxture at all.
She looked beautiful, but I was a little shocked because it was not just dramatic, but a new look for her. I imagine her stylist saying, “Let’s go big or go home.” She’s been absent and she hit a landmark age so strategically big bold and different was right on. People be talking, right?
There’s nothin b wrong with it it just needs to have the back picked out a bit it’s gorgeous though !
I wasn’t justified! The fact that her natural hair was that full and that lush is impressive. Go head, Hal!!! Rock your natural curls and thank you for elucidating the hypocrisy of her critics!!!