Bernadette // 3B/C Natural Hair Style Icon

*Prepared for BGLH by Meosha Tall of 1MeNaturally

Introduce yourself!
B:
Hi World! My name is Bernadette Louise, I’m 22, African American, born in California raised in Virginia and now residing in Atlanta. I’m a model and actress.

Why did you make the decision to go natural?
B:
I have been natural my entire life. I went from not knowing how to manage my hair to finally meeting coconut oil and living life! This lifetime, I have realized people always want what was not given to them and for a short period of time I too had fallen into that bracket. God has blessed me with beautiful hair and I chose to let it run its course. I wear my hair naturally curly quite often now because it has its own special characteristics and I absolutely love it. I have virgin hair and have never added any chemicals. I am always scared to flat iron my hair thinking it will ruin my curl pattern. So far so good!

How would you describe your texture?
B:
My texture is 3b/3c. I say this because depending on what product goes into my hair depends on how my hair will look. I have extremely thick hair but you’d never know if I had it flat ironed.

Describe your styling regimen over the course of the month.
B:
I wash my hair with Giovanni shampoo and conditioner. Usually I will leave the conditioner in my hair, add products like coconut oil and shea butter, then let it air dry. My hair will maintain the moisture from the product up to 3 days then I will start the process over. It usually takes about a day to allow my hair to completely dry so I have to make sure I wash it early in the morning. If I have shoots to go to, I usually will go with my hair dry and no product. I rarely will go to a salon because they have no idea what they’re doing or will charge me 3x’s extra for having long hair, go figure. I wear my hair straight maybe once or twice a month. I will roller set my hair or use flexi rods once or twice as well. I have my cosmetology license and sometimes will put my skills to use.

What does wash day look like for you?
B:
I use the Giovanni shampoo and leave in conditioner. I often switch them up so there is no one specific type that I use of the Giovanni product line on a regular basis. Bi-weekly I will switch it up and use Bee Mine Botanical Moisturizing Shampoo and Bee Mine Avocado Cream Balanced Conditioner. I will then use the Bee Hold Curly Butter and put it in my hair while it is wet. After the Giovanni products, I will then use all natural coconut oil. This helps keep my hair from staying dry. Sometimes I will also use gel, again no specific brand. I am still on the search for a good one that doesn’t leave my hair so dry…

Describe your favorite go-to hairstyle for days when you don’t have a lot of time to style.
B:
My favorite go-to hairstyle would have to be a messy bun on the top of my head or even combing my hair when it is curly to make it bigger and wearing it like Diana Ross.

How do you combat shrinkage?
B:
I don’t usually have too much shrinkage because by the time my hair is completely dry it has fallen and is back to its normal length. My hair is past my shoulders when curly and past my mid back when straight.

Tell us about your hair color?
B:
My hair color is light brown, dark brown and has blonde highlights in the front. My hair color is natural and the highlights are from the sunlight and swimming in the pool and ocean over the years. It has not changed the texture of my hair, although the blonde pieces in the front usually need a little more oil then the rest of my hair.

What are 2 do’s for your texture?
B:
With my texture you could do just about anything to my hair. I like braids and curling it with flexi rods to give it a different look. Although I dislike sitting under the dryer for 8 hours for my hair to dry. 🙁

What are 2 don’ts for your texture?
B:
I am tender headed unfortunately so teasing my hair doesn’t always feel good as well as cornrows.

Is there a blog/webpage where we can find you?
B:
https://talentsoup.com/webcomp/c569d4
http://amtagency.com/display/bernadette-louise/
http://www.facebook.com/bernadette.louise.39

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Meosha

Just another lover of natural hair and expression. - Style Icon Coordinator for BGLH
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96 Responses

  1. It’s in point of fact a nice and useful piece of info. I’m satisfied that you simply shared this useful information with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Gorgeous hair and face…I’m not sure why all the negative comments. I’m glad she was interviewed because my 2.5 yr old twin girls have the same hair texture and colour down to the blonde high lights and I need tips on how to care for their hair. Mixed chicks product is not working for us and I’m getting tired of buying useless products. So grateful for this forum and the focus on different hair textures.
    People that are leaving negative comments are just jealous of this beautiful girl and need to stop!!!

  3. Her hair is bomb.com love it, love the color and my hair is no where near the texture and length. I just love healthy hair!!

  4. Bernadette do not listen to anyone on here who denies you of your heritage. You have an excellent grasp on who you are, do not let anyone take that from you because of jealousy. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, every woman I have seen on this website is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Anyone who can embrace who they are whether they have dark skin and pin straight hair, light skin and tight coiled locs, pale white skin and a giant red afro, tattooed skin and a purple mohawk – They are beautiful. Love yourself and then you will learn to love others, no matter how different they look from you and your expectations.
    [img]https://bglh-marketplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/race.jpg[/img]

  5. I think the issue people have is that her hair is not an accurate representation of the average BLACK WOMEN.

  6. Oddly I am a dark skinned black girl (Naomi Campbells complexion) with medium brown curly 3b/c hair that is finer and straighter than this womans and my hair is all real and natural My hair has reddish brown highlights in the sun. Everyone thinks I have a weave and that I dyed my hair. My hair can grow to my waist but I am stereotyped and hated on by lighter skinned black women because I have something that im not supposed to have because these features are reserved for lighter women or something. I have completely natural hair, no relaxer at all.
    One biracial girl half African half white hairdresser, who specialized in curly hair looked at my hair when it was flat ironed and assumed it was not natural and stated to me that she only did curly hair. She then proceeded to sign up my Ethiopian friend for an appointment when my hair was straighter and curlier.
    I am from the Carribean , Guyana , where East Indians, black, whites, Chinese and Native Indians mix but Americans don’t understand, its not all about skin color. There are lots of dark skinned blacks where I am from with wavy, curly hair.

    This model has beautiful hair and she is beautiful. Black women hate badly on all complexions and looks.

    1. Tracy, my daughter has the same issues you do. Not all American’s are ignorant to woman of African decent in South America and the Caribbean. Some people have spend too much time deciding what type of hair women with certain features or skin tones are supposed to have, then get angry when they find out they are wrong, rather then taking the time to learn some history.

      Again, I am light skinned with coarse 3C hair, while my daughter is darker, with 2b/3a hair. Genetics control our hair, not skin tone. 🙂

      1. I’m from the Caribbean too and I have to say I agree with both of you…it saddens me that black women can’t take the time to understand that our blackness is not meant to be categorised as if it were a fashion accessory, our differences should be celebrated that is the true beauty in being black.

    2. Why ‘Oddly’? in the caribbean our mixes are probably just more complex & deeper/ never know a dormant recessive will do! lol What I think is going on is that people like to be in control of their surroundings & want things to be easy & to make sense– especially if they haven’t been exposed to much. Their little skin color + facial features + hair texture formulas must make sense to them, and if they don’t they cry weave or get extremely jealous [“well my grandma was part chippewa & irish– how is this heifer’s hair straighter than mine??”] I think the less shocked or angered people are when they are the victim of a weave check, then we’ll be on the road to progress… if their goal is to f* with our heads and we’re defensive? they’ve won. <3

  7. Lovely hair texture,beautiful woman and the hair colour is beautiful and unique,keep rocking those curls girl

  8. Wow! It’ s hot in here. Just giving my two cents: love-that-hair! Her curly mane is everything. Yes, very much like Nastasia from Top Model. Okay, nuff said. Throws up arms, quietly backs out of room.

  9. Typical light-skinned, good-hair, mixed-APPEARING bitch *yawn*

    Of COURSE, she’s gonna have an easier time growing long hair.

    You bitches can call me “ignorant” or a “hater” if you want, i honestly don’t give a fucc. But i call it like i see it.

    I don’t consider girls/women like her Natural. Nor do they have to struggle with Natural hair since they have good hair anyway.

    NEXT!!

    1. Bitch, really? Did a “good” hair mixed-appearing woman bite you on the ass this morning or what?

      WTF is wrong with some of you? BGLH since day one has featured all types of women, from light to dark to mixed and from super loose textures to the kinkiest of textures. IF this features does not appeal to you then simply skip your ass to another thread.

      1. *Sings* Don’t hate her cause she’s beautiful, don’t hate her cause she’s beautiful!

    2. I completely disagree with your tone- but I do understand where some of that angst is coming from. Bernadette is BEAUTIFUL, but as another person posted earlier, her beauty is different to a dark skinned girl with tight cottony hair.

      When I was younger, I would’ve given anything to look like Bernadette because that was the image of the ‘acceptable’ black girl that I was presented with. This is not her fault – or anyone’s! I will stress that again: THIS IS NOT BERNADETTE’S FAULT, nor do I blame her, but society is sick and wrong sometimes, and it was girls like Bernadette that were presented as able to fit in, and even be praised for being ‘exotic’ while I was left ignored and isolated because I was “too dark” or “midnight black” etc.

      I am actually the same colour as a bar of milk chocolate, and I have since matured enough to love my beautiful skin and hair and self a good deal more than I did back then, when that image was all that I had to go on. So instead of tearing each other down for expressing emotions like this, we should seek to understand I think, and try to realise that we all come from different backgrounds, and sometimes some of us are victims of the horrible way that society manipulates racial insecurities.

      I think Bernadette is GORGEOUS, and I think her hair is stunning, and more than welcome on this site- and I can safely say I think that because I was able to teach myself that beliefs like Tai L.’s are not true. Not everyone can do that- and if we reject our sisters because they haven’t learned yet, then we are the ones who haven’t learnt.

      1. Tel8,

        I completely appreciate your sentiments. However, I believe that Tai L. is ignorant by choice and not because of society. Take it from a light skinned women with thick, cottony hair that has never been much beyond arm pit length, who has a daughter who is also the color of the finest milk chocolate but who’s hair is nearly straight and long, it annoys me that Black women continually feed into the notion that skin color dictates the type of hair a woman has growing out of her head, and not a product of the genetic lottery. Then again if Bernadette had referred to herself as a Latina, then that would be seen as the reason for her hair.

        If we don’t get past these obnoxious hair stereotypes, we can never expect anyone else to. I am heartened that so many women here are choosing to fight back against the nasty comments, which is a very good sign that they are women who love themselves despite what society might tell them. That is always a good thing.

        1. My thing is, does everyone featured on her have to relate to the dark hairs kinky haired women in the world??? Are the light skinned curly haired women not good enough to be featured!! That’s what I don’t get. I understand if all they featured were women like Bernadette but that’s not the case. Honestly a feature like hers is pretty rare. But u NEVER see any women like bernadette trolling kinky haired dark skinned women’s features bc they can’t relate to it. So why is it ALWAYS one sided?? If ignorance is why…. Pure unfiltered, unadulterated ignorance. Smh

    3. No, Tai L. I won’t call you “ignorant” or a “hater”. Instead since you took the time to come right out of the gate calling folks “bitches”, I’ll simply refer to you as an ATTENTION WHORE and keep right on steppin’!

    4. Everyone has good hair ,no hair type is bad and i am happy for her,i love her light skin,her lovely hair colour and texture and her mixed looks.Everyone is unique and beautiful including you so no one has to feel bad about another person’s looks or about their own looks because we are all beautiful,believe that you are beautiful and you will see your own beauty shining too(like i did).Let’s keep helping each other and never pull another person down.WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL.Love you.

    5. Geez…who took a shit in your Cherrios and called you ugly??? Jealous much? Oh and btw…”good” hair is HEALTHY hair and people with dark skin and coarser hair CAN have good hair without having such a hard time growing it. So you are ignorant and a hater. Now stop being so jealous of this girl. You’re embarrassing yourself and showing your lack of education and class.

  10. Yes I love this pic… I know this is her hair but if you all are looking for some extensions that look JUST like this try this company called Virgin Hair Seduction http://www.virginhairseduction.com and check out their brazilian curly or their kinky curly and it looks just like this. I bought the Brazilian curly and when i added my color it looks just like this. But Just thought id share for all yall ladies who want to get this look! TTYL OH yea their Prices are feakin awesome LOL

    again you can order hair like this from http://www.virginhairseduction.com

  11. i think her hair is beautiful and she very much looks black to me. this site showcases all types of hair for black girls who have the kinkiest and girls who have the most loosest curl pattern. i look at this site as a support site for us and a reason why we should love our hair/heritage because it sets us different from other races. saying this girl isnt ‘black enough’ is so incredibly ignorant. she is what she says she is and im sure no one else knows what how much of a race she is than her herself. just because her skin isnt of a browner color and her hair seems to be more straighter than some other black girls doesnt make her any less black than me.

  12. I knew I was right about this site, way too catty and the comments are becoming like Youtube comments I.e some individuals going out of their way to post insulting or hurtful comments to brighten their own sad lives. So what if her hair is not the ‘norm’ for you or anyone else, no one said it was. This lady is just being featured today, kind enough to answer an interview and will appeal to those with similar hair whom I’m sure will read this site just like kinky, coily and everything in between threads. Drop the drama!

    1. The cattiness is not only on this site, but every site that has anything to do with natural hair. There will always be those who have a need to make themselves feel better by denigrating other’s. There is no way to get away from them, so it is best to simply ignore them more often then not.

  13. Bernadette – You have a gorgeous head of hair. I enjoyed you interview throroughly! You shared your techniques and products.

    I think so many African American women forget that there are so many textures of hair other than cottony and kinky. Infact, this website has those woen with that type of hair celebrated as well.

    The folks who have responded negatively about your hair seam not to acknowlege African American hair that is not as kinky. It is so sad that they can’t give kudos to types of hair that exist in our race.

    1. I had too many mispellings up there.

      I want to say the that this website acknowledges and celebrates all different hair types from wavy – to curly – to kinky!

      Why come on to a 3B/3C hair type Style Icon and bash? She (Bernadette) has a beautiful head of hair even if your hair is not like hers. Her hair colr does what many folks with brown hair will do – I will lighten naturally.
      Many African American’s don’t/can’t/or won’t give kudos to those with a looser curl. THis website celebrates ALL hair types!

  14. I am guilty sometimes of holding natural haired women to a different standard than women that have a perm or such. I expect queen like behavior and when I don’t get that I get disillusioned. As of late this is happening more and more. Am I wrong for making that a standard for the women that i deal with? That they have natural hair. And if they do am I wrong for expecting her to behave in a certain way? And is this a pet peeve of Natural haired women?

    1. Yes, you are ‘wrong’ in my opinion and yes it is a pet peeve of mine. Even though I probably *do* live up to the standards you set, I find the idea of ‘this person has natural hair, so they must be this, this and this’ to be bafflingly silly, especially since quite often the person holding this idea seems to be socially intelligent (to me).

    2. Hello Bishp,
      I don’t think you should feel guilty for having an expectation. I have expectations about certain people all the time. Sometimes my expectations are met and sometimes they are not met, LOL. For some women natural hair is about ethnic identity, finding themselves, or freeing themselves from harsh chemicals and hair problems—while others are doing it as a fashion trend. Now if you personally know someone who acts like a queen one minute cuz she is natural and then acts straight rachet the next minute, then you can address them privately because you know them. but I wouldn’t advise that approach on strangers. I try to carry myself in a respectable manner all the time, back when my hair was permed I had the same mindset about my personal behavior. I have been natural going on 4 1/2 years and my standard for personal behavior is pretty much the same!
      [img]https://bglh-marketplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/blue.jpg[/img]

    3. Your preferences are your preferences. If that’s what you want then look for a woman that embodies what you’re looking for. Nothing wrong with that.

    4. dude… do you know how douchey & controlling you’re coming off?? in fact, are you *sure* you’re actually into women at all? It sounds like being in your presence will require a LOT of behavior modification and posturing to suit your satisfaction… and this is happening more & more? uh-oh… doesn’t bode well… unless this is some sort of bizarre troll comment, and if that’s the case, well done sir!

  15. im sure you always get asked your ethnicity bcuz u came RIGHT out the gate with it lol
    ..but you are a showstopper! 🙂

      1. may i ask what coming right out the gate with it means? english is not my mother tongue and i do not master the american way of speaking 🙂

  16. Her hair reminds me of an over the top exaggerated lion mane it’s so thick and gorgeous but at the same time wild and free…Kinda like the girl from this season of America’s Next Top Model college edition Natasia:)

  17. I LOVE how simple her hair taking is!….no over the top products….
    very nice……

    coconut oil and Shea butter is the bomb….

    1. LOL lemme find you can get chose by being featured on a natural hair blog.
      I dig it. *goes to snoop on my boyfriend’s browsing history*

  18. You are drop dead gorgeous, and I hope you are as pretty on the inside as you are on the outside. Your hair is breathtaking and the color is “sunkissed.” You are an example to African American women to embrace their natural hair. Not many of us embrace what we were blessed with and it’s kinda sad. We buy, chemically treat, and do anything else we can think of to cover up our true blessing. Thanks for telling your hair story 🙂 Be blessed!

    1. Um, you do realize that she is an exception, right? Most of these African American women who do not embrace their hair have FAR kinkier hair (the dark kind that does not get kissed by the sun because their gene pools and backgrounds don’t allow for that) and use a crap ton of products to get hair like this: loose and closer to straight than curly). They cannot embrace what is theirs because they are too busy keeping up with the Joneses, and the Joneses don’t have kinky hair that draws up like cotton. Look at Youtube. Bloggers like Taren916 (who I do not watch for many reasons) has a ton of followers and most of them have kinky hair, but covet hers.
      I’m not buying into the hype. Her hair is nice, but she does not rep the kinkier type of hair that many of us African American women have, and should be taken with a huge grain of “exception” salt.
      I am not impressed.

      1. Sorry, but you sound jealous! We don’t all have the same type, and as the young lady said, we all want what we don’t have. I like to see models with hair like this BECAUSE my hair is not particularly curly, but is wavy like her’s.

        The best part about this site is that it features a wide range of hair types and hair colors so that everyone can see themselves and learn to embrace their natural texture. Lighten up and understand that we can all enjoy photos of natural hair, even if it’s not exactly like what grows out of our own heads.

        1. I agree with you and don’t consider it hating. I don’t see a difference between this woman, Gloria and Laura Govan or a white woman talking about their “natural hair”. They do not represent the majority of African or Black American hair textures, but I don’t consider mixed race people to be black either, so I guess you’ll have that. Mixed race people are just that mixed and their texture represents that. I don’t believe in the racist one-drop rule or colorism. It’s because of this you don’t see authentic black women represented and hair texture is tied into it.

          1. Most African Americans are mixed race anyway, so your comment makes no sense. Because of our mixed heritage AA’s can have the kinkiest of hair to pin-straight hair. So if a dark skinned person is born with blonde hair are they not black?

          2. Please stop being so ridiculous. Having a parent of a different race or ethnicity is not the same as having someone of another race or ethnicity in your lineage 100th generations back. Because if you apply that logic, everyone in the entire world is mixed. No one is 100% of anything. Bi-racials people are mixed, African-Americans are black, unless they have a parent of a different ethnicity.

            It’s crazy that there are still people subscribing to this ridiculous one-drop rule. Obama, Halle Berry, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Tiger Woods and so on are not black. Black people are born out of a union between 2 black people, not 1 black person and a person of a different race or ethnicity. Point. Blank. Period.

            Not saying the woman in this interview isn’t black by the way. Your skintone or hair texture have nothing to do with your heritage. You can be fair skinned and curly haired with 2 black parents, which makes you black. Or you can be fair skinned and curly haired with only one black parent, which makes you bi-racial/mixed.

          3. And the person being ridiculous here is in fact YOU! There are many BLACK people, whether you see us that way are not, that are not in fact first generation bi-racial, have two parents who consider themselves Black, and yet one parent has a bi-racial heritage.

            The bottom line here is that it is not up to you to decide who is or is not Black, or is or is not Black enough. If the young lady profiled here does not appeal to your nubian sensibilities, then feel free to not look at her, and move on. As for the rest of us who do not have tunnel vision, we will and continue to see American’s of African decent has being multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and not one of us has time for people like you! Your jealousy really isn’t becoming and is more then likely more of a hindrance in your life then you are going to choose to let on. That’s O.K. You will either expand your horizons or stay in your racial myopic bubble. At the end of the day the only person effected by your way of thinking…is you!

          4. I’m sorry ‘authentic black woman’ wth does that mean? How do you determine what makes a woman an ‘authentic’ black woman or not??! Do you hold a paper bag to her skin to make sure she’s dark enough?? Does her hair have to be able to break combs to be kinky enough for you? This woman considers herself a black woman so who the HELL are you to tell her she’s not?? I swear to God black women always complain about being torn down by others when we are actually our own worst. Enemies… My gramother and great aunts told Us how growing up they were hated by the other black girls for being too fair skin w hair that was too long but I didn’t think it still happened. Reverse racism is clearly alive and well. Shame on u

          5. Lol I guess the person this was meant for who stated she doesn’t represent an ‘authentic black woman’ deleted her comment. Good!

          6. what about stopping to shame people because of their skin complexion? where i live this is not an issue but when reading american blogs i see that for some people skin colour is still important. some people also get hated on because they’re too dark when will people understand that we’re all the same and unity should prevail?

          7. Yes, because an “authentic black woman” is comfortable in her own skin, and doesn’t care to waste her time in assessing who is or is not “black enough”!

          8. Since you are so obviously “Happy2bMe” then why would you need to take the time out of your life to decide who is or is not representative of American women of African decent and their hair? Since there is no way possible that you have met or have even seen a “majority” of us, you have no frame of reference other then what is right before you eyes. Open up your frame of reference, give up your grasp of the “one-drop rule” which you clearly have even if you attempt deny it, and realize that no one can tear us down as well as we do ourselves. Either be a part of the solution, or blame yourself for the problems we face.

      2. I’m confused about your issue… You’re saying her hair and regimen don’t count or don’t ‘impress’ you simply Bc it’s different the yours?? So I guess women who have texture like hers (and trust me there are MANY, more then you think actually ) should just be left out in the cold huh? I guess the women with looser textures should make it a point to go on 4b+ hair texture and whine about how unimpressed they are right? Or is that only reserved for the likes of you who always find some way to compare and separate us from each other? NEWS flash. This site is for EVERY hair type and EVERY hair type counts MOST women who have reached reasonable amount of MATURITY are fully able to not only appreciate but praise ANY type of hair regardless if its their own or not. I and many other grown women love seeing hair types different then theirs Bc to me and others like me they are all beautiful. How dare you dismiss this woman Bc she is different then you?? You are no better then the people who discriminate against natural hair as a whole. The nerve…. I urge you to GROW UP ma am. Then say a nice seized prayer about your insecurities. Be blessed.

      3. Every one has a different type of beauty and her beauty is different from a dark skinned 4b person person. Back when naomi capmbell was nice looking – her beauty would be different to this girl. That doesn’t make Naomi Campbell ugly because she is different, just different. Her pictures are very nice, but their are also 4b’s on this website who also have nice comments, so its not as if they are ignored!

        1. Oh. O.K. Since her hair color is not the norm she is not representative of Black women? You seriously need to get out more!

      4. WOW, so what is the norm???? I am a woman of dark complexion and I have curly hair…that is closer to curly than kinky (to clarify) my hair color isn’t black it is called “red,” …everyone should dismiss me now all of a sudden??? As a matter of fact I follow Taren916 and I love her videos, while not coveting her hair because I love my own! You my friend are a hater and I personally feel insulted by your remarks..you have no right to exclude anyone because you feel they are too different!

      5. @sheila and seriously now… really queens do we need to go there??? I just knew this was coming as soon as I saw the hair icon’s pics. It’s a darn shame too.

  19. pretty hair and pretty woman!!! but girl ur hair is so thick and full while flat ironed!!! hair crush!

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