by
Cipriana
By Cipriana of Urbanbushbabes.com
With an abundance of natural hair care tips and information practically at your fingertips, how do you determine what is the best natural hair advice for you? Does texture even factor into your final decision when deciding what advice to follow? Or do you feel depending on your hair type, that not all advice is created equal?
Well you just may be a “Hair Twin”, “Speed Dater” or a “Do-Not-Discriminator”? Read below to find out which one you are.
Hair Twin
Only look for advice from those with natural hair similar to your texture. Damn near identical hair is a necessity not a luxury!
Speed Dater
Much like a real-life speed dater you have your doubts but will not let skepticism rule your world. You are willing to listen to the information and make your assessment from there. Depending on the situation you could take it or leave it.
Do-Not-Discriminator
You consider textures much like love, in that it is blind and all natural hair advice can work for anyone. So kinky, curly, coily or wavy you do not hair-discriminate. If the hair pattern is anything other than straight you are willing to give the advice a chance.
Which type of advice-taker are you? And why?
48 Responses
I have 3a hair that wears more like 2c since my straight haired parents had me brush my hair to death while growing up. I am white, and I grew up in a mostly white community, and only started to learn about how to care for curly hair. I do have wash and go hair, as long as I put leave-in in it, but I’m definitely a do-not-discriminator. I look at these protective styles that women with much coilier, kinkier hair have, and I use those to give me defined, even looking curls. I don’t use them as ‘protective’ so much as I do for shaping. Twists outs are my go-to, and they only stay in overnight. I have to give props to you girls with coily, kinky hair. I used to think my limp curl/waves were difficult, and I couldn’t imagine putting that much work just to keep my hair in good shape.
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I watch videos and read about sisters with hair similar to mine or kinkier then mine. The styles I stick with are those of that are most like my hair. The moisturizing and detangling advice I found to be good from those with coily and kinky hair.
In my opinion texture does not matter.It is all to do with techniques and principles that matter.Common sense transcends textures. 🙂
I have taken advice from so many women online through blogs,sites and you tube that don’t always have my texture,length or may not even be black but my hair is thriving because i mixed it up and took what i could apply from each person.
For example using regular conditioner (Herbal EssenceHH) as a leave in i discovered that from Teri La Flesh and that ended working for my hair too and especially my daughters so that for me is proof that people who are succesful with their hair have something to share and i am interested because success is success in my eyes.
Common sense and experience really have to come into play. Someone with a texture that’s visibly the same as mine might have weaker strands, or hair that’s more absorbant, or softer or whatever. There are certain things that are impossible to know (inho) just by looking at someone’s hair. So I do appreciate hair-twindom, but find it hard to find and take sensible tips wherever I can.
I think it does matter. I have 4c hair, so the EcoStyler and Kinky Curling Custard doesn’t bring out any curls or coils…and wash and goes, dont come out looking cute, its actually a disaster lol. They are better for 3-4a hair. I am not anti-silicones because they help detangle my hair. Alot of “natural” conditioners don’t work for my hair. Renpure naturals left my hair dry and hard, and soy protein was at the top of the list. So i find it ts better for me to take advice from people with cottony/fine tight 4c hair.
I am more of a Speed Dater for techniques, but a Do-Not-Discriminator when it comes to products. Texture rarely has an impact on how products will respond on one’s hair so I look more for reviews from people with my porosity and strand size.
This is one instance where I think the natural hair community is struggling to be too inclusive. We’re all busy women. Why the heck would I sit around seeking hair advice from someone whose hair is NOTHING like mine.
This whole discussion makes no sense. There’s a natural hair community that is driven by everyday folks because mainstream beauty media outlets don’t provide sufficient information about our type of hair. We’ve accepted that getting advice about how to manage straight hair is useless. Why can’t we accept that for kinky-haired ladies, advice from looser curlies is just about as useless, and vice versa?
I have kinky coily hair, and I don’t waste my time watching styling videos and reading advice on how to care for hair that is NOTHING like mine. And that’s okay. I no more expect a curly to give a hoot about my styling techniques than Jennifer Aniston. Our hair is different.
I don’t understand the natural community push at inclusion to the point of total time wasting. I don’t give a hoot about 3c hair. And I don’t expect a 3c to give a hoot about my tightly coiled tresses. So what? If I see one more youtube video or read one more blog posting by a curly crying because she feels like kinkys should pay more attention to her, I’ll scream. It’s all so ridiculous!
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I only take hair advice from YTubers with a texture similar to my own. For styles I’ll consider any hair texture.
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I think it this case of subject concept rather than a cut an dry objective situation as you maybe implying
I do listen to advice for hair health care and in some cases product usage from women of different tress from mine. While fore styling I look for people with textures like my own to get similar results.
I find I just as much good and bad results with people with my hair texture as with people on the opposite end to my texture when it comes to care for hair in general so I use a filter.
The “hair twins” in the photo are adorable :-)!
I wouldn’t say I’m a hair twin. I actually do discriminate in terms of seeing what people are doing by paying more attention to people with hair just beyond the length of mine, because they’re where I’m trying to go. Hence, right now, I’m all eyes whenever someone links a video of Naptural85 (but then, if you’ve been paying me any attention lately, then you pretty much get that for right now, her Greek yogurt treatment—”if cygnet mentions that x/?:*#! treatment one more time!!!!!—has made her my shero). In another year and a piece, it’ll probably be someone with even longer hair.
In terms of actually trying styles, length can work against me, but where it doesn’t, neither does texture. I’ll personalize it to my needs, abilities, and work ethic and try to rock it anyway if I like it.
Of course, the one thing above featured style, texture, length, and general regimen and product use will make me return to a channel or blog is personality. If something about that person makes me feel as though I could be friends with that person, or at least enjoy spending time listening to that person or being in her company, I’ll go visit time and time again, irrespective of everything else. In that, at least, I do not discriminate.
I will say I am 75% Speed Dater and 25% Hair Twin. The hair twin part comes in when looking for great styles. I have watched some people use certain tools (eg Kimmaytube and her beloved banana clips). I swear if I used one of those clips when I snap it closed on one end the next end will break open. So when i am looking for hair styles the persons hair texture and thickness must be similar to mine otherwise its a collosal waste of time. Advise as to products and how hair grows etc that is where the speed dater part of me comes out. I take it in, I research, I adapt accordingly.
Do-Not-Discriminator
Im 4b and Ive got some of the best advice from a 2b girl and a 3c girl.(Guyanese, and a mixed chick) Sounds Crazy I know, but when I begain to listen with an open mind, ( LEAVE MY HAIR ALONE ) my hair and scalp started singing LOL.
Wash, condition, Giovanni leave in. 🙂 If i want a more texturized look I put kinky curly custard on top of the leave in. ( I’m extra ). When I tried twists and stuff (miss jessies …smh) my hair didnt grow or stay moisturized. They girls around me with my hair type swear by it, but I really wasn’t seeing results in my own head of hair.(unlucky I guess) I think its just wants to be free to do its thing.
Strictly hair twin. Messed around trying to “speed date” and ended up with matted and tangled up hair. I DO NOT have wash n go hair. I have to wash and do 2 hours of styling before I go anywhere.
I may be a combination of all three. I do look at other naturals who I think have similar hair texture, and I decide if a style they’re rocking is something I can emulate. But when it comes to hair products, there are some products that I try out first, regardless of the intended hair type user.
For example, I assumed that Giovanni Direct Leave-In was only for those in the looser curl, finer texture realm. I started using it a couple of months ago because I was looking for a leave-in that wasn’t so heavy, and I love it for my hair! I have tightly coiled hair around the perimeter of my head, but that section of my hair feels great after using the leave in. If I had let my assumptions get the best of me, I would have missed out on this particular product.
I look for hair twins for products I may like. I’m a Do-Not Discriminator when it comes to styles though. It just makes sense to me that someone with a completely different texture will have a more different product experience than someone with a similar texture to me. Texture doesn’t matter with styles because there’s always room to adjust and make a style mine.
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It all depends on the type of information. Some information is pertinent to all hair types and others will have different results depending on your texture of hair. I am at the point in my journey that I can discern what information to take away from various sources.
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I guess I’m a mix of Hair Twin and Do-Not-Discriminator. 🙂
I have mostly-4b hair. After my last BC, when I wanted to try wearing WNGs past my traditional maximum length for WNGs (4″), I went looking on YouTube for a hair twin who was doing WNGs on longer hair and I found one in cynthiarf. Our hair isn’t exactly alike — hers is much thicker; mine is more coily — but with a little tweaking, her overall methods worked spectacularly. To encourage my coils to coil, I ended up using products that people with looser textures preferred, such as Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding and KCCC. Str8isis is a YouTuber whose hair is looser than mine but by using her KCCC application technique I was able to get great results.
I think where a lot of new naturals get hung up is when their expectations depart from their reality. There’s no amount of KCCC that will make my hair hang like str8isis’…but that’s okay because I wasn’t looking for that information. On the flip side, I recently told a blogger with 3a-3b-ish hair that she should try using a product with more hold if she wanted a twistout that wouldn’t lose its curls by the end of the day. People with tighter (or looser) coil patterns can still learn something from people with looser (or tighter) curl patterns so long as they’re not expecting their hair to magically turn into something it’s not.
hair twin…
generally, i only pay attention to those with my texture – in the 4abcdefg… range.
sometimes, i even discriminate in that range. some people may not have hair that is as thick as mine or maybe their hair is much shorter/longer than mine.
with one or two exceptions, everyone i sub to on yt pretty much has my type.
at the end of the day, i do what i feel is best for me and my hair. not everyone’s hair practices work for me, even when they have the same/a similar texture.
Speed dater and Do not discriminator. I take what may work for me and apply it. You can be inspired in so may ways, I even take styling ideas from straight haired folks.
Most of my routine/regimen is from trial and error and not so much as advice. I found following anyone whether hair twin or not may not yield the same results as so many other factors may come into play when doing your hair i.e thickness, hard water etc.
I say research/gather as much info as you can ~learn from experience~ and go with the flow!
I totally agree you can be inspired by many people.
I’m a combination of “Hair Twin” and “Speed Dater”. I take detangling and styling advice from people with hair textures visually similar to mine (cottony, tightly-coiled, Afro-textured hair). Why? Because their detangling method is often is better suited for my hair texture and the styles will garner similar results on similar textures. Otherwise, I take haircare advice with a grain of salt.
Me too! 🙂
Hair twin all the way. It’s just hard for me to listen to someone with wavy hair who says “all I do is shampoo and condition, comb my hair, spray and go”. I’m like, where’s the finger detangling?, you don’t have knots?, do you pre-poo?,protective styling?? Um thanks but no thanks. It’s a waste of my time, I don’t have all day to be on youtube listening to non-applicable advice. LOL. As a woman with kinky hair, I don’t mind listening to someone with more curls than kinks but if there are more differences than similarities (when it comes to texture) then I’m on to the next 1. lol. Even those who have kinky long hair, I probably won’t go to them for styling advice given that I’m just over 6 inches.
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I am two types,
Hair Twin: for Styles lets be honest if I want the same visual results I need to have they have close to exact hair type as me. I don’t like feeling disappointed with results, having the same texture make it easier.
Speed dater: With all other advice (mostly hair health) I take advice from people with straight, curly, kinky, and wavy. All advice has its benefit but I am naturally skeptical unless logic is sound. Quite a bit of the advice I here in these natural hair sites I have already heard of from a make your own beauty product books written by women with straight, and wavy hair.
Way I treat it is like your body.
When it comes to styling know someone has the same texture skin and body type makes it easier to style like them with make up and clothing a Apple shape women wouldn’t get the same results as advice suited for a pear shaped women and vice versa.
But for healthy body and skin maybe you would grab advice on how to eat right, work out and in some rare case take care of your skin from different people, you would just adjust according to your lifestyle, environment, hereditary factors.
I do take the hair texture of the person giving hair advice into consideration. Primarily because their are some nuisances about afro textured/Type 4 hair that someone who has a soft, curly texture of hair will not know about or adequately know how to address. Dryness is an issue for everyone but the texture determines how you work with your hair, the heaviness of products that are being used and in some cases, possible the style. For example, I tried the Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk. On Lisa’s hair it was awesome, on my niece’s hair it worked wonders but on my hair, it just sat right on top. My hair didn’t even absorb the product. My niece has soft, extremely curly hair but her hair readily absorbed the product whereas with my hair it was a waste of money. Hence, I gave my Hair Milk to my niece. 🙂
‘Primarily because their are some nuisances about afro textured/Type 4 hair that someone who has a soft, curly texture of hair will not know about or adequately know how to address’
SMH. God help us all.
Don’t be like that. I don’t think Jamica meant anything bad.
I hate when an honest opinion is bashed for no reason. there was nothing even remotely disrespectful in her reply. It was her opinion and a very valid one. We should all learn to communicate better but I guess because it is a messageboard there are moments when things are misinterpeted
Honestly…I think Jamica meant to say “nuances” which means a destinction or variation. Of course that is my assumption but based on the rest of her statement, it seems safer to assume she meant “nuances” instead of “nuisances”. Seems like some people browse these blogs looking for someone to pounce on…I swear. Just like the person that asked the “2c hair” poster “why are you on here?” Really? I think she’s on here for hair tips, knowledge, and learning just like the rest of us. We’re here to help each other. Damn, people.
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I have type 2c hair and sometimes, it’s just plain hard to find new styles/regimens etc that work for me. I tend to keep an open mind as i always appreciate godo advice, but when I’ve tried stuff that works well for 3c and type 4 hair, I end up looking a hot mess. I’m thinking, they look awesome and I look ridiculous. How can I do better. Is there a youtube video out there?
Typ 2c hair? Why are you on here?
rude much. leave her alone. I have type four hair and she isnt offending me so what the heck is you problem…….Jealous?
I agree with 2nd anon!! Anyone on the quest knowledge with such a positive attitude should never come against such a road block. Didn’t your teacher tell you that there wasn’t a such thing as a bad question? Or did you block that out because she had type 2C hair?? Insecurity is an ugly thing, it makes you hate people you don’t even know. #IJS
I was actually trying to like your comment and the site decided something different anyways 2 thumbs up
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I’m just going to throw my 2 cents into this discussion. I’m not really sure why. But, here goes. I don’t really understand the initial “why are you here” comment, but I am going to take issue with the suggestion that it is born of jealousy.
Why would anon be jealous? Why is that your automatic response? The fact that you think a presumably kinkier-haired lady is envious of a 2c speaks more about you than her. It is YOU who thinks 2c hair is better. Maybe anon just likes making rude comments online. Maybe it was a sincere question, and she didn’t intend it to be rude – perhaps she really wanted to know why the commenter is here on a site geared for ladies with more textured hair, and what she hopes to get from it.
Just sayin’ folks be tellin’ on themselves with their accusations. Check your own hair issues before you start projecting them onto others.
i think u just told on your self dumbass……
the bullying has to stop. if standing up for someone means im gonna get told i envy them, so be it. Im gonna do like jesus and turn the other cheek to your foolishness. But that wont stop meaning from doing or saying the right thing. To make that suggestion, while reading a comment based so bluntly on hate…… Listen i need you to stop projeting ur hate onto me. Thanks. You check urself and fall back please. that woman was wrong and ur suggestions were IGNORANT. ( WHERE U THE ORGINAL POSTER), cuz you sound like it…. and girl please u dont know shit about how i love my kinky hair, i’d dash way men to marry it smh. U think you know me but you just gave the world wide web way too much info about you….
God bless you, have a wonderful sunshiny day.
Dear Madam or Sir, I was under the impression that all opinions were welcome. I’m a “do not discriminator” advice taker therefore I thought that the question on the thread was also directed towards me just as the other responders did. I stand corrected if I misinterpreted.
WELL WE ALL KNOW THAT SOME PEOPLE COME ON HERE TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE THEY ARE SINCERE WHEN REALLY THEY ARE NOT. EXAMPLE, “OH I HAVE 2C HAIR AND ITS REALLY SOFT AND SILKY AND I HATE IT SO MUCH” LOL, YEAH RIGHT! SOME PEOPLE WANT TO SAY THAT TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE WITH KINKIER HAIR FEEL BAD. READ BETWEEN THE LINES. JUST LIKE ON ANOTHER BLOG SITE THAT I WAS JUST ON. A PERSON STATED, “OH I JUST WISH I HAD DARKER SKIN. EVERYONE THINKS IM SO PRETTY AND SO STUCK UP BECAUSE I AM LIGHT SKIN. PLEASE HELP POOR ME.” I MEAN REALLY… DOES THAT SOUND LIKE SOMEONE WHO REALLY CARES OR SOMEONE WHO IS TRULY TRYING TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE FEEL BAD?
HOLY MOSES. INSECURITY AT ITS FINEST. ^^^^
If it helps any, Goldeelocks, check out a Youtuber named LeoBodyC5. Her hair is more wavy than curly, and quite long, but unlike what I gather to be your description of yourself from the PBGDay thread (Yeah, I was on that one, too 🙂 ), LeoBodyC5 is quite brown.
If I had to describe her in just one word, the word would be elegant. She does her hair in some pretty intricate-looking but easily reproduced styles reminiscent of the turn of the 20th century as well as some straight styles. She also showcases her tastes in jewelry, hats, clothes, food, places, and other things. Her attitude is very no-nonsense, and I liked those videos that I watched.
Cygnet, thanks so much! I checked out her channel and she has some really good information on there, I need to try. I appreciate it!;-)