by
Christina Patrice
Another day, another instance of cultural appropriation folks jumping on the natural hair bandwagon to gain popularity.
On May 28th, the popular daytime doctor Mehmet Oz sprang head first into a two-part show segment called Style Your Natural Hair. Here’s a brief rundown of parts 1 and 2:
Part 1
Dr. Oz opens talking about a “hair revolution” that even Oprah has gotten in on (shows infamous O Magazine cover where Oprah is sporting an obviously overstated textured wig).
Marie Simone Smith is introduced as someone “leading the charge” in the natural hair movement (stick a pin riiiiight there) and owner of one of the first natural hair salons in the country.
Sonya, a studio guest comes on stage, and explains her decision to want to big chop — among other things citing being tired of the cultural stigma that “nappy is tacky and straight is great”.
Stylist Marie Simone Smith (with the assistance of Dr. Oz) places Sonya’s hair in a high ponytail and chops it, to much fanfare and applauses.
Sonya emerges with an almost instant, beautiful stretched fro. Dr. Oz revels in the difference between her thin, relaxed ends and the thicker, more dense natural hair (comparing the densely packed strands to that of a paintbrush).
Part 1 ends with an introduction to Lisa, who has been dying her hair blonde for nearly 30 years and is concerned about damage (side eye). Dr. Oz drums up interest for the next section of the segment by introducing “the perfect test” for checking hair damage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtC7lmAi9Z0
Part 2
Part 2 opens with Dr. Oz, Lisa, and Marie Simone Smith. With a sense of urgency, Dr. Oz introduces something that we all must do — called the “10 Second Healthy Hair Test”.
Marie Simone Smith proceeds with plucking one of Lisa’s blonde, straight hairs and placing in a cup to perform a porosity test (stick another pin there, please).
Smith concludes that Lisa’s hair is damaged and recommends a simple fix — when you buy your “mainest” products (another side eye) aka shampoo and conditioner, look for labels that say “deep moisturizing”, “deep penetrating moisturizing”, or “porosity control” (you guessed it, stick another pin right there).
Lisa leaves the stage and on walks Cicely, who appears to be rocking a gorgeous twistout. She gives a moving statement about being liberated and finding herself in natural hair.
When Dr. Oz asks Marie Simone Smith about styling natural hair differently, Smith simply draws up Cicely’s hair into a half pompadour with bobby pins (one last pin right there, please).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p40bcVkN0ok
I don’t know about you all, but I almost keeled over like five times watching both clips. For the record, I don’t have a problem with mainstream publications and programs joining in on the natural hair narrative. However, there is a fine line between inclusion and co-optation. This show segment is dangerously close to becoming the later, in the same vein of other habitual line steppers.
The fact that a daytime show like Dr. Oz is willing to yet again talk about natural hair (they did it in 2013 with Curly Nikki), is a demonstration in the viability and power of the topic itself. However, there are so many components of this segment that are problematic and reek of ill-preparedness and ignorance on behalf of the show’s producers. So let’s run through those pins (I’m not even going to touch the Oprah wig thing, that magazine cover got run into the ground) while I share with you where and why I took issue with several components of this segment:
Who the heck is Marie Simone Smith?
I don’t know about you all, but when someone is tasked or attributed to “leading the charge” of something, most people to a degree know who they are. I’m sure Ms. Smith is a stylist somewhere, and quite possibly one of the first in natural hair. But a leader in the natural hair community or revolution? Leaders in natural hair aren’t hard to find. Ms. Smith on the other hand, is.
I couldn’t find a website, StyleSeat, Facebook, blog mention or anything. Most popular stylists have some sort of online presence, if for no other reason than to draw customers. I’m not trying to shade or discredit her, but there are a lot more trusted names that could have been called on — and some of the names in this article (like Diane C. Bailey, Anu Prestonia, or Felicia Leatherwood) are just a start. A natural hair professional from a Devachan, Ouidad or heck, even Miss Jessie’s salon would have made a huge difference in lending some credibility to the segment.
TV sensationalism doesn’t tell the full story.
In part 1, it is obvious that Sonya has transitioned (for an undisclosed amount of time) from relaxed hair. There was no mention of it, other than Sonya saying she had been waiting for a while to big chop. Additionally, her hair was obviously stretched or blown out in preparation for the show. Once the ponytail was set and chopped, Sonya emerged with a picturesque afro stretched to the gawds.
I find this problematic for a few reasons:
1. It creates an unrealistic expectation for women big chopping. There are enough insecurities surrounding cutting off most of one’s hair, and showcasing an aesthetic that is only achieved after transitioning for at least 6-8 months without any mention of transitioning or gradually growing hair out is misleading.
2. What about the shrinkage? Because the hair is blown out, Sonya has no clue what her hair will look like come wash day — which brings me to my next point.
3. The cut itself. Although there’s more than one way to chop the hair, as someone who transitioned then cut, I couldn’t help but cringe at the chop Sonya was given. I’m a firm believer in the DevaCut method, or at minimum, the idea of cutting hair in its most natural state. Our hair has all sorts of tricks up it’s sleeves — shrinkage, multiple textures, and varying patterns all on one head. Cutting hair that is completely dry and stretched does nothing to accurately capture how the hair will look during regular styling — unless it will remain perpetually stretched.
About that porosity test….
Time and time again, the wonderful scientist Jc of The Natural Haven has debunked and offered sound scientific reasoning behind why the porosity test is junk science.
Knowing and learning hair porosity is important, but a 10 second float test in a cup of water won’t tell you any more about your hair than a chart with numbers and letters and hair types will. There is no magic bullet to learning and understanding your hair, and no magic potion to correct years of damage and inappropriate care. Both require patience, and trial and error — but I guess that doesn’t make for good daytime TV.
The “Mainest” Products
In addition to mainest not being a word, I found the product recommendations to be completely unhelpful. If someone were truly looking to Dr. Oz for help with natural hair, vague suggestions about deep penetrating and porosity control products would have put them on a fast track to nowhere. Beyond that, shampoos and conditioners related to porosity control are often only found at beauty supply and salon stores, not Target and CVS. For color care specifically, a number of drugstore (Pantene, Tresemme, Dove, L’Oreal) and readily accessible salon brands could have been mentioned — because color care products automatically attempt to address the porosity issues caused by dying hair. Also, mentions of sulfate-free products, deep conditioning, and reconstructive treatments would have been helpful, but went un-discussed. Good thing we have blogs and vlogs for this kind of stuff.
And the pompadour!
First things first. I don’t know about you all, but I found Cicely’s twist or braid out (I can’t tell which one it is) to be absolutely stunning. The mix of frizz, volume, and definition looks like something that could only be achieved with day 2 or 3 hair. And then….the stylist Marie Simone Smith goes and rolls all that natural gorgeousness into an updo.
If that was my hair, the show would have had to go off the air for a few minutes. When the segment approached styling, a better idea perhaps would have been taking the first guest who big chopped, Sonya, and styling her hair. A twistout demo, an updo demo, or even a wash and go demo. Not pinning up someone else’s style that had at least 2 good days left!
To sum it up, the segment had potential, but got lost in the shuffle of sensationalizing, gross misrepresentation and misinformation. The final product showed just how uneducated the producers were on the topic of natural hair. Dr. Oz himself was actually the singular ray of hope in this segment. For me at least, he maintained a respectful distance from the topic, asking questions, with what seemed to be genuine interest in understanding. I appreciate his willingness to stay in his own lane, and not commandeer a topic he knows little to nothing about. He successfully avoided coming across as a museum curator, circus ringmaster or in any form that would give viewers the impression that women with natural hair are a spectacle to behold.
But the show producers? Get your cultural competency weight up — at least as it pertains to natural hair.
Would you let Dr. Oz big chop your hair, or nah? What do you think of mainstream media outlets talking more and more about natural hair?
121 Responses
I’m not sure why anyone would be upset about this. With so many BW claiming that they didn’t know who they were as individual human beings before they wore their natural hair texture as adults, and also claiming that relaxers cause everything from cancer to eating disorders, it shouldn’t be a surprise that a TV doctor (or even ambitious journalists) would want to discus this issue. I’m sure those episodes received high ratings.
BTW, I didn’t see the show. The network Dr. Oz appears on won’t come in clearly in my area and Hulu doesn’t offer it.
didnt see anything wrong to the point of blasting it. stop being an over nit-picker!
I know this is a late comment but I would have ADORED seeing naptural 85 as the stylist on the show!! Dr Oz you need a part 2!!! Call it “Natural Hair part 2: The Truth this time”!!!
I love Whitney!
I love how people always have to bring race into it. Anyway, I think the show probably did the best with the resource they had, so side eye to the stylist, but it truly was incomplete and misleading in many ways as this article states. If I watched the show and decided to go natural, I would have started off with the wrong expectations, and a horrible haircut, but admittedly lots of enthusiasm.
I understand your issue with this episode of Dr. Oz. If someone just went off the information from this show, their hair journey would be rocky at best.
Didn’t watch the segment so I can’t comment on that. I do want to say what I’m sure the author must know; not all of our hair has major shrinkage. My hair a mix of4c, 4a, 3c, 2a etc. looks like blowdried 4 hair when it air dries. I have to do braidouts or bantu knots to give it a curl pattern of some sort and for it to stay moisturized.
Dr.Oz is about health and that is why he showcased it on tv b/c natural hair is healthier than perms. i don’t see the problem with it and I thought it was cool that he shed light to the subject.
Believe it or not there are some black people who do not belong to the black community (like me)because of where they may have been brought up. Those like me have no idea what happens in the community unless it it put on mainstream television. It is not that we don’t want to know its just that it is never introduced into to us. I’ve always wondered what to do with my natural hair and because of the movement becoming more wide spread in other communities i found out about and I realized that it was something that was possible. Although most of the information i received at first was very wrong the fact that i found out that it was something that could be done lead me to research and find sites like this one and youtube vloggers. I can now say that i’ve been natural for two years and i’m still loving it!
Ps. If the information received is not negative and creating a form of self hate that so many segments on blacks do i believe it is a step in the correct direction. It now just opens the door the better education on the subject
agreed. i’m half black and wasn’t really raised around the black side of my family, just the latino side. being one of the only people in the family with curly hair meant that everyone was completely clueless on what to do with it. it wasn’t until i met people with natural hair (curly, kinky, etc). they taught me about wrapping my hair and some basic stuff like twist outs and products. i’m still learning and still adjusting my routines, but i’m much closer to having happy and nappy natural hair. if it wasn’t for those friends, i’d probably see this show and try to learn more about it that way.
I find that people within the natural hair community are just WAY too judge mental. This segment wasnt perfect, however it did bring attention to the “movement” and those that want more information can research on their own. And to discredit the stylist is crazy. Im quite sure his producers did thier research. Just bc she isnt someone YOU are aware of doesnt mean she isnt qualified. Isnt this community supposed to be be about uplifting and liberating ourselves and eachother?
Dr Oz is coming from a good place i’m sure but he’s 1) not a woman and 2) doesn’t have textured hair. i can’t take this seriously.
I understand the sentiments of the author of this article. Too often the black community introduces a topic, a dance, a music genre, … whatever, that takes off in popularity. Then the next time we look, someone like Bo Derek is wearing corn rows or Elvis Presley is doing our dance moves and singing our blues. So, I understand the disgruntled feeling when it seems like yet again a white person is trying to hijack a black cause because it is profitable. But, as many of those who have commented before me have said, we have to keep our eyes on the Big Picture. Women of African descent have been suffering physically, professionally, economically and emotionally because we have felt pressured to alter our hair to fit into a mold that just does not fit for us. And, in years past when we have refused to conform, we have been ridiculed and marginalized by our community and by others. So, when our cause is championed from a platform that elevates it as one to be more widely embraced, we need to weigh carefully the consequences of discrediting that platform. The fact that it may advance the profit motives of those who may champion our cause should be viewed as a “win-win”. But, I understand the sentiment of the author.
I didn’t think it was that bad either. I think white people do need to see it, because they know so little about us, and it’s about time they see us as we are. Also, for a topic like this, I am appreciative that it made it onto mainstream television. I give the production team credit for including us. 10 years ago we wouldn’t be featured as we are now. At least we are being celebrated now more than made into a spectacle.
It’s not even just white people. So many different ethnicities don’t know about us and how important, not to mention time consuming, taking care of our hair is. We’re generally very secretive about it for fear of people making fun. Anyway, I think that it’s good to see non straight and non wavy hair being showcased and celebrated. 😀
I don’t understand what you see wrong with these Dr.Oz episodes. There actually is a natural revolution if you haven’t noticed. Afro textured hair has been seen for years as; unprofessional, ugly, dirty and a sign of defiance. But now so many people have joined this natural hair bandwagon that companies that have always been for relaxed hair is now catering to natural hair with new natural product lines. I think that what Dr. Oz did was wonderful, why shouldn’t our hair be explained to everyone? I mean that’s the only way it will be fully excepted and we won’t have ignorant people (like the Blue Ivy haters) saying natural hair is not groomed. I think its great that natural hair is mainstream.
And I also don’t understand your problem with Oprah’s magazine cover, everyone new it was a wig it’s not like she was trying to say it was her own hair.
She explained that it wasn’t executed properly. It’s okay to explain our hair to people but if you’re going to explain something to the masses you should execute it properly. They cut her hair in a stretched state put it all in a pony tail and chopped it off. That is about the WORST way to do a big chop. You don’t get all of the hair off and it’s uneven and choppy. It gives people unrealistic expectations as to what a big chop should look like, since she transitioned first. Just so much wrong with it. It is very obvious they do not care about us, it is near mockery how they did this. They just want their views and did the laziest thing possible. There was no research put into this episode. Do you understand? No their isn’t anything wrong with explaining things but at least do it better than this poor attempt solely to obtain views and good ratings.
I think the article is just a lot of nit picking. There’d be complaints if he did segments on hair & didn’t include OUR HAIR. He does one..but not the way we want it done & there’s still complaints. I saw that episode & found no fault with it other than there wasn’t enough detail. SO WHAT! That’s why we have sites like this one. As for that being the WORST way to big chop,maybe you should’ve seen how i did mine back in 2009. I had finally gotten up the nerve to cut off my curly perm & put newspaper in the bathroom sink, got out my barber’s shears ,grabbed a handful of hair,SHUT MY EYES & just whacked it off ! Went all over my whole head grabbing & whacking till I had no perm left & a sink full of hair. Suppose Dr Oz had shown THAT !? I’m no youngster either. Wore a huge fro in the 70s & retired from teaching in 2013. I vividly recall when we weren’t on TV much at all,let alone our hair. At least it’s a start. He had Curly Nikki on last year & i saw that,too. Black folks need to stop sweating the small stuff, complaining all the time, & looking for negativity everywhere ! I remember when Julia,starring Diahann Carroll came on TV & it was a big deal. But there were black folks complaining it wasn’t REAL; same for the Cosby show; black folks saying it wasn’t real. I thought that was crazy because even tho I’d grown up near the end of segregation & went to segregated schools I knew black doctors, dentists, lawyers, had a cousin who was a civil rights lawyer,another cousin a college professor & my neighborhood was full of teachers ( including my parents & several other relatives),dentists, military service personnel. We had SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS & black folks I knew basically lived like Julia, the family on Good Times & the Huxtables.
Exactly Vikki! He’ll I wake up each day and still can’t figure my hair out at times. I’ve been natural a few times and this last time it’s been a year.
My friend, who is natural made two comments that I couldn’t believe 1) natural isn’t for everyone 2) she’s sick of seeing (paraphrasing ) curly Afro textured hair on tv… Does everyone have to have a Afro type hair.
My reply was wow waited years to see this image on tv and now it’s too much???
It just goes to show some people only go natural for some since of entitlement…
There *are*so many unsung heros just like someone above me stated that we think it started with the likes of napturals85 and curlynikki or whomever…
My mom has rocked her natural for years and some of these methods have been passed down through the years…
There are many unsung heroes in natural hair care. Just because you may not have found an online presence for Ms. Smith does not mean she is not large in real life. There is still a charge to be led and stigmas to be overcome in regard styled or not styled, defined or undefined natural hair as can be seen in the cloud of ignorance surrounding little Blue Ivy’s hair(who knows? this may have been Dr. Oz’s answer to it). I was disappointing with this article.
*disappointed*
I would let him cut my hair on tv, it was sooo cool. And the stylist did a good job on the lady with a braid out, her face looked better without all that hair in the way.
She said “maintenance” not mainest!
eh, I have no issues with it? Overall I am glad to see natural women being showcased on prime TV actually loving their decision to go natural and loving their hair. It was overall positive. Also TV is going to be TV, so I don’t get to bent out of shape. Entertainment is their business and ratings is what pays their bills so I never look to the entertainment industry to share a well rounded truth.
i found the hairstylist by searching marie simone
Oh yea, “the leading charge” knows nothing about hair. She doesn’t even know that hair sheds naturally. Up there damaging that girl’s follicle by plucking her hair out. SMH!
Could the segment have been better? Yes. I do agree that the producers could have researched more and developed the segment more. Do I feel like this segment with Dr. OZ and Marie Smith was mesnt to be a bad thing for the natural hair community? No … heck we “naturals” are doing our own band of downgrading … with relaxed vs. naturals , hair textures vs. hair textures, big chop vs transitioning, etc…
I think he merely had an audience who had interest and they developed the show “quickly” … and they really didn’t want to dive into all of everything. Because let’s admit it … we have naturals who only go by the curlygirl method vs those who use products with … dare I say it … mineral oil or awwwww snap …. petroleum (grease) and folks act a plum fool over it. So I said that to say … do we know who this Marie Smith is … who did slip with her speech and we did cringe when we heard it … no we don’t know her but we do now and I didn’t mind the hair style that she did on the chic with the fab twistout … she volunteered and Smith did not have time on her side. Ya’ll know how long it does to not only do twists but a twist out? No gawd hunny we would have still been watching.
Hopefully the segment made someone who has been wanting to go natural actually do it … and go from there. It’s a start … shoot at least Smith was African American and Natural … come on now ya’ll know this segment could have went waaaaaay left. I give Dr. Oz some snaps for the attempt.
I think this article was just nitpicking
I disagree, although I have yet to see the full show (I’ve only seen the segment posted), I am proud and honored that Dr. Oz decided to do this.
He has become a household name, and this will certainly go a long way in acceptance on both sides of the aisle. This show may have certainly inspired several women in America do embrace or start their natural hair journey. I have actually been on the Dr. Oz show as a guest, and was asked by producers if I wanted to be part of the “ask Dr. Oz” segment for another show. It was all set to go, but the NY trains were late and I missed my spot. I say this to say that the producers do ask the potential participants what issue they would like to talk about and the producers have to check if it has been done before, or what demonstration they’d like to have on the show, etc. They give the participants carte-blanche and try to work around that. Therefore, if it wasn’t done to a certain standard, it’s not necessarily the producers. Plus, of course there are time constraints. This is supposed to be a brief glimpse and education on hair of all types, not a national hair forum. A one-hour show takes up to THREE hours to tape, because of redos, set-ups, etc. They can’t do everything in one show. But they opened up the conversation even more into mainstream media and for that I applaud them! This wasn’t a gross misrepresentation.
If someone was truly interested, they would do further research. In fact, anything on that show should be further researched before delving into it, because everyone’s individual health is different. He gives generalities, but you should always contact your personal physician who has your files, past medical history, allergies, blood work, etc, in front of them. When people tell me their ailments, because I just finished medical school, I always give it to them with a disclaimer, because it is important to have that person’s individual file in front of me. Anyway, we should really not be so critical when things are moving in the right direction. I didn’t agree at all with this article. We over analyze and get offended too quickly, even when things are not intended as such.
I’m sure Oprah does wear wigs but that hair on the magazine cover is hers.
No less a person the Chris Rock checked her out : http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Chris-Rock-Feels-Oprahs-Hair
As for cultural appropriation, so what?
We can all get a little touchy on the subject, god knows I’ve had my moments, but I think it’s a good thing.
Oprah does have a lot of hair, but that afro on the cover is a wig. If you read that particular issue, they talk about the wig in the article.
https://www.google.com/search?q=oprah+afro+wig&oq=oprah+afro+wig&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l2.4047j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=119&ie=UTF-8
Why did the article start off with the word “mess . . “? I thought we are all Americans and Dr. Oz is discussing a topic that affects a large percentage of the American population? Was he wrong in doing a show about black hair? I don’t think so. He has been always against women using chemicals on their hair and I guess he was reinforcing his belief across all race.
I have not watched the show, but I applaud Dr. Oz for taking up this topic. I watch some of the medical shows and some times I am baffled when they talk about skin symptoms which is apparent on lighter skin. I catch myself yelling at the tv, “well I have dark skin how can I see a red spot, what would the symptoms look like on a black skin, etc etc.”
I applaud him for taking on the topic.
Why do some black people find it offensive when white people talk about their issues? Aren’t we all Americans?
Also, we all have different regiments when dealing with our hair. No one method is the right way. The lady on the show is airing her opinion based on her experience, so why are we criticizing her.
On a lighter note, I have black nappy hair, no 4abcd or e. I style it exactly the way I want to with the products I like. Have a blessed day.
I saw this segment and did not have an issue with it. I thought that it was great that he even included black women and discussed natural hair in a positive light and from a health perspective. Although it wasn’t perfect, it might have inspired someone to consider going natural. Kudos to Dr. Oz and his people for even considering the topic.
I came to embracing my African (i.e. natural) hair because it is my DNA. My heritage. My Mama Africa. Some naturals have their own reason…fashion, soapbox moment. If that’s your thing, that is fine. People just get on YouTube to find their next jump-off moment. Exploiting black people for their moment is a real window to the soul perspective. As if imitating black people show their acceptance. First step just be respectful. Make make up for ALL shades. Have ads featuring ALL people. TV shows with ALL people. I thought Dr Oz was a health show so if this particular show, which I did not see, is about health I don’t get it. Show case medical studies done on ALL people. When medicine does a study they only tend to do it on one type of person. That’s something to champion.
I liked the segment but wish they had better experts to offer natural hair advice. It was clear they were trying to fit too much natural hair info into too short a time frame, which was unfortunate, but perhaps the nature of talk shows in general. I’m glad Dr. Oz had this on his show, just wish they’d had a better representation of experts.
Wow! It’s nice to know that because of Dr. Oz, many more will begin to embrace their natural textures, but the way you critiqued the episode that aired was a little ridiculous. I found Marie Simone-Smith by dropping the Smith part of her name. A lot of naturalists possess this my hair is more natural than yours attitude and it’s unnecessary. Embrace other naturalist’s efforts. Lighten up! I notice a lot of debate on this site about hair type, products or methods used that determine a person’s level of natural, and it’s very sad and potentially discouraging for those looking to go natural.
1. Of course someone on TV wants their show to be popular; however, I don’t think he was trying to gain popularity just on the basis of cultural appropriation…it’s not like he’s trying to grow a fro. If you know anything about media, you know that magazines with Black women on the cover sell fewer copies, TV shows with predominately Black casts have fewer views, etc. If anything he was going out on a limb with the topic because his audience is predominately white and the ones with Nielsen boxes probably switched to General Hospital.
2. Who the heck is Marie Simone Smith? Now that she’s been on Dr. Oz…you’ll probably hear that name more often. You’ll know who she is soon enough.
3. TV sensationalism doesn’t tell the full story. It’s an hour long show. I appreciate the fact that a mainstream TV show is providing (what I consider) an overview. Every time I see some sad woman walking around town with raggedy hair and no edges, I get the impression that she doesn’t have access to the internet and certainly hasn’t seen YouTube. This overview may reach women like her. Possibly spark her curiosity and hopefully encourage her to do something about her hair. This overview is for the women that see fly natural sistas walking around town and have no clue how or are terrified to get started on the journey.
4. About that porosity test….I agree that the test is crap. But I encourage anything that will make women start thinking about the health of their hair.
5. The “Mainest” Products…I agree it’s not a word…but there are other uses of slang in the post. Glass houses…stones.
6. And the pompadour! To me, was cuter than the twist out. I like twist outs that are fluffy and with less definition. The before looked like it hadn’t been fluffed yet. The pomp looked more styled and sophisticated…yet with a bit of flavor.
Every time I see a sista on tv with 20 inch Brazilian remy, I want to change the channel. The more natural hair is promoted on mainstream tv, the sooner we’ll see widespread acceptance of its beauty.
People do buy magazines and watch shows with Black casts. it’s a misconception that they get lower ratings than other new white shows
Really? Which show with a predominately Black cast has a higher rating than a white show in the same time slot? Please note, Scandal does not have a predominately Black cast. I’m hard-pressed to even think of a show with a predominately Black cast currently on the air…and not in syndication.
, but they do watch Dr. Oz. Many have starting eating better, exercising, etc because of info he’s provided. It’s not perfect, but It’s a start to more people knowing it’s OK to be healthy from head to toe.
Maybe these segments on national TV would start a dialog among people who normally don’t have regular access to the Internet, etc. Most women over 30 from my small hometown no nothing about natural hair blogs,
Thank you Patrice! I was just about to say the same thing. A lot of women who reach out to me on Facebook live in smaller towns and always have natural hair questions. I’M NO GURU, please let me make that clear, I just brag about the love I have for natural hair, and people ask questions related to that…as I digress…I think for Dr. Oz to be a person without kinky-curly hair, trying to speak on anything in the black {hair} community is something to be acknowledged. Will he miss the mark? Yes, he’s white, and he and his producers can read all of the material they want, they still won’t be able to speak about the experience. Am I thankful for him even speaking on it at all? Yes! I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.
I saw this when it aired. It didn’t bother me at all. I think not everything is an issue to be obsessed about.
I completely agree with you Christina! This segment was poorly put together. They could have done a much better job than this.
I didn’t see this show but I know from previous shows that Dr. Oz is against women putting relaxers in their hair from a pure health stand point since he is a doctor. I saw the show where the toxic nature of relaxers melting soda cans and the information on how it damages hair. Dr. Oz on that show shared that he couldn’t believe that women were doing that to their hair. I support Dr. Oz!!
“Sensationalizing, gross misrepresentation and misinformation” I think is the nature of the Dr. Oz show.
Lis: natural hair needs to be mainstream as there is a population that has this type of hair. we live in a nation or world to say that is mixed and mixing more as the time passes due to immigration of all sorts of reasons. Not all mixed or none mixed populations know what to do with their hair and this could be a way of reacting out to them furthermore it is educational not only to those naturally have this texture but to the “white” as well. To me it is rather logical that the reason to why our versatile texture is yet to fully be accepted and not questioned is because it has not been exposed enough throughout the years therefore it not strange when we receive questions about our hair. Mainstreaming it would therefore educate everyone those with the knowledge, those lacking the knowledge and those in need of the knowledge; there are categories to this depending on the need. Dr Oz is merely seeking audience and this is not his expertise though they should have taking in someone with more knowledge or at latest explained better about the natural journey from big chop to porosity test. I understand that not all can be explained into detail BUT the most essential areas about natural and correct information should be given out. As those that are just entering this stage might get misinformed.
I think Dr. Oz having a show on natural hair is a great thing. Certainly a step in the right direction. I mean, why not? Haven’t we said for years that our beauty and image is not mainstream, accepted, celebrated, or even appreciated? So now that we have a larger platform presented to us, should we reject it? And why would anyone assume that the only reason that any individual of another race would only want to give us attention for our hair for money? Was he not already successful in his own right? We’re his ratings so low that it took that segment on natural hair to save the Dr. Oz show? I think not. People of all races are genuinely interested in beauty. That is the category we as black women do fit in. Why be angry or try to rebel against it? Wouldn’t we want our beauty to be represented in all things, thus making life somewhat more tolerable when our children go to school since their classmates and teachers (especially the teachers) will be familiar with their natural hair? Why would Dr. Oz or the producers be to blame for what they do or don’t know about natural hair, when they had a natural hair stylist to refer to? Also, the majority of our mothers, who are black, did not know how to properly care for our natural hair which is why they put relaxers in our hair at such early ages such as 4, 5, & 6. So don’t get mad at Dr. Oz or the producers, when a lot of us didn’t know how to properly care for our own hair until recently when we found blogs and YouTube. Who are we fooling? Ourselves, maybe? We have to be able to look at the situation with a less critical eye and an open heart. Unless there is a leaked recording of Dr. Oz saying how much money he is going to make off of us, (lol) then I think we are safe in trusting that his intent was good, not malicious. Whatever happened to saying, “you didn’t have to do that, but you did. So thank you for showcasing my mother’s beauty, my daughter’s beauty, and my own. We appreciate the interest.” We are not an elitist sorority that cannot be approached by outsiders. As I stated, it is human nature for others to take notice of beauty. Are we shocked that we are included? I’m certainly not. The moment I began embracing my natural hair, it gave me a deeper confidence in myself that I never knew existed. As soon as I fully embraced myself, it also allowed others to embrace the real me…but I made the choice to not pull away or swing at anyone for trying to get close enough to show me love.
Excellent!
OMG! people lighten up!!! So what if Dr. Oz is white, we should feel proud that a major TV personality whether black, white, purple or green would consider the “black hair revolution” important enough to do a whole show on! OMG does everything have to be soo black and white???!! Come on! I think the show was ok and the big chop demo was inspiring to me and I’m sure to many other black women who are contemplating…Jeez I’m just tired of some naturalistas being so critical, like ok its our hair so only we should talk about it, sigh im jus saying…
I love this page, but I have to say that I completely disagree with this article. Why are we so protective and touchy about this topic?
It’s AWESOME that Dr. Oz had a segment about natural hair to begin with. And who cares that he’s a white man! Most of the compliments I get on my hair come from white men. It’s great exposure. And, that’s another thing…it’s a SEGMENT. Sure, there are a number of things they could’ve hit on instead, but for the 5 minutes that were given, they did not do a horrible job. They touched on the big chop, styling, and, most importantly, WHY these women chose to go natural.
Just because they chose not to showcase any of our famous natural hair gurus, that doesn’t take away from this lady’s credibility. Hell, there are plenty of natural haired women who have never even heard of Jane carter and she is considered well known as well.
As far as her hair looking as fantastic as it did after her big chop is trivial. Maybe she just has a hair texture that allows it to look that fantastic. I know my curls were poppin’ after I did my own big chop in my bathroom. It largely depends on the individual.
Even though Cicely’s twist out looked great, there is nothing wrong with showing her a new undo or style that she can achieve with her hair. It’s not the end of the world, she can take the pins out after the show if she wants to.
I was glad to see the porosity test being shown on this segment. It IS important for black women to know the porosity of their hair (and not just the texture) in order to streamline which products work best. Hair typing is not everything. And, let’s not forget, that the phrase “natural hair” also pertains to all women who have chemically altered their hair and want to reverse its effects, not just to black women with curls.
And, finally, my conditioner is 1 of 3 daily products I use. That tad bit of advice was helpful to me and, I’m sure, many others who saw this.
All in all, let’s not be so judgmental and try to be open-minded about this and any other show choosing to acknowledge the beauty of natural hair. If it gets anyone to think twice about starting their journey, trust me, they will do their research and find the treasures we have all found before beginning ours.
Kudos to Dr. Oz for using his amazing platform to promote, to whatever degree, natural hair. I care not that he did not select a popular “hair guru” to style this lady’s hair. Sometimes we can be so darn harsh for no reason. By the way, many of our known “gurus” are also promoting the same porosity test on YouTube. Would we be dissecting the segment the same way had it been from the Queen Latifah show? I think not. Look at the nonsense that “gurus” over at Essence used to promote regarding natural hair, yet not a peep from the natural police.
The writer of this article appears to be near having a heart attack. Calm down. It wasn’t terrible. It’s nice to see natural hair mainstreamed.
Why doesn’t this bother me? LOL! I neither positive nor negative feelings about this.
The writer of this article seemed made that this white man was giving advice to black women how date he. Ever heard of Lorraine Massey? She is a white woman her book and tips made me want to go natural try the CG method. We can all learn something from someone else they don’t always have to have the same skin color as us. And dissing the hair stylist was just plain rude and uncalled for I hope you research beyond google and style seat (someone even posted where she works right in these comments) and issue her an apology for bashing her on this site instead of supporting and congratulating her for even being invited on Dr Oz show. Which I am sure could have chose anyone but chose her and I am sure did their research to insure she was qualified.
@Support a sista
Its ironic that your name is support a sista but you are giving free advertising to a white woman. We DO NOT need to be giving outsiders our money and/or advertising. Now that being natural is extremely popular we have leeches that initially considered our hair ugly trying to capitalize on something that has nothing to do with them. I don’t care how well a non-black person can braid, loc hair or style our kinky hair. They aint getting my money. We don’t need to learn about black hair from non-blacks. There are plenty of black folk that can do the job just fine. To start I suggest you look up Nadira Chase.
We don’t need to give outsiders out money?! you must not own anything a house a car nothing. If you are so against giving insiders your money you sound very radical and racist calm down
@love yourself
Let’s not get foolish and start mislabeling people as racist mmkay? Attitudes like yours in why blacks are majority poor consumers and others are rich producers. I never said we can’t buy ANYTHING from others ever. However when it comes to things like kinky hair (you know a characteristic that only black people have) it would be dumb to make another group rich(er). Heck we’ve put Asians through school with the weave industry. Shall we give them more of our money for Afro Sheen? Get a clue 😉
Instead of complaining about how poorly the show was produced and what information was messing why don’t you log on to one of several social forums that the show have and post the advice about sulfate free shampoo and etc. (not every natural believes sulfate shampoos are evil)
I find this article more offensive than I did the show. the drama about a mainstream white man doing a show on natural hair is so ridiculous it’s not even funny. If he would’ve done a show on how to turn your messy natural hair into beautiful straight hair you would’ve been upset. He tries to embrace it and you’re upset because he’s the wrong skin color.
I don’t see how natural hair being mainstream is a problem for you. it doesn’t negatively affect your life in any way. If anything it should be seen as a positive. The more mainstream it is the least likely it’ll be that an employer or a school have a problem with it. The more actress with natural hair will be on tv and movies. The more little black girls will grow up accepting their hair and maybe more women will convert. Stick to things that are actual issues. Everything doesn’t have to be a fight.
I agreed jay. This article made me think of the phrase damn if you do, damned if you don’t.
I would love to see some of the advice this writer gave before she became a “expert”. For that matter even myself. Did we get it all right at first. I think not. We have all evolved over time when it comes to products, hairstyles. Etc. even the strand test in water. Thanks JC.
Even when I was reading the run down on part 1 and 2 I did not think it was that bad. What I got sick of was the stick a pin here and there. Lol
You broke a show down!!!! Remind me of salon talk, you know, how the stylist talk about you behind your back when you walk out. You say the stylist did not come up on the Internet , now someone just said they known her. If true you did not get it right. It’s all good.
This sounds like a very nice episode. 🙂
Calm down. The segment was not perfect at all but I think it is great that the natural hair community has come to the mainstream spotlight. I feel it is important for a wider audience to be exposed to our presence and understand the “revolution” if you will. It’s about accepting ourselves and being accepted by others. I don’t understand why there needs to be a whole article bashing the effort. I don’t get why this would cause such a strong negative reaction. Yes it is Dr. Oz, a white doctor who comes from a completely different perspective.. but sometimes that is what it takes for some topics to be noticed by broader audience. Black people are still a minority in this country… get over it. I think it is better to have him talk about it instead of the topic going untouched.
“I don’t have a problem with mainstream publications and programs joining in on the natural hair narrative.”
Um…I do.
I totally went Gandalf the Grey after reading your statement. “Keep it secret, keep it safe”!
I agree. In part it’s because I believe in “dance with the one who loves you.”
Mainstream publications and programs have never shown me the love before. If they’re always peddling the idea that something is wrong with me AS I AM, then I am not interested in hearing anything they have to say now. They’re late to the party, as far as I’m concerned.
They remind me of abusive relationships. They tell you they love you and they’ve changed when you’ve walked out the door for good.
Sorry this was bad publicity for that stylist, she could not and I mean NOT touch my hair!!! Pompa–WHAAT??!! She ruined a perfectly good twist/braid out…the sistaz hair was banging and she turned it into crap. KMT. This is why most black women stick with DIYs when it comes to our hair. Perfect example!
Sorry this would bad publicity for that stylist, she could not and I mean NOT touch my hair!!! Pompa–WHAAT??!! She ruined a perfectly good twist/braid out…the sistaz hair was banging and she turned it into crap. KMT. This is why most black women stick with DIYs when it comes to our hair. Perfect example!
When i watched both segments i was like: wow, that’s really nice of Dr. oz to do this on his show, it will encourage some hesitant black women to go natural. Even after watching them I was like “that was awesome”
After reading this article i’m amazed at how naive i am. Of course! I guess i was just so syked that Dr Oz is supporting this but u’re right, it could have been done better. Tho I did wonder about the first woman’s hair. U’re right, ppl will have the wrong expectations from this: from the big chop, the porosity test…
And also, i’m sure some women when they do the big chop or transition don’t always feel liberated. Some feel scared coz they are about to embark on a challenging journey they don’t know anything about. They shouldn’t have made it seem like “You wanna feel free, liberated? U wanna find ur identity? Do the big chop and go natural” coz now these women might have the wrong expectations even tho u and i felt that way :/
….All that really matters to me is that BLACKS people financially profit off of our kinky hair embrace. Other races can learn about our hair if they want, talk about it and admire it if they so choose. But as far as Im concerned natural hair money needs to flow into black hands only. That is all.
Good luck with that when black people stop with the good hair vs bad hair light vs dark skin thing maybe we can come together an take over the hair industry but right now we seem to only be interested in competing with each other.
Okay… I am pretty sure she was transitioning. Why would the stylist put the hair in a ponytail and cut it. That is not how the big chop should have been done.
I saw this episode. At first, I was hopeful. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of a White male heart surgeon trying to tell me about how my hair works, I figured it could maybe be a ‘necessary evil’. I figured mainstreaming natural hair is a great way to get rid of the stigma around natural hair and encourage women who are hesitant to chop/transition to take that plunge.
And while some of you may think this article is too dramatic, after watching the show, she has a point.
I really wanted to give Dr. Oz the benefit of the doubt here. But at the end of the day, just like everything he does, it was primarily for ratings and not for the benefit of the people.
That show was full of false expectations of what to expect when you decide to go natural. False expectations like that is usually cause women to get frustrated when their hair doesn’t turn out like they wanted to, give up, and go right back to relaxers.
Dr. Oz is a cardiac surgeon. My father is also a cardiac surgeon, and I am a medical student. So I view his ‘methods’ with a much more critical eye than that of the average person. As a medical professional, one should have a decent hold on chemistry. And with that in mind, they shouldn’t be peddling junk science. But this is not the first time on that show where he has peddled junk/pseudo science. His commitment to his network time and again has usurped his commitment as a physician. He exploits people’s insecurities for profit. It’s usually weight problems, but I guess he decided to exploit the insecurities Black women have with natural hair. And that in itself is not a (completely) horrible thing, but it was so half a**ed, so poorly done, that it didn’t really do much to help the natural movement.
Something tells me that the reason he got a relatively unknown stylist to help him and not a more recognized face is because no real natural public figure would want to support peddling such sensationalized info/damage their brand by appearing on that show.
I believe Marie Simone Smith is the owner/stylist at the popular upscale salon in St. Louis by the name of The Shi Salon. Curly Nikki gives them rave reviews having had her
hair done there. Her sister and mother are clients there as well. It’s good to see some new faces on TV. All of the well known names had there time of obscurity at one point before they had that moment that launched them to a much larger platform. She has lots of experience as well but this was just her moment of exposure
I’m sorry but stories like this get me upset.I’m not a racist (I love different people of different cultures all the same) but it really irks me when people like Dr. Oz jump onto the natural bandwagon.
For years I’ve heard white people complain about black hair, saying that it’s nappy or it won’t sit down or it’s too poofy and just making us feel self conscious about our hair.
But the second they see that there’s a little bit of profit for them hidden somewhere in there, they’re in there. The hair they once ridiculed is now beautiful or popping with curls or extremely healthy.
I once saw a YouTube video of a white woman doing a sister’s natural hair because she knew so much about natural hair. (By the way the hair in the end didn’t look too hot) Here’s the link: http://youtu.be/y-kevchNE5Y
People like that woman and Dr. Oz get their information from websites like BGLH or Curly Nikki and it sickens me that they won’t even mention these websites, where the creators and writers actually take the time to research their information and actually help people through their natural hair journey. And of course they won’t mention the websites because these websites are the REAL people leading the natural movement!
I think that the segments weren’t that bad but they weren’t that good either lol…that cut really urked me the most and that woman’s twist or braid out was soooo fly! That pin up took away from it. I googled the stylist and came up with nada…maybe she worked for the studio lol
Again, I’ve never looked to Dr. Oz for hair tips and this segment doesn’t change that. But if researching one item on this show leads black women to the plethora of natural hair websites out there, that can provide them with LEGIT information, then I cannot be mad at that.
What I can be mad at and the one thing I did agree with the article about was what that woman did to Cicely’s gorgeous twist out. That updo looks horrendous and horrible.
Why do we constantly look for WHITE people to “ok” every fucking thing that we do! This is sickening and so frustrating, that ya’ll now turn wanting to EMBRACE your natural beauty into a fucking trend, please STOP exploiting ya’ll selves and educate yourselves!
Who cares. Bravo to Dr. Oz for having this on his show. Her hair is going to be stretched. Dr. Oz has featured many naturals on this show.
I dont know how i missed that show. The producers should have consulted folks like the author of this article, or curly nikki or so many other bloggers, vloggers, experts, etc. who have that background in the issues. This natural hair thing is not easy–its takes time and patience to learn what one’s natural hair responds to and not. Than you have these userpers (sp) chiming in on what they barely know.
If it floats you have healthy hair? What a bunch of crap. So if water can’t enter your hair, that’s healthy? This is the problem with the media is they only tell half truths, their viewers trust and believe in them, and then they get frustrated when their hair isn’t healthy after following the directions. Health in its self is relative, but most are aiming for normal porosity. This means your hair should bob between completely floating and sinking.
I see why so many naturals are frustrated. We’re told products and styling is whats going to give you healthy curly but that’s not the truth. It’s understanding the science of your hair, giving it what it needs on a consistent basis, and realizing what your hair potential actually is.
I went to my family’s church last weekend and it looked like everyone wanted to shoot me because my hair was starting to behave the way a lot of people want it to. What I try to advise people over and over is its your technique, not your products. When you use products, its learning when to use them.
This is the first time in my lifetime that such a large number of black women have decided to embrace their natural texture and we’re basically newborns: we’re learning everything from scratch because most of us honestly don’t know.
Here’s something to leave ya’ll with. I consider myself to be a black woman: my mother and father are black and so are their parents and their parents parents. When I started my natural journey and tried to “type” my hair once I had about an inch of hair, I thought I had 3c hair. And then when it started to grow out I thought I had 4a hair. Within the last few months (I have been natural for 1 year 8 mtgs) I have finally learned what my hair loves and needs and my hair texture is now a 3b. A 3b.. seriously how the hell did this happen? I walked into my mom’s and my mom along with my sisters sat there with their jaws to the flow. All I could say is “I know. I’m shocked too.” Start having a dialogue not only from the safety of your computer, but ask complete strangers who seem to have “healthy” hair what their techniques are. I guarantee you, they don’t have 5-10 products in their hair, they don’t have to do twist outs and bantu knots all the time, and they will tell you that handling their hair now is much less time consuming that having relaxed or weaved hair.
[img]https://bglh-marketplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_20140613_133754830.jpg[/img]
I did a search for Marie Simone Smith and found a linkedin account for her apparently she is a celebrity stylist in New York city. Here’s a snippit from her account:
Marie Simone is a hairstylist whose talent and creativity has garnered her national attention. Her work can be seen on the red carpet. the latest music videos as well as your favorite episode of Split Ends
(Style Nwtwork) She’s been featured on the cover of Modern Salon, Behindthechair and countiess magazines. favored by entertainment powerhouses in radio, television,movie screens and professional athletes.
I’m glad natural hair was featured on main stream tv but I agree that if you do something do it well, not half behind. The point of his show is to educate people to make informed, healthier choices so the information should be accurate and complete enough to fit in the time allowed. From experience I know that going natural isn’t easy so I wouldn’t want someone after seeing this episode to think it’s all about scissors and an updo and like magic your hair is going to look great!
Even though it’s missing some important details I found this liberating! I’m becoming more and more comfortable with my natural hair everyday (especially since I finally found an almost perfect routine for my hair and all it’s textures) but sadly I still feel as though there is a stigma with me rocking it, just the other day what I though was the perfect morning for my hair turned out to be ultimately depressing. I had class that day and a really great job interview later, and I knew my hair could carry it through all day! Well when a few days later I found I didn’t get the job, my mother told me it was all because I didn’t straighten my hair. That was crushing because I then went to read some blogs and I knew that had to be the reason…. What I’m getting to is that segments like this advertise the natural hair movement so this way it becomes the norm instead of “some women who don’t want to conform” segments like this make it so “other people” can sit at home and marvel at our hair and when they get to the streets they can already be educated and just move on with our day. Just like how the women’s movement went from secret meetings to individuals speaking in public in sometimes a more softened way so men could handle it, all the way to then being able to get it out there that this needs to be the norm, and finally no one really blinks or bats an eye to women doing day to day things that they used to couldn’t do. That’s how we liberate the natural hair community to THE COMMUNITY.
yeah, i suspect i lost an interview too because i wore my hair in a braidout for the interview and my hair was totally poofy, divested of any semblance of the wave pattern the braids had originally lent unto it, and looked like i’d actually blow dried it. *shakes fist at humidity and snarls*
I probably looked, as my white coworkers had told me a year ago at my old job, like i’d stuck my hand in an electrical socket.
ouch.
i didn’t realize til i got back home, cuz i thought i looked cute lol had my lippie on and my cute, professional, toned down autumn-colors outfit on, my high heels (which i almost never wear.) i just KNEW i looked good for that minimum wage hotel receptionist job. i’m halfway convinced it had to be the hair.
now i work at a job that pays more than that one would have, and one that actually gives me mandatory overtime; when that hotel recep. job was going to be part time anyway. touche!
Just watched both videos and cringed the whole way through. Yeah, natural hair is getting mainstream attention, but at what price? Dr. Oz seriously made a witch doctor joke when the stylist plucked a bleached hair from one of the participant’s heads?! Is mainstream exposure to natural hair worth this kind of buffoonery?
I don’t know how much I can take watching that episode! There were so many important points that were missing in that segment that naturals need to know especially someone like Sonya. The products they mentioned almost had me crying….how you miss talking about sulfate free products for a natural?
You miss talking about sulfate-free shampoos when your sponsors all make sulfate shampoos. *shakes head* I’ve never been much of a fan of Dr. Oz (he sensationalizes everything and passes along a lot of misinformation for profit), but this takes the cake.
Dr. Oz has been popular well before the natural hair movement. Lol As soon as he told all of us on Oprah to look at our poop, he was popular. I don’t see this as an issue. As always its just people that need to complain because it’s their oxygen. I like that he did this. He puts out the information that everyone is talking about or are already doing. I think it was a couple of years ago he did a show about relaxers and this guy stuck and aluminum can in the chemical that relaxers are made out of and they did a progression, and each can was disintegrating and melting in the solution, just to show what it was doing to our hair.Maybe all those people are busy. I wrote Felecia Leatherwood 2 months ago and just now got a response. People like that are busy, so maybe they just reached out to a local which I think it’s fine cause it raises her up in black business point blank period. As for the unrealistic aspect. We are grown women we need to go to our nearest salon that knows how to handle natural hair and have a consultation. Every head is different. Why are looking at strangers and t.v to tell us anything? If you seriously think that your noggin is going to look like any of theirs then there is something slightly naive about you. People need to do their own research before they do journeys like this. Because if you don’t and it doesn’t come out right its your own fault. Its no different then when he talks about supplements, health test, foods etc. I think this episode was good enough to make people go, “Hmmm..”. But not to make a solid decision, UNLESS you have made up your mind then please by all means go ahead. The stylist is trying to be helpful to tell you what you can do with it. That’s all. i know when i first started out and was doing many, many, trial and errors because I couldn’t get a good twist out or braid out to save my soul, it would have been nice to have someone say just do this or just do that. Eventually I figured it out, but you are throwing a little too much shade.
I have found that Garnier the one in the orange bottle does great in my hair as well as AS I AM. It does better then Enjoy in my hair, so it all depends on the hair and rather that brand works in your hair. I learned that real quick cause all these salon including Paul Mitchell that cost nearly $30 a bottle wasn’t doing as well as CVS, Sally, Walgreens type products. No offense, but I could be reading this wrong, but it seems like you are on a high horse for no reason. I think she has a braid out. Cause the far right you see zig- zag more then a spiral pattern. Not true. I think that they used a particular product and might have put her under a dryer, to really see the pattern and it also depends on how her hair reacts to style manipulation. I can do it with mine. I can use a curl definer gel with a curl definition cream or twist out cream which ever you prefer to call it and use my bonnet dryer and sit there for 30-45 min. depending on the thickness of the twist or braids and it will look that defined. I have mostly 4a hair with small areas of 3c and 4b ( As per Felicia Leatherwood). All of us know that they just don’t throw these people out on stage with no knowledge of what they are going to do to them, these people do know exactly what is going to happen because they have to sign consent and release forms. So if the lady had any objections she would have said so. If it was you then you could have said the same thing. Just like make over shows you do have some say. Keep it real. There is no time for all the demos, that’s what Youtube is for that’s how I learned. Dr. Oz is just an hour and he goes through many different sections of the show. I thought the segment was fine. It makes people give careful thought to it. Which is still a good thing. But like I said before, people its your hair and your decision so do your own research. Talk to people. That’s what I did and I didn’t big chop I chose to transition ( I got a BIG DOME), but I looked things up I spoke to friends and family who were naturals and what they used, I looked on YouTube, I looked in black hair magazines which seem to cater more towards coloring, weaves and relaxers and wigs, with a tiny section for naturals and that was if you were long hair natural or shaved #1 or #2 natural. heck people can even come on here to look around. I appreciate that Dr. Oz never over-steps his boundaries if its not his profession or deals with his profession he let’s someone else do it and he asked the questions that hopefully the majority wants to know. I think the producers did fine. Its a learning experience. No need to get upset. It’s not worth my energy.
“No need to get upset. It’s not worth my energy”
And yet you wrote a response that is as long as the original article o_0
Hello ladies,
Just wanted to point out a few things.
Are we crazy about natural hair becoming a topic of mainstream consumption? Nope… not exactly. But the main issue we have with the Dr Oz segment is how poorly it was done. And that’s what we wanted to highlight here. On BGLH we comment on mainstream/pop culture happenings involving natural hair all. the. time. This situation will be no different! It’s not hating or being bitter. It’s being critical consumers of media and television.
Alright, carry on 🙂
Leila
As a registered dietitian, I am definitely not a fan of Dr. Oz. A lot of his claims have no basis and can often contradict themselves, yet so many people believe it.
He actually brings people on to fill in the blanks, so be non fans of them too. And Not then I’m saying you are one of them, but at times I’m not a fan of some dieticians cause sometimes they have it wrong too. Dr. Oz just puts information out. Its up to you to research which he says in EVERY SHOW! If people don’t that’s on them. When he puts different diets out instead of people rushing out to do it they should consult people like their Doctor which most don’t or people like you. So one who can really get in deep. Its like people want to blame others for their choice to wear, consume or participate in stuff. No one wants to take accountability.
How is criticizing a shittily done segment not taking responsibility (which I’m assuming you meant instead of accountability)? I mean, you are conversing with women *on a natural hair site* which suggests you are talking to women who are indeed ‘taking responsibility’ for the management of their hair.
But I guess black people can’t dislike anything mainstream and we should be grateful when the white man sees fit to shine a light on our culture, no matter how terribly he does it.
@Tabatha, Yes it is everyone’s responsibility to do their own research, however when you are a doctor putting out information to the public you do hold a responsibility to put on the right information.
Dr. Oz jumps on every weight loss bandwagon (as if there is a magic pill to weight loss) without there being ample studies on the issue. I’ve seen him discuss many nutrition topics without having a dietitian present or having a “nutritionist” speak (which is not the same as a dietitian, a dietitian has to have a degree, do an internship of 900 hours, then take an exam).
So no I don’t listen to anything he has to say. He is a cardiologist who probably never took more than a semester in nutrition.
And why OH WHY did they try to equate a Black woman returning to her natural hair’s texture with a white woman wanting to return to her natural hair color?
Those two experiences are NOT comparable. Black women have so many more things to contend with around our hair. The looks. The comments. The ignorance. Having to do extensive research just to figure out how to care for and handle our hair. The self doubt and sometimes loathing. Will it cause problems at work? How will that effect dating and relationships and how much do I care?
I mean I could go on.
And no matter what color a white woman wears her hair (with maybe the exception being colors that aren’t naturally occurring) NO ONE is going to judge her entire life on her choice of hair color.
I really don’t see where they were *equating* Black women returning to natural hair with white women returning to natural hair color. The whole theme of the show “Style Your Natural Hair” (which clearly wasn’t exclusive to black women). And for white women their “natural hair” would be their natural hair color, assuming they don’t have any other chemicals in it. I’m lost as to why you interpreted them showing different types of “natural hair” as a comparison.
Actually, I would beg to differ on your last point: “And no matter what color a white woman wears her hair (with maybe the exception being colors that aren’t naturally occurring) NO ONE is going to judge her entire life on her choice of hair color.”
I feel like its easier to make that assumption when we’re in a position that is generally viewed as harder (having natural/kinky hair in a world of straight and relaxed), but I know that in some societies people who have red/ginger hair are actually bullied and teased for it, and there are some stereotypes regarding hair colour (a friend was generally treated as being dumber because of her natural blonde hair).
That doesn’t mean to say that we can compare these scenarios with Black women’s experiences on the same scale or anything, but just to say that maybe blanket statements like the one you made should be reconsidered.
OMG my hands are over my mouth and I have tears in my eyes, I don’t know if to laugh or cry – just speechless.
Don’t knock it, at least mainstream is interested in natural hair. There is no guide, no end all be all, gather information and move on. Find out what works for your hair through trial/error. That’s what the natural hair journey is all about.
I saw this a few days ago. Um, yeah, I really don’t see what the big deal is here. Sorry. I mean what do you expect them to really do in an 8 minute TV segment? Sometimes I think we’re taking this natural hair thing way too seriously. When I first went natural 12 years ago I would have never imagined black women going more berserk over natural hair than they did perms and weaves. We’ve just replaced one obsession for another. Let’s just all calm down a take a deep breath. Natural hair is obviously taking off and Dr. Oz and other media outlets are naturally capitalizing off of it. The media capitalizing off of beauty trends? Nothing new here.
HAHA Way to Go Doc Oz. Get the word out. Get your hair healthy!
I KNOW RIGHT?! Look at what he did for POOP! Everyone was checking their poops. If it takes someone like Dr. oz to put it out there then so much the better. Its getting exposure.
I think its great that natural hair is getting more mainstream. What’s not so great is, as the author mentioned, is sensationalizing the topic and really misrepresenting facts just to boost ratings. When I get rid of my texlaxed hair I won’t do it on telly. I would rather document it online.
And as a transitioner, I know this natural journey will start with blood, tears and sweat but the rewards will be worth it. Hopefully the women who watched this episode will do more research before just jumping into the natural world without more information
Ok first of all I feel this article is a bit dramatic. I mean who cares who does your BC, black or white, professional or DIY, many do their BC themselves. I really disagree her discounting the porosity test, I think it is a useful tool in assessing your hair pirduct needs. Again a tool not a sole factor. The only valid point is with Mrs Smith, I’m not familiar with her. I wonder if the same uproar would exist if this was on Steve Harvey’s Show. I just found the tone of the article harsh. I’m happy that some main stream light is being shed on natural hair, it wasn’t perfect, but I think he had good intentions.
I totally agree with you. Way too dramatic. The producers are not supposed to be natural hair experts!
at least he’s trying to do something to showcase natural hair. i haven’t seen other tv shows like wendy williams try to educate about natural hair. she’s always bashing women with natural hair. i do agree about the stylist thing though. they should’ve gotten someone with more of an online presence. i would’ve rather seen naptural85 there to share her hair journey and tips, even though she isn’t a stylist.
Why Nap85??? ’cause of her length or curls?? CurlyNikki is usually the one on daytime shows giving natural hair tips.
Neither actually. She’s more heard about than this stylist that allegedly was a pioneer in the natural hair industry with NO online presence. nap85 has over 450,000 subscribers on youtube, 126K on instagram, and practical tips for haircare, DIY hair products that wouldn’t cost too much for the average consumer. She also has created hairstyles for all occasions, including professional settings, romantic events, and simple everyday styles which is often a concern for women who are thinking about becoming natural: the “lack” of versatility in natural hair styling.
Sorry but curly nikki hair is not all that at all to me. For her to have been natural so many years doesn’t look that great someone like naptural85 or tarenguy would have inspired more people to want to be natural sorry
Why are you hating on Curly Nikki?? She has a huge following over 300k following on Facebook and a very popular website. She has appeared on Tara Banks talk show, Steve Harvey’s talk, Melissa Perry’s show and Dr Oz so she is very well known to the public/mainstream. The girl has a PHD for gawd sakes and has written a book on natural hair.
And what does it mean she doesnt looks so great for “being natural so many years”?? So unless you have the length of Nap85 u are some how a failure??!?! Girl go sit down some where!
Why does there need to be mainstream(white)focus on natural hair? What does it have to do with white people? Do black women need this so badly….why was this even on tv?…..I find something about this pathetic and desperate….my opinion.
Since when are black people not apart of the “mainstream”. There are plenty of african americans viewers of this show that this information applies to. Just because Dr. Oz is not black doesn’t mean he isn’t allowed to approach subjects that are common place in the black community.
I feel like people are just trying to find something to be angry about. First many naturals complain about the lack of positive exposure that natural hair gets in the media, and then when you have a whole episode on a popular show about the health benefits of natural hair and how to take care of it, what happens? THEY STILL COMPLAIN. It just goes to show you can’t please everyone…
Well said Vikki
I could not have said it better myself. I mean dang! This whole show was just picked apart for trying to do something that we do everyday….bring awareness to an issue (that shouldn’t be an issue) to women of color. Whoever wrote this, find your inner peace my sister…..life’s too short to be wallowing in negativity.
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I concur. I applaud Dr. Oz for this!!!
I totally agree Vikki!
“Since when are black people not part of the mainstream”
Preach girl!!
There needs to be mainstream focus so that we arent looked at a certain way at our childrens parent teacher conference or so we arent passed up for that great new job bc of our natural hair. …
First off, not all white people have straight hair, many have hair you could downright call kinky, and spend lots of money to hide it, feel ridiculed for it etc etc. Secondly, plenty of people watch Dr. Oz, not just white people. Thirdly, we’re all part of the human race in all it’s diversity of textures. We should celebrate our diversity and not be ashamed of it, or feel we have to hide it. That’ll be the frickin’ day when we aren’t so touchy!
I understand what you’re saying. Black people really really want to be accepted into a society that’s always been designed against them. Always thinking Martin when they should be thinking Malcolm. They think it’s awesome but they don’t understand nobody cares about them they care about their money, they care about their own curiosity, they care about their ratings. But all they see it as is “look we’re finally on TV being celebrated. It’s about time the mainstream accepted us!!” That’s the problem ALWAYS LOOKING FOR ACCEPTANCE. How about accepting yourself. How about accepting your history, your CULTURE! Priorities all jacked up. I can see how most people think it’s good though.
wow…. this looks a hot mess.
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