by
Black Girl With Long Hair
They say black women are magical… they right. They say natural hair doesn’t move… they wrong. Model and natural vlogger Hanna LaShay posted a video shaking her luscious curls. The 1 minute 10 second video was her boyfriend’s idea and it is downright mesmerizing. The video clip has been viewed more than 120,000 times
And it has inspired copycat videos under the hashtag #slowmocurls. Check it out!
https://instagram.com/p/5xWFERSYEe/?taken-by=iamhannalashay
https://instagram.com/p/5xm5m5yYFG/?taken-by=iamhannalashay
https://instagram.com/p/50biGFSYKb/?taken-by=iamhannalashay
So… I wanna know who’s out here saying naturals can’t whip or flip their hair.
Ladies, what are your thoughts?
30 Responses
Does anyone know the name of the song in the background?
You’re right… my hair only moves after it is super stretched (blow out, flat iron, the 2nd time I retwist it, etc). Definitely not in its natural post-wash state (at least not at its current medium length). Also, shorter hair lengths may not be able to do this. I do think the video is cute, but to glorify one’s ability to shake their natural hair, kinda counters the natural hair movement of the acceptance of one’s own texture and length. Thanks for your bold and critical comment!
It’s more to do with the way that this post was written. Highlighting the fact that some people believe that if a black woman has natural hair it won’t move if she shakes her head.
If that’s not a statement that is based off of a comparison of black women’s hair to white (Latina, Asian, Native American, etc.) women’s hair, then I don’t know what is. Sure, plenty of black women have hair that will shake and shimmy. Plenty don’t.
It bothers me that this is something that we’re celebrating. Healthy hair, I celebrate. Women embracing their natural hair and owning it no matter the texture or its ability to blow in the breeze, I celebrate.
I mean, for real. Wouldn’t we all be wondering why people found video of a white woman shaking her head in slo-mo mesmerizing? Would you watch that and find it interesting? Seriously. I wouldn’t. And this, to me, is equal to that.
Beautiful !
This made me so happy though, especially after 00:37. Natural hair is truly so beautiful ????
You’re reading way too deep into this.
Or maybe you’re not reading deeply enough. Who knows? Not me. All I can say is that I found this to be a disturbing read. You didn’t. To each their own.
shes awfully cute ^.^ but…..that aint her reeal hair though its crotchet braids :'( look at the parts made when she shakes her hair i know it when i see it cuz thats exactly how my hair was when i installed crotchet braids
nah thats all hers. check her insta
or you know, she had her hair parted and did a twistout. and twists clump together…
She is adorable and her hair is gorgeous . I’m glad I follow her on instagram .
I follow her on instagram . I’m taking my braids down on Thursday so I will definitely be doing this for fun before I get it rebraided . Lol I already have a slow motion app .
Yes! I absolutely love this. I will have to post mine soon 🙂
I was thinking the same. She is so cute ?and it was mesmerizing, not to mention the song went well with the video and She picked the right song for it. I watched the other videos and it was cool. Hair moves depending on how much hair you have. Hair can move when it’s shoulder length or neck length. Short hair, long hair; They both are pretty. Very cool, It was cute and her eyebrows were on point.
But why, though?
What exactly does this prove? That black women are human beings because some can whip their hair around like any white woman in a shampoo commercial?
What’s the point of going natural and embracing black beauty if we can’t stop comparing what we do/don’t have to white folks in order for it to be good or acceptable. Would anyone feel that their natural hair was less beautiful if it didn’t swang like it had been pressed?
Someone came up to me the other day and commented on the fact that my hair was blowing in the breeze even though I’m natural. A black woman said this to me as though I would take it as a compliment. How is that a compliment? Why is that even a thing that someone would notice or comment on?
ok negative Nancy,,we see your point
Hey, I didn’t see it as harmless cuteness. What can I say? Not trying to be offensive to anyone who sees it differently and no reason to value my opinion over the millions who clearly loved the video.
You make a good point. I feel like the white beauty standards that have been pounded into many a Western black woman’s head are a hard beast to shake, and a reminder that going natural doesn’t mean sacrificing every aspect of that standard that we’ve been raised to find appealing – like buoyancy and flexibility – can be encouraging. No, it shouldn’t be necessary, we shouldn’t still be judging ourselves and each other according to a hair type that is not inherently better than any other hair type, but what should be and what is are two different things, and black women have a LOT of negative ideas to push back against when it comes to feeling beautiful. It’s one step at a time when it comes to reprogramming oneself.
I totally agree with what you’ve written here. I probably should have written something along those lines instead of typing out a reactionary comment on something that bothered me.
Live and learn!
Why what? Hanna clearly states her boyfriend thought it would be fun to see her shake her hair in slow motion. No one said anything about trying to do what white people do or proving a point. She was hanging with her boyfriend and he made a suggestion. That video has since gone viral because people simply like it. Whether its her personality, her hair, the music or whatever. They like it. Why you were complimented and how you took it, is your own thing to deal with. THis is a fun video of my little sister shaking her hair. You don’t like it, don’t watch it. Make your own video or don’t. Jesus, how old are you talking to a teenager like that. You got kids taping themselves violently hurting one another and when a successful teen entrepreneur, model and singer has fun with her beauty, you got comments. Really? Stop it.
Yeah, I got comments on a public forum. Amazing concept, I know. You don’t like my comments? Don’t read and don’t respond. See how easy that is?
Her attractiveness, your view of how fun it is to watch her shake her head…all of that is your opinion that you have the right to share. She has the right to post it the video. Her boyfriend has the right to like it and film it.
I have the right to express my opinion on something that is posted to a public forum. I happen to believe that there is more to it than just fun. Many things do have a deeper meaning even when the people carrying out certain actions don’t see it that way. I don’t have to see things the way that you see them and it is really the definition of juvenile for you to believe that every person in the world has to see things the way that you see them.
The tone of the article bothered me. Are you telling me that I can’t react to that simply because it was about a teenager? What’s positive in this video? Seriously? A girl shaking her head in slo-mo is positive to you? You think that’s the best we can do?
Really? Stop it.
Sounds like you’re unpacking a bag of your own issues. The beauty in this is that these women have lovely, healthy hair that they can fun with. Would’ve been just as effective with a fro. I’m lucy liberal and rachel race- policy and with searching deeply into this, I can’t find any connotation o implication that any of these women are desiring to be white, compared to a white a women, or hoping to be praised by white women. Maybe you should learn to differentiate YOUR issues from others’ issues.
Can you tell me what you find mesmerizing about this hair shake video? Seriously. I watched and I don’t see it. What do you think is special/interesting/amazing about this? Why do you think that it got so many views?
Plenty of woman have healthy hair that doesn’t move when they shake their heads. Plenty of women have damaged hair that blows in the breeze just like those women in the hair product commercials.
How does this illustrate “healthy” hair?
Everything is viewed through a lens of our own experience. I do find it annoying/offensive when someone points out that my hair moves when I run or when it’s windy because I don’t think it’s anything special or should be viewed as something unique that I need brought to my attention. Just like when someone says to me “you speak so well” it’s a thing that makes me wonder why a person feels the need to share with me.
If someone says they like my hair color (it’s dyed) or that my hair has a lot of shine to it…yeah, I think that’s great because those are things that I actually work to achieve. Being complimented on the fact that my hair moves? Really? You don’t see how someone might hear that and think “Really, bro? Why do you feel the need to say that me? Why do you feel the need make a big deal out of that?”
It’s not the video that irked me, but the use of the word “mesmerizing” in the title. Sorry, but I don’t find normal stuff mesmerizing. If people are so het up by what I’m writing, I guess I must not be expressing myself clearly, but what can you do. That’s life.
What does hair moving have to do with being white? .I never straighten my hair yet I keep mine in buns and use bobby pins a lot to keep it from blowing around in my face which I hate. . That woman is clueless. Ignore her.
She is a beautiful lady with beautiful hair. I never heard the natural hair doesn’t move thing. When I go to Zumba the ladies say they love how my curls bounce when I dance. Also wind messes up my hairstyles blowing it all around. our hair moves.
Yes…Lot of people think that out natural hair is coarse and does not move . Here come the relaxer To love move your hair in the wind
Wow. That’s silly thinking.
Wow! This girl is amazingly cute and adorable. Watching this made me happy!
She’s cute as a button.
Loving this