I haven’t talked about it here because everyone’s been discussing it, but I knew, knew, knew that Tyra was not natural. Knew it!
(In your face, Jenna, if you are reading). She’s just recently exposed her “natural” hair on the show for the first time. If you haven’t been keeping up with this, here’s an article to read about it.
And here are some pictures someone posted on LHCF of Tyra’s real hair:
Wet
Blow dried
styled
It was very sweet that she wore her cornrows for the Relaxed Vs Natural show, but putting your hair in cornrows does not make it natural. Of course, I’ve noticed with the extensive use of wigs and extensions, that a lot of people in the celebrity world reference a person’s real hair as their “natural” hair.
Confusion, confusion…!
Anyway, I will say that I am very proud of her, even if she is relaxed. She has shed (and quite publically) a habit that is probably ingrained in her psyche. It’s a step in the right direction and I applaud her for it.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Maybe the term should have been Tyra will wear a “weave-less” or “wig-less” style because “natural” and “real” can mean so many different things to different people. It depends on your point of view. How real or natural IS real or natural? It has been argued that the only “real” or “natural” hair is hair that has not been manipulated at all. That means hair not saturated with lots of different styling products (no matter how temporary the effect) or hair that hasn’t been manipulated with twists, plaits, braids, knots and such then let loose simply to elongate or camouflage shrinkage or tight curl/coil etc. Real or natural to some people just means wash, condition, shake and go. There’s a spectrum. That’s the source of the confusion. And then there are ambiguous words such as “real” that get thrown around.
I’m a little disappointed. I thought she was going to be natural (w/o chemicals)…boo boo boo. But I still like Tyra and I’m glad she’s making the statement that we have to accept our “natural” selves w/o make up, weaves, wigs, etc. mainstream has to start somewhere
I knew it too! I kept correcting people when they’d say she’s going to be showing her “natural” hair. She said REAL.
you’re right…she deserves credit for releasing her crutch THE WEAVE. i just wish she took it a step further to show her naps!
)
I knew Tyra was going to have to do something along these lines when she had the little girl who loved her Hanna Montana wig. She asked the girl why she loved the wig and then told the girl she didnt need it (in so many words). As she was saying that, she realized that she herself had her own “Hanna Montana wigs”!! Tyra, being as “real” as she can with her subject matters, had to do this reveal. Thanks Tyra for being brave for a day! She called her hair “coarse” in that segment, but I could see that it’s actually fine. Coarse doesnt mean kinky! My hair is very kinky and is very fine as well, (the strands are thin. I was expecting Tyra’s hair to be shorter and more damaged!
I have to address what SparkleKat1 wrote. Wearing braids or twists is done to elongate and camouflage? I can’t speak for other people, but my hair is way past the TWA stage and if I were to wear my hair unstyled and out I would have knots and tangles. Even as a child my mother plaited my hair after washing, not to mask my texture but to save herself the trouble of heaven forbid dry combing and detangling.
Hi Hypnotic, I hear ya. What I initially wrote was unclear. I didn’t mean that everyone wears plaits, braids, knots etc. to elongate or camouflage texture. Most people probably don’t do that. It’s more of a look or protective styling thing. I was referring to those who do those things just to get a certain look or looseness of coil/curl when the twists, plaits, knots are released. In other words, it’s about the “after”-release look not the “before” look.
I think that among blacks in America,that the term “natural” when referring to hair, means “no relaxer” or other chemical straightener. This is what we have made this term mean.
If you want to go literal, then I suppose none of us are natural (or very few)
Would this also mean that a woman without a chemical relaxer, but who does a press-and-curl or flat iron with lots of heat (all the time) is also still considered natural? Curious what others think about this. This is a very interesting topic.
Sparklekat, IMO, and I think in most people’s eyes, you are natural if you heat straighten because it is reversible, unless it is damaged. There is still that lack of a permanent chemical to alter texture.
I watched this..Tyra kept saying her REAL hair..which in fact that is her real hair..even if it’s permed. The problem was with the girls who they had randomly speaking saying that it was her natural hair. Tyra knows. The others didn’t.