Dear Team Natural,
Hi. We know you guys are busy leading movements and effecting change on a global and local level, as you have been doing for hundreds of years. Salute to who you are and everything you’re going to be. Running toward the fire is no easy task, and it certainly can take a toll on your edges, but you are fearless and we love it.
We are writing, because we need your help.
Over the past few years, we’ve been noticing. Studying. Paying attention. We see the bantu knots, the fauxhawk, flat-twists with bumps, rolled buns with side-parts, large curly updos, braids and double buns, and the flat-twisted twist-outs. And those finger coils? BRUH. We are here for ALL OF IT.
Unfortunately, we haven’t always been able to keep up with how you do your own upkeep and the process you go through to nurture your scalp and tend to your roots. We are overwhelmed. Unsure. Generally unaware. We have questions, and you have the answers. Learn us please.
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Does #WashDay automatically make it a Netflix & Chill night because of the work you’ve just put into your scalp?
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Is it ever appropriate to use bae’s natural hair products for our head or beard (provided we are clean)? The struggle can get mighty real.
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How many times a month (if ever) do you think about giving it all up and going back to the creamy crack?
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Is it ever appropriate for someone to comment on the state of your ‘kitchen?’
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Do you ever have to wait for your hairdresser the same amount of time we do for our barber on a Friday afternoon? What are peak hairdresser hours?
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How many bobby pins should we keep on deck? In the car? Our back pocket?
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What constitutes curls, in their natural state, being #onfleek? Can the fleekness be affected by variables? (eg. sunlight, filters, humidity, camera angle)
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If you’ve known about the toxins in lotions we all use (and you switched, because #levels), were you ever going to tell me, or nah?
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If we were to send a bae-care package, what are the essential products that we must include?
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Since Beyoncé is not part of team natural, is Solange your leader from the Knowles family for #hairgoals? Do you have a decentralized leadership structure?
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That one egg you keep in the refrigerator that has it’s own shelf and I’m forbidden from touching, are you ever going to use it? Why can’t it go in a Tupperware container?
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How much time do you spend on Youtube looking up different styles? Do you have favorite channels?
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What questions are you tired of hearing about being natural? (Hopefully we haven’t contributed to the House of Basic that people too frequently build.)
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*Bonus*: Are you nervous? Are you lonely? Can we get coffee and discuss geo-politics and buy books together? (just kidding, just kidding, we’d never force it like that).
We mean no disrespect with our inquiries. Like Donald Trump at a Univision holiday party, we know we couldn’t be more out of place. Unlike The Donald, we actually care about you and want to learn and understand a part of your identity that holds incredible importance and significance. Plus, it’s not a good look to be willfully ignorant when there’s so much #blackgirlmagic around to help.
Sincerely,
