This is a bit of a rant so allow me to step on a soapbox for a minute. This is in no way a ‘natural nazi’ thing (I hate that term) so please adjust your state of mind accordingly. For decades the products in the ethnic hair market have been laced with crap ingredients that did nothing for our hair. Girls walked around with chewed up, broken off relaxed hair and ponytails that fit in 1 small rubber band. They slathered mineral oil and petroleum on their brittle ends and shampooed once a month. Thankfully, we’ve come a very long way from that and women all over the world are growing their hair to great lengths and keeping it healthy whilst doing so.

Now, let me get to the meat of this rant. While ethnic hair care as come a very long way, our products have not. Women en masse have stopped relaxing their hair and become much more cognizant of what they put on and in their bodies. This has posed a huge problem for the ‘ethnic’ hair companies that have been flogging their relaxers and mineral oils to us for decades. I use the term ethnic or black hair companies loosely because most are not owned or run by black people. These companies are desperate to earn their customers back by any means necessary. For us, that means the hair care market is flooded with big companies cranking out products with the magic words ‘natural,’ ‘curls,’ ‘paraben free,’ ‘silcone free,’ and the list goes on.

While there are plenty of consumers that appreciate the change and are quick to buy up these products that are much more affordable that those made by small businesses and readily available as well…I’m just not buying it. What prompted this rant, specifically, is the Dark and Lovely Au Naturale Anti-Shrinkage line. The product line is marketed towards natural haired women while simultaneously insulting them. I get that there are many women who abhor shrinkage, I’m not one of them. What would afro-textured hair be without the shrinkage? Shrinkage is the essence of what makes our hair beautiful. The suggestion that it is something natural women want to fix or go against is really insulting to me. Dark and Lovely also has an “anti-reversion” line and the Roots of Nature line boasts “remedies for natural hair.” The language of these products and the language in the marketing tells me these companies just don’t get it.

The attempt to appeal to women who have embraced their hair as it grows is for naught when you market products that suggest the hair should be remedied or elongated when styled. Maybe I’m giving this too much thought. I see the ‘anti-shrinkage’ line all over my YouTube feed and was so irked by the suggestion, I felt the need to write this up. I suppose I don’t need to add that I will not be purchasing any products from Dark and Lovely (or any of the commercial black hair brands). SoftSheen Carson (the parent company of Dark and Lovely and a branch of LOreal) is not the only brand playing this game. I will continue to support small black-owned businesses. I look for products that fit my lifestyle and my hair…shrinkage and all.

Thanks for allowing me to get this off my chest. Don’t forget to comment below.

~Jay.