“Come on, y’all know Black women be ashy and can’t grow their hair”: Unlearning ‘ugly’ myths about Black skin and hair

The Sistah Vegan Project

Dr. A. Breeze Harper without make-up, May 2013.

Growing up, I experienced a lot of women of color telling me that Black women ‘just can’t grow hair.’ I never doubted this, as I thought that that was true, as my hair never seemed to grow. In addition, I thought us Black folk were just supposed to have not only have hair growth problems , but always ‘be ashy’ and have ‘dry looking’ skin. Why did I accept such a myth, which seemed to be more about harboring internalized racism about the ‘lack of natural beauty’ of Black women, than it did with any ‘real’ facts. I remember one day at Sally’s, hearing two black females working there, joking about how black women are always ashy and that we can’t grown our hair to saves our lives. I was in my early 20s and perhaps it was because I had finally…

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