The look in her eyes says it all.
That is the look of, โI know this girl doesnโt know what sheโs doing, so should I sit here and let her ruin my hair? Or should I teach her about black hair?โ
So by now youโve all heard about the Today Show fiasco last week, where Resident Style Expert Deepica Mutyala, ruined the hair of two models, Pham AND Malyia.ย Of course no one was that mad at Phamโs hairstyle but twitter went IN on Malyiaโs hair. As Deepika grabbed Malyiaโs hair she said, โItโs all about that โeffortlessโ look.โย Yaโll she was just twisting and fluffing, swirling and poofing, and basically improvised a hairstyle on the fly.
I have been in Malyiaโs shoes. I donโt know one black woman who hasnโt been in that chair, feeling a disaster as itโs happening. It seems like black hair is one of those never ending topicsโwhether itโs cultural appropriation, to relaxing it, to straightening it, to going natural, and finally to just doing both something and nothing to it because you feel like you have to, and thatโs literally what Deepica did.
Deepica has since apologized for the whole thing, but as someone who is going natural, I laughed but it does still sting a little bit. There have been too many times when Iโve encountered those free makeover experiences at department stores, and thereโs usually a preppy girl whoโs overly enthusiastic about touching black hair.ย It usually consists of some mismatched make-up, some weird smelling mousse that they put in your hair, and finally they spin you around to get a final look in the mirror and you look a mess, but they lie to you because they know they messed up. I expect this from an amateur. I expect this from a clerk at a department store who will probably never even pursue a career in cosmetics, or hair care, let alone black hair care. I do NOT expect this from a โStyle Expertโ.
I know that black hair can be temperamentalโmy edges are rebellious and my kitchen is leading the revolution. But seriously, itโs ok to want to be culturally inclusive, but I just ask that hair stylists everywhere who claim to be expertsโI ask that they do their research first, thatโs it.
-Shanda