Hair What I'm Saying

Texturism & Lengthism: At Home, At Work, and Within

Kinetra Season 5 Episode 1

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Nia Ford returns to unpack the deep, quiet ways texturism affects Black women's relationship with their hair, from childhood experiences to adult self-acceptance. We explore how external criticism and family dynamics shape our perception of beauty, particularly for those with kinky, coily textures. Nia shares how her childhood love for big hair shifted after hearing classmates with looser textures praised for having “good hair,” and we discuss the role family members play in either perpetuating or challenging texturism, including how parents with different hair textures approach their children’s hair. She rejects the concept of “bad hair” entirely, favoring the idea of “healthy” versus “unhealthy” hair, and addresses how shrinkage often causes people to underestimate both the length and beauty of type 4 hair. We also explore the importance of finding products that work specifically for your hair type rather than following trends, reframing hair care from being a “chore” to an act of self-love and acceptance, and why giving your hair a name (like Tabitha Brown’s “Donna”) can foster a more loving relationship with your natural texture. Finally, we examine the mixed impact of social media on texturism and natural hair acceptance..

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Kinetra:

There's a certain kind of silence that follows you when the people who are supposed to affirm you are the same ones who criticize the very way you grow. This episode is for every little black girl who sat in between someone's legs while their coils were tugged, sighed at or called too much. Today I'm joined by Nia Ford, louisiana raised like me, and someone who knows firsthand what it feels like to carry the weight of texturism, not only from strangers but from home. We're unpacking the deep, quiet ways. We've been taught that only certain textures deserve praise and that kinky, coily hair must earn its beauty through length, manipulation or invisibility. This conversation goes beyond curl patterns. We're talking about shame, shrinkage, hair envy and the hard work of unlearning. So whenever or wherever you are natural, relaxed, locked, stretch or in a bunnet, just know you're safe here. Let's get into it.

Kinetra:

Welcome to the Hair what I'm Saying podcast. I'm your host, kenetra Stewart. Today we have Nia Ford of I Bless Faces Artistry joining us for a second time. If you haven't already, make sure you check out her first episode. It's in season two, episode nine, and it's sitting at 113 downloads. Come on now. Yes, so obviously people love what she got to say. There we go. So it's information that you need to hear, so make sure you check that out. I'll tag that in the show notes. Welcome to the show, nia, how are you doing? I am good girl.

Kinetra:

Yeah that's good.

Nia:

Good to see you, I know right, it's been a minute. It's been a minute. I don't think we've seen. We haven't seen each other any this year, so no, yeah, it's been like over a year.

Kinetra:

I think the last time we saw each other was like January 2024. Uh-huh, I think so well, we gotta do something about that yeah, we've been trying to plan, but the plans are not planning.

Nia:

Okay, they're not making it out of the chat. They are not making it out of the chat, it's because our schedules. It's because of our schedules that's the main reason intentionally just pick a day, take the day off and just go yeah yeah, absolutely for sure, I'll do something fun.

Kinetra:

Yeah, girl, I'm loving this look. I love this look. I love the glasses. I just and the jelly beans. That was the first thing I noticed. I'm like, yes, I love this. You taking me back, unlocking childhood memories, as we should, as we should yes, I'm here for that, I'm here for that thousand percent. Yes, alright, girl, do you have anything you want to say before we get started with our first question, or you just ready to roll on into it?

Nia:

I think I'm ready to roll into it because I know when we last we kind of it kind of was already touched on this subject, but now we can kind of deep, like do a Absolutely Ready to like dive in. I want to dive in.

Kinetra:

Who was that?

Nia:

Trey Songz. It was Trey Songz, girl Of all people.

Kinetra:

Oh Lord, that's another topic. Yeah, another day, right? Do you recall how you perceived your hair and your environment? You know when you were a child, before the projection was displayed amongst your family members I love big hair when I was a kid.

Nia:

I don't tame it, blow it out. Let me wear big like I have always loved big hair. I still love big hair. I just loved big hair. So I was not too fond of the pressing comb. Really, mm-mm, mm-mm. I did not want straight hair, oh wow. I did not want straight hair. Until comments. You know, when you start hearing things as a kid, throw me out.

Kinetra:

Yeah, I love that. So how old were you at this time, you know, when you were actually, you know, being able to like, being able to like consciously see, like your hair being big, it's all throwed out, and how old were you whenever the projection started and then you started noticing, I guess I don't know if the projection actually, you know, played a part in how you did start perceiving your hair after that?

Nia:

um, for first, let's start with the question how I, how old um? My brain does not compute that way. I cannot recall anything with numerical numbers. Okay, um, that's, I don't know. It's weird. I just, I just, it's not weird.

Kinetra:

It's just not you, yeah, I can tell you.

Nia:

You can recall like elementary, there we go, yeah, yeah.

Nia:

So like pre-k, kinder, um, I won't name drop um there. So, like the very first time I um noticed because I mean it was just me and my sister, we grew up together so, like you know, my and my here people say my mama had good hair, right or whatever, um, but then, like our age group, our peer group, so we started going to school, there was this one girl and I just thought like she was so pretty to me and she had long, like her hair was long for a black girl. And then you would hear like, oh, she got pretty hair, oh she has good hair. And then that's when I was just like, oh, like you know, shrinkage is is real with this, when you're a type four girl, like shrinkage is so real. And that's when I was like OK, that's when I was like, ok, maybe I do want the hot comb, you know, maybe I do want it like stretched out, because everybody's saying this about her hair. Like this is, you know, I want my hair to look good.

Kinetra:

Was her hair straightened at the time, or was it? Did it defy gravity at all? Or was it in its natural state At that age?

Nia:

I don't even know, I don't know, it didn't seem relaxed. It may have been like blow-dried out really well, and I don't think that skin color is synonymous to texture, but sometimes it does play a part. And she was a lighter, like lighter complexion. She was like really light skin. Um, her mama was too, and so it could be that you know genetics and so forth, so of course it is linked to genetics.

Kinetra:

I mean your hair texture definitely come from DNA, it does you know? So she was wearing her hair more blown out, so it was more stretched for sure. So in those moments, that's when you started to kind of visualize your hair may not being as appealing to you. Yep, so that actually happened outside our household before the projection came from inside the household. Ok, so that would you say, that that was more like a fluff. I mean a fluff, a self projection.

Nia:

Possibly it could have been. I can agree to that. I think when you're a child, you don't realize that's what that is. It's just that when you hear your peers or you see something that's different and people will talk about it in a positive light, um, and that's not like they come in and so like, like a lot of her praises came off, how pretty she was because of her, like, how light-skinned she was and her hair and um, like the teachers would say how beautiful her hair was and oh, you got some good hair. Your hair is just so pretty.

Nia:

Yeah, your mama, like those type of conversations and academically I did well, so I was praised for being on the honor roll, like, uh, interacting well with my peers and elementary like getting all the little pick, pick, the pick, pride things and whatever we got or whatever. So like the praises were different. Um, so I was just like, well, they're that comment on her appearance. Like you know, as a kid you kind of were like, well, I kind of want that too. Right, she used to like do, like you know, when you do little kids hair and you wear those little knocker balls I don't know what y'all call them.

Kinetra:

I call them knocker balls. You know, we both from Louisiana, so it's probably the same terminology. Yeah, knocker balls, knocker balls.

Nia:

Yes, so whenever she'd wear her ponytails she'd wear like three or four ponytails but she would have twists and her twists would be long and poofy and they would be like so thick. I know Her little knocker balls at the base and then at the ends and I just thought that was so gorgeous.

Kinetra:

Oh yeah, you mentioned that your mom had quotequote good hair. So what did her hair like? What did it look like?

Nia:

My mama's hair was a little bit longer than bra strap length. Okay, like super long. Well, I guess it's long for a black woman. Why?

Kinetra:

do you say that it's long for a black woman?

Nia:

That's a great question.

Kinetra:

Yeah.

Nia:

In our community. If it don't go past like your shoulder length, we don't consider it long. Anything that's in the neck area is considered short. So it's more common for black women, in your opinion, to have hair residing in that space only around the neck? No, that's not more common. I just think that's how we categorize it, or at least that's how I hear it categorized, so maybe the language just needs to be tweaked. Yeah.

Kinetra:

I think that we need to do a better job of unlearning things. Yes, we do yeah.

Nia:

Yeah, I mean, it's just long. You know her hair is long. Let me not say forever her hair is long. Her hair is long, amen yeah, I love that.

Kinetra:

Yeah, let's correct it.

Nia:

Let's correct that, yeah um, but she's like in the type a family.

Kinetra:

Oh, wow, so it's mostly straight. Your mom's hair More wavy than yeah, more wavy Like a loose wavy, mm-hmm, okay. And then, growing up in Louisiana, that is deemed as good hair, the good hair. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's deemed as the good hair.

Nia:

Yeah, my grandmother's hair is like more straight, her mom's is like more and I think maybe she I don't know I'm thinking she's to relax her hair, but even when she relaxed it it gave um, if you know anything about like the creole people and all that like it gave, like that like mulatto hair texture.

Kinetra:

No, baby, okay, because I know you more in the south of louisiana. So that's why I was wondering is she creole?

Nia:

no, them folks from the north. My daddy's side is uh, they're, they're how you said them, folks from the north they are, they are, they're from the north, they're um, they're from chicago, um, the midwest, okay, uh, yeah. But even even my great-grandmother was, uh, chocolate, but had beautiful, like you, just just bone straight really pretty hair. Um, that's how it's like. I know that we try to say so, we try to link skin tone to texture, but it's not synonymous, but we do.

Kinetra:

I mean yeah, we do, we do we do and it's.

Nia:

It's gonna take some, some unlearning and a lot of self-correcting, because when you've gone your whole life with that language, it makes it a little like you kind of catch yourself in how you speak about it.

Kinetra:

Yeah, you internalize it for sure.

Nia:

Yeah, yeah A thousand percent?

Kinetra:

Uh-huh, you sure do. So the next question is basically like was there ever a time you felt your texture made you less than so? Now I want to just go back and reiterate this question and take it back to the little girl. So at that time, did it make your texture feel less than oh, because before it didn't yeah, no, it did right, um yeah yeah, a thousand percent.

Nia:

A thousand percent, so what?

Kinetra:

you did. You went home, looked in the mirror like I don't like my hair, like what happened?

Nia:

well, we wore a lot of braids okay, braids with like beads or with yes, and I think that, yes, my mama would braid our hair, do the plaits and then bead and shell it. Yeah, and I love that and to this day I still I like I loved it as a girl and I love it as a woman, as a grown woman okay, me too um, and so it was like, well, I may not be able to, and I think that's when I kind of like pushed my mama to always put beads on my hair, like don't, I don't want the puffs, I don't want if you want to see some length, and you know them puffs gonna defy gravity and I want to hear.

Nia:

I want to hear all the the noises so what you mean?

Kinetra:

the noises from the beads. You know like I love, oh, you love hearing the sound of the bees. Me too, I did. Yeah, did you ever catch any backlash in school like was it too noisy?

Nia:

not too noisy. They just didn't like like uh, not to, I don't know. But then that's a whole nother thing, because when you start demonizing things that are culturally appropriate for our hair type and the sense of a little black girl can't wear that Right, you know that's problematic, absolutely.

Nia:

That is extremely problematic, because we used to do a lot of reds and I'm just like I mean they're cool or whatever. But it's all about the swing time with the beads and the shells. Yeah, time with the bees and the shells, yeah, yeah. And my mama used to wear her hair like that too. She would do plaits and like, also bead her hair and put the shells on the end yeah, so I was like that's so pretty like that's what I want it's so decorative right, yeah, for sure um?

Kinetra:

did you ever feel like your hair made you stand out in the wrong way, as a child or or even through an ever period as an adult, let's see.

Nia:

So I'm on my third or fourth natural hair journey.

Kinetra:

I know because we were relaxed a year ago. Yeah, literally for like two months and it was beautiful, it was beautiful, and then you went right back. I did.

Nia:

I did.

Kinetra:

I miss my girls, okay, um so being type four or 4c or whatever you want to categorize it, let's, let's, let's talk about because I know you know more in depth about your hair texture, because you mentioned high density on the last podcast yeah, so the people only like to listen. Yes, tell them like you have high density hair too.

Nia:

Yes, I am type four, considered 4C, super kinky, coily, high density but fine hair.

Kinetra:

Yes, love that yeah.

Nia:

Yeah, and so essentially what that means is I have a lot of hair strands, but it doesn't take much to get it straight, in the sense of like heat, and I have to be very careful of um it's. It's delicate, and I don't want to say fragile, because fragile means to me it's like it's equates to unhealthy super healthy but super fragile. So I have to handle my coils and curls with care, right? Um, I can't just be doing, I can't be super rough with it, I forget um causing damage, breakage, all that, whatever. Um. So on my fourth natural hair journey, um, because I mean we kind of talked about the family perspective as a little girl, but I kind of want to talk about this from from the aspect of a, like, grown woman right.

Nia:

I literally had a non-black person tell me that they think they they view my natural hair is beautiful, but I like they feel like I look better with longer, straight hair. That's problematic because I, for one, I didn't ask you this, it was unsolicited. And for two, again, my hair is not your business. Like, how I choose to show up and express my express myself in how I choose to wear my hair is none of your business. So, yeah, that was that. Yeah, but how I feel about it now, like I absolutely have embraced it, like some people are just going to feel however they feel and that's their problem, not mine. At the end of the day, this is the hair God gave me. This is the hair that I've been blessed with and to me, it's extremely beautiful. So when I don't put product in it, baby, it looks like just black cotton on my head. When I do put product in it, I get these beautiful defined coils, and every time people are like I love your hair, what did you do to it?

Kinetra:

like I love your hair. What did you do to it did?

Nia:

you coil it? Did you um sponge it? I'm like this is my curl?

Nia:

this is it exactly, and I think that there's not enough representation on platforms to show what the hair can look like when it's properly styled with product. You know, I agree, yeah, and so for that people be like oh, it's just and I hate the term nappy, oh, it's just nappy, and my sister says it all the time child. And I'll be like no, you just don't know what you're doing. She was like why is it not like yours? And I'm like we literally have the same curl pattern. Literally, me and her have the same curl pattern. I'm just like I'm trying to teach you how to do this and she's like I just can't get it. I was like okay, well, when we get together I'll show absolutely yeah, even if y'all have to facetime yeah anything to help her, you know, on that journey, because it is not, uh, the easiest.

Kinetra:

Whenever you are learning, you know, and also unlearning the emotional attachments that all in you know, in all the unhealthy ways. You know, when she, when she's still relating to it as nappy oh, you know, I still got some internal work to do, you know, instead of my big age of 32 is big sister.

Nia:

Yeah, yeah, I'm not surprised, don't say that.

Kinetra:

Don't say that. Yeah, I'm not surprised, because you know my years behind the chair, you'd be surprised. You know, some are older, still trying to unlearn those terminologies that were connected with our hair texture in order to embrace what it really is I want to speak to that because let's be a thousand percent honest.

Nia:

Um, I mean, we go back to the laws that require black women to cover their hair because their hair was deemed as beautiful. But you know, like in the slavery area and all of that, if you go over to the motherland or come from, they're not using that type of language and their hair is thick, baby, it's thick, okay. And they see the beauty in their hair and they do all the things with their hair and so forth, and it's like really, it's really celebrated over there, absolutely yeah.

Nia:

So we have to decolonize the way we view kinky coily hair.

Kinetra:

Yes, absolutely that's what it is. It's a deep, deep compression that we have to address. Yeah, I feel like we have to work internally before we can even celebrate the external or the aesthetic of it. You know, sometimes you can learn just from learning how to do your hair. Yeah, sometimes it can be as simple. As I finally learned how to do my hair, I know what to do with it. So now we have arrived. But for others, sometimes you're going to have to reach deep down.

Kinetra:

Deep down and get into the root cause of why are we here. Yeah, it's a lot of work, it's a lot of work.

Nia:

It's a lot of work, but we are making strides.

Kinetra:

Yeah, we are. How did the adults around you talk about hair textures? Was it a language of love or a language of labor? And oh, it's so unmanageable. And you know all the things that go on when we sit in between you know our family members legs and beat your head still, and all of them, oh my gosh, that's a great question.

Nia:

So as a child, oh, my mama hated doing her hair did.

Kinetra:

She hate doing it because it was a lot, or I think it was a lot she did not know how to do it I think it's a combination of both.

Nia:

I think because our hair texture was not like her, so she wasn't familiar oh, that's um so my, my aunt would blow dry her hair out a lot and then, like we would get like the plaits and stuff, um, but I just when you're not, when you have children that are not, um, in the same hair category pattern, texture, feel or it is, you know it takes some getting used to. My grandmother on my mama's side was very much so, um, she was a hot comb junkie oh, she loved hot, she would press our hair so much.

Nia:

I think it was just easy. It was so much um easy for her to manage it when we used to stay with her through in the summers, um. So, with that being said, uh, I just think my mama just just had a hard time, like that lady relaxed my hair twice in like one week, whoa the relaxer didn't take the first.

Nia:

it didn't didn't take so many, it didn't take. It didn't make it straight like it relaxed the curl but it didn't take. It didn't make it straight Like it relaxed the curl, but it didn't straighten my hair. But that's the point of the relaxer. Yes, we waited like a day or two. I remember this. We waited like a day or two and then, and then she re-relaxed it.

Kinetra:

Yeah.

Nia:

And Did your hair break?

Kinetra:

Or do you don't remember?

Nia:

I don't think it did. I don't think it did, I don't think it did, I don't know. But yeah, I honestly don't think my hair type was meant for relaxers. To be honest, I just think it thrived in its natural state, as it should, as it should, but yeah, no. So yeah, we did it twice in one week and you know, because she was, you know, like it just didn't take and all of that and so forth. So, yeah, so we went down that Avenue for a while and even with the relaxed hair, I remember going to the beautician high.

Nia:

We were in middle school. I remember going to the beautician and I want Afropos, like I'm sitting in your chair. I'm sitting in your chair to get a relaxer, but you're about to make me faux Afropos. She would, um, roll my hair with, like those super small rollers yeah, the plastic ones just to get the curl, and then she would slick my hair up for me to have two afro puts and, realistically, we could have just cut all this hair off and grew it back out to be natural and I could have naturally had my afro. So that's how I was. Like, I've always loved big air puffs.

Kinetra:

I have always loved them you just unlocking a memory, keep going.

Nia:

I'm gonna talk about it, but keep going yes and so, um, it's crazy, you know, I just always went, I just wanted, like the curls, like I just wanted the curls all the time yeah, I remember, um, watching the spice girls and scary spice.

Kinetra:

I used to love her hair and I was like I want hair like scary spice, and at that time I was getting relaxers too, but not knowing the same thing like you, all you have to do is just stop relaxing your hair, cut it off and you will have big hair, you know. And so what I would do is, um, go get a twist out, a flat twist though and she would take it down, but I'm like it still don't have the volume that I'm looking for, right and and.

Kinetra:

so, even as a grown woman, I did not understand until I which is weird for me I didn't understand until I went to cosmetology school Like girl you got to cut this relaxed stuff off in order to get that big hair, because I started so young getting the relaxers, so I didn't, I didn't, I just didn't put two and two together, you know. But yeahall was just like that too, like, oh, the big hair, like, all right, give me that, chaka khan, give me, give me that. It was like I, you know, I appreciated the straight, just for the manageability purposes, you know, it didn't take a lot to do it. But I also didn't know what was on the other side of natural hair.

Nia:

I just knew I love the aesthetic of it, you know oh yeah, man, that makes me think about, um, the fact that our hair would be pressed and straightened when it came to special occasions, easter mostly, baby, that bang with the pink roller.

Kinetra:

yes, omg, those are the good days, though. I actually did enjoy getting my hair pressed, but only because I knew it could go back. You know, yeah, I did. I didn't enjoy the process, but I did enjoy like wearing it, you know, straight every now and again, because it made it easier for my grandmother to comb my hair, and when it was in its natural state she knew what she was doing. I just didn't like how she combed it and it looked better to me when she combed it when it was straight. So that was my reason for liking it more straight, because she could comb it better. But my mama could do either or. So if my mama was not around, I definitely prefer for my hair to be straight.

Nia:

Don't hot comb it, baby. I remember putting them tea cups on your ears, so we didn't get burnt Dang, we just had to hold out. My grandma used to give us tea cups, so if she did you would hear it. No, baby, I used to fear the hot comb. Let's be honest.

Kinetra:

Oh yeah, that's why I said I didn't enjoy the process, I just enjoyed the after effect. Yeah, yeah, was there a moment where?

Nia:

you internalized the idea that your hair was a burden. Sure, when I tried this being natural the third time, so let me say this um, in my 20s I cut it off. Okay, so when I was 18, I cut all my hair off and then and it was relaxed at the time- when you cut it all off. And then I was like, okay, I'm gonna go natural. But then like I was slapping dot on it like lift and rake so at the same time, like the integrity of the curls, aren't?

Nia:

they ain't integrized? That's not even a real word, but we know what you're saying yes.

Nia:

So, like we care what you, I didn't, I didn't fully grasp, like, what my hair looked like without all the manipulation, all the chemicals, right so, and then then we went through that phase and went through that phase and again, since it's being bleached, it's a little bit more manageable because it's processed. When it's processed, baby, it's like it's laid and dyed and fried dyed, laid to the side, all the things, all the things. So, like I, I lit it on red, blue, purple, all the colors you think of. I was like, okay, cool, all right. And then it got to the point where I was like, ooh, I want a taper fade.

Nia:

I did that for like two years, every two weeks, getting a cut and getting color. Yeah, all right, let's go pink, let's go green, let's go whatever, whatever. So I had an allergic reaction to the last time I had my hair colored and it was like it was green dye and it just made my scalp. You're so bad, um, and so, uh, I was like you know what, I'm just gonna let this grow out. You know, um, let's see, let's just see what this looks like. So I let it grow out and then that's when it was like the burden, because I didn't know what.

Nia:

I was doing, I was determined not to put any color in it. I was. I told myself that I wanted this growth journey to be a reflection of my personal growth journey, like how. I took care of myself. So, um, yeah, just I wanted to mirror that and it was hard it was like what was some of the struggles I? Didn't know what to do with it.

Kinetra:

Like I'm, like we, I don't know okay you didn't consult with a professional before you just went on, since you were you getting your professionally colored at that. Yeah, yeah, yeah so, uh, that same person. You didn't consult with them before you into the journey?

Nia:

No, they weren't really doing natural hair, okay, mm-mm, mm-mm. And so one of my friends at the time she might still be a licensed cosmetologist, but she was also going to become an instructor so she helped me navigate that journey with figuring out what to do with it. She was like, oh, you got to do is this? And she was like here, try these and all this, because, baby, it got to the point I remember I was trying to do. It was in that funky stage.

Nia:

Now, when you do the big job, there is a funky stage where it's like not short enough to where what you used to do works, but not long enough for what you want to do work. And so, like the styles that I desire to want to do to my hair, we weren't, we weren't there. And then if I was trying to do anything that I was doing when it was like not even a full inch long it's, it's surpassed that length, so now that's not working. So she sat me down and took the time to like show me how to define my curls and um and so forth. I think I brought her up in the last episode, but shout out to shanisha newbie, because, yeah, she, she definitely helped me with with that, and so would you say that it was a funky stage maybe it was, but she actually taught you how to work with it.

Kinetra:

So would you still classify it as a funky stage Just because it's not reaching the potential hairstyle that you wanted you?

Kinetra:

know, you hear what I'm saying, girl, yes, so it's like we can classify it as a funky stage. But is it a funky stage when someone has taught you what to do with it? At this stage, maybe it's just not reaching, you know, that particular aesthetic or that look that you are aiming for. You know in that moment, whatever the goal was for the hairstyle at the time, yeah, you know. So would you say it's a funky stage? And I'm asking this because a lot of people say this about locks. Oh, yeah.

Kinetra:

Yeah, they say like oh, locks, have this ugly stage and I'm like is it an ugly stage, or you just don't know what to do with it.

Nia:

That's a great you know well, when you put it that way, I would say no it, it is a transition stage yeah, it's just a transition it's a transition. Yeah, yeah, I love that right now I'm in my transition stage, like now. I know what to do with it. Baby, let's slap that gel, and just you know.

Kinetra:

And and I love it.

Nia:

Thank you, yeah, I'm just like okay, cool, like we're not quite at the four, we're not quite four inches, but we're not dead, stopped at three, so we can't get braids just yet, but we're in a stage where we can still do something that's presentable, notable, but to me I think it's pretty. Like that's still pretty, that still makes me feel feminine. Um, I don't look like no little boy, yeah you don't have a little boy face I don't know, sometimes I wake up in the morning.

Nia:

I'll be like my husband really loved me, because what is this?

Kinetra:

well, maybe he see beyond the external, which is what we want and need anyway, you know.

Nia:

Because I be like Jesus.

Kinetra:

Yeah.

Nia:

Anyway, yeah, yeah, yeah. So well, you know, I just take time with it and it's just like to me. It's like me loving on myself in a way I did not know that was possible when I sit at the mirror like, okay, let's define these curls. I know it's going to take about 45, 50 minutes.

Kinetra:

But when I'm done with it and I'm always like, oh my god, my hair is so pretty like this and you have that hair that tricks you. You never know how long it is, you will never know how long it is until you take a dryer to it. You be like, my goodness, like where did the length come from? Yeah, because the hair strands are so fine, so there's no weight, so they're able to shrink and they shrink, they do.

Kinetra:

Yeah, and then I'm telling you I've had so many, you know, clients sit in my chair, even as a professional, and I don't know how long their hair is until I'm blow drying. I'm like I did not know.

Nia:

Wait a minute. I didn't charge accordingly Because, baby, why? We at a foot had a.

Kinetra:

I don't charge according to length anyway, but you know it's. I really find it fascinating, you know, and so interesting, you know, for it to be able to do so many different things. Yeah, the versatility is endless. You never know what you're gonna get with high density, fine, coily hair. You never know. You never know it's full of surprises it matches my personality so well.

Nia:

It do I feel like God knew what he was doing. He was like you have this personality that does it. You need to hear that match, that.

Kinetra:

Boom, yeah you so versatile. Do you remember the first time you realized your hair was being judged by others or outside of yourself? You know, do you ever? Do you remember that?

Nia:

Yeah, definitely others or outside of yourself, you know, do you ever? Do you remember that? Yeah, definitely. Um, we talked about it in the last episode, um, when my aunt made a comment about my hair being looking like a bird. This because it was just a big fro. She's like you can't go at me looking nowhere with your head looking like a bird that you didn't put up in a ponytail or something that's interesting to me because they grew up in the fro era, so whenever they don't celebrate, it's really interesting.

Kinetra:

I'm like this is nothing new for you, it's new for me, you know.

Nia:

Yeah and she has locks. But I think like her perspective on it has also changed. Like I mean, how old maybe she will? She had to be like in her 30s or something like that.

Kinetra:

So you know, like, what does she say about your hair now?

Nia:

uh, we don't talk about my hair much good, um, no, when we said we talk about other things, hair is the last thing on the menu now. Um, occasionally I may, you know, bring up something about her locks, because they used to be so long and she started them herself. Oh wow, an amazing job with them. And um, she's just like they're just heavy so she ended up cutting them off. But yeah, we don't really. We don't really discuss hair. The only person I in my family that I discuss her with is my daddy.

Kinetra:

Oh, lord, is that his sister? Oh, it's your mom. Miss my mom. She had texture like your mom. No, oh, oh, wow, no. So hers was more curly, more kinky, more.

Nia:

I don't know.

Kinetra:

Because she always had locks.

Nia:

My entire life, yes, every baby picture of her holding me. She's had them, so I have no clue what her is, but you know, even like her little baby hair in the back, it's not as tight as mine. Okay so, yeah, so, no baby hair in the back.

Kinetra:

Yeah, it's not, it's not as tight as mine, okay, so, um, yeah, so, no, okay. And so you and your dad, y'all do have hair conversations. We do have, like how, like tell me some conversations that you and daddy have my, my bald-headed daddy.

Nia:

Yes, so he will be like what we doing to my hair, like he said he claims ownership. And he was just like what we doing to my hair, like he claims ownership. And he was just like, yeah, that's the way my hair used to be, yeah.

Kinetra:

And he always your hair. In reference to his hair, he's saying your hair is his hair, gotcha.

Nia:

Maybe this hair on my head belonged to that man. According to my daddy, you got the same type of hair. He was like then do you blow it out and make it a fro? Oh, I used to think that was so pretty. He would always say when he was younger he would do that. So he would tell me how he used to style. He said because he bald now. I do remember you saying this about your dad, yes. So he's very, he's very much so. Yeah, anytime, I do this, what we doing to it today?

Kinetra:

Yeah, I don't know. It's good that you did have a family member there constantly reassuring you, especially as a dad. Yes, you know. Yeah, to let you know, like your hair is good hair, it is acceptable hair. I do want to ask you a question what do you define as bad hair?

Nia:

Like somebody has bad hair, I don't, you don't't, even if it's unhealthy that's just what it is unhealthy okay yeah, like um, I think we need to stop putting our hair in boxes period good versus bad.

Kinetra:

There's unhealthy and there's healthy hair period. That's the end of the conversation.

Nia:

It's the end of the sentence. I love that. Um, we like legit, need to just stop doing that because, uh, it's, it's anti-black, that's, that's all I can say. It's anti-black in a sense. Um, we have to be mindful that our words do carry weight and that people can't internalize that and um and so forth. So, you know, there's nothing wrong with somebody getting creamy crack, aka a relaxer, or anything like that, or doing, you know doing, different styling methods, but one person's natural state isn't better than the next, that's right, amen.

Kinetra:

So, young girl, have you ever felt like your shrinkage made people underestimate the beauty, versatility or health of your hair? Oh, absolutely yeah, let's talk about it.

Nia:

Oh my gosh, I recently had one of my sister-in-laws ask me. She's like, well, has your hair ever been long? And I was like I looked at her. Maybe I'll take my glasses off.

Kinetra:

I looked at her like this Take them glasses off, mm-hmm.

Nia:

And I was like what do you mean? She was like well, I've always seen your hair short and I was like babe, shrinkage okay.

Kinetra:

Shrinkage and also you cut your hair a lot.

Nia:

I do.

Kinetra:

You have not even ever given your hair an opportunity to even reach a quote-unquote certain length. You cut it a lot, lot actually. Well, I guess like what people would consider long. You know, like that, that conversation we was having earlier, you know what I feel like. Well, from what I've known from you. You know, I've always seen it. You know, uh, you know you went through the. You got a pixie when you relaxed it, but it was.

Nia:

But believe me you, it was actually quite. It was like hitting like right here, yeah, when I relaxed it. So still around that, that length you know, yeah, so, um, but in a natural state, like regardless, I kid you not, the longer my hair gets, it's just going to look thicker, but it's going to be this length in its natural state. Yeah and.

Nia:

I'm okay with it, like I finally I finally come to terms with that and that's great. But I have a video that at some point I think I may edit and post. I have no idea, but I shot it and I did a review video of the Revlon blow dryer brush thing. I don't know what it was, but anyway, my hair was just out to here and I was just like you need to do it so she can see it.

Nia:

Yeah, no, I showed her that video and I was just like you need to do it so she can see it. Yeah, no, I showed her that video and I was like so long, long wear, I mean short wear. Yeah, I was just like, no, my hair.

Kinetra:

How did that conversation even get brought up, girl, let's, let's not, let's not, let's not. Look at me being nosy and being curious. We can talk about this off camera. Okay, I'm talking about that off camera. Okay, got you All right, let's move on. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Have you ever posted a photo where you felt beautiful and confident in your tighter texture and it didn't get the same love as when you do post your videos wearing your wigs and units?

Nia:

Um, I was about to lie and say all the time. But that's not true. That's not true at all, because post-Pixie, I did a few videos on Instagram and people were like, oh my God, I love your hair and like this was like me putting gel in it and I actually it was way shorter than this and so I kind of sponged it to, kind of like help with the curl, yeah. And people was like, oh, like I absolutely love this. Um, I love this a lot, like this is so cute, and I'm just like, yeah, crazy enough, this is how it was before I went pixie. Oh, y'all ain't shown no love then, but I, right now, I wonder what that was.

Kinetra:

Do you have a different audience? Do you think you've gained more followers? And you know, maybe you are attracting that audience? This is on facebook and instagram. Well, you know, maybe you are attracting that audience. Is this on?

Nia:

Facebook or Instagram, both, you know they go on both. Okay, but so it's comments on both. However, I think it's the video quality because oh, the video quality yeah, so I was going to say so. Facebook has let me know that they're pushing my videos out more because I have better quality videos now.

Kinetra:

Good so that could be.

Nia:

You know that could play a part. I mean, there are people that follow me. You know, people that see me, that engage with me, interact with me online and in person.

Kinetra:

Okay, All right.

Nia:

So we don't know, shan, I don't know.

Kinetra:

Yeah. So, you know, because your units do look really good, yeah, make them, girl, they look really good. Yeah, make them, girl, they look really good. So that's why I had to stick that question in there. I was curious to know, like, um, because I like your hair in its natural state and I also do, like, how you, you know, build and create your unit. So I was like I have to ask her this because, yeah, I don't know. You know, yeah, girl. And then also just to see where people's minds are when it comes to natural hair opposing, opposed to wearing hair extensions. I want to know, like what your audience, you know, what are they gravitating to more like? Is it your hair or is it it or is it the units?

Nia:

I think it's, it's, it's a double-edged sword. There is one unit in particular my little short wave bob yes, yes, indeed, I already knew yes, yeah, she gets a lot of love online. People are always like where did you get it? I'm like I made it.

Kinetra:

I made it.

Nia:

I have a little peanut head courtesy of my daddy, and none of the wigs in the industry fit my head Like never, so one. I went and took some lessons on how to make wigs. But I also have clients who struggle with alopecia, so when they sit in my chair so I'm like we can I also offer. There's a service for the clients that have alopecia that want something that they can throw on, because they also have had. They don't want to do all the glue and the adhesive.

Nia:

So we construct and I say we, we, I'm speaking in existence, y'all I haven't seen one day. No, yeah, I'll construct the the um, the glueless wigs or whatever, but, yeah, that bob. And then when I have my natural hair, so between the bob and the natural hair, but I also think, like as a makeup artist or as a beauty artist as a whole, I think through the entire look, um, I I mean, I could probably most likely pull off a full face of glam and natural hair. But I don't like a full face of glam. When I wear my natural, I like for it to be softer, um, and to really capture, like my legit natural beauty versus like a full face. So when I'm going full face this one, I'm gonna throw izy on. That's her name. No, baby, I just put it in there. I'm going to just throw Suzy on, you know.

Nia:

I think that it does kind of help balance out the look, because I don't want anything to look Like when my face, when it's just bare, I don't want it to look too harsh. Now I could do a full face of makeup with a taper fade and because it's all about the angles, right, like it's all about the angles and like how the edge up looks. Whatever Design like it, all it goes. It just is very seamless, but my hair is like, it's like fun and flirty and that's how I want to be. I want the whole look to look so Okay, all right.

Kinetra:

Yeah, y'all right. Yeah, so we're shifting over to the conversation, over to social media. Oh, let's talk about this. Do you think the natural hair movement has helped us heal from texturism at all, or do you think it did otherwise?

Nia:

um, I think it depends on your algorithm. I think it depends on your algorithm. I think it depends on who you're following, because social media is such a huge platform. I mean, I love ig because it's like I built it brick by brick, so I know what I'm like when I get on. What I'm going to see. Um tiktok, however, is a safari child. It is, and um and you, you end up like on the wrong side of tiktok and you may be hearing the wrong type of messaging about your hair um, there isn't, honestly I, because I don't really tick or talk that often, I barely post over there.

Nia:

So, uh, is there a reason why I just I've it's never grown on me, that's just never been the. The app that was is yeah, what about YouTube? Uh, I'm, I don't scroll, I no, I ain't gonna let you know like every blue moon youtube. It's never been that big of a thing for me.

Kinetra:

Um well, opposed to posting and scrolling?

Nia:

I guess no okay, I need to get on youtube more like that's like that's a goal I highly recommend.

Kinetra:

Um, it's so easy to get subscribers. I just go live and I may at least get 16 subscribers every time I go live and I'm only there for like an hour.

Kinetra:

That's yeah, and I'm actually thinking about like leaving Instagram and TikTok alone and then focus on on YouTube, because it's so global it is it is, it is, it is and with you doing makeup and you could just go live while just doing the makeup and it also just I don't feel like the people I know are just watching me that part, so I'm going to do a shameless plug, but I'm actually in the works of curating a show for YouTube when I like on my.

Nia:

YouTube channel. Um, so yeah, I'm in the works of some stuff to actually address what beauty is like in in our community and how people view it. Um, you know, and so I'm excited excited me too.

Kinetra:

Make sure you keep me, you know, I will I definitely informed. Yes, ma'am, yeah, because I would love to follow a show like this.

Nia:

Yes, yes yes, yeah, I'm super excited you know to have those conversations. We may have you a guest there.

Kinetra:

Yeah, I would love to be a guest. You would be sitting in my chair. Okay, that's fine. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so it's like interview.

Nia:

Oh, I like that, yeah, and just you know, discuss, talk, all the things, and so, because I've just heard a lot with my clients as a whole and I was like, oh, there needs to be something. So that way we can shift a lot of the narratives and have the conversations and I'm able to pour into the women, that which I want to and like reach, the type of women that I want to reach. So yeah.

Kinetra:

I love this. This is like a self-confidence, you know, also from within too, because those conversations that you have, you go beyond the surface Even though you're working on the surface. You're going to go beyond the surface and reach those women in so many different ways. Yeah, absolutely, and we need that. So, yeah, yeah, that's good. Do you have a name for the show yet? If you do, don't say it. Good, thank you. Do you have a name for the show yet? If you do, don't say it. I'm just curious, do?

Nia:

you have a name.

Kinetra:

Maybe, okay, okay, I'm just saying don't say it right now, because I do believe in keeping something, oh, absolutely, absolutely To yourself yeah. A thousand percent there, and I want you to say it, and then you haven't launched it. And somebody else, somebody else do it and then yeah, so don't say it. I just wanted to know yes or no yeah, yeah, yeah, I have a name.

Nia:

However it may, it may change okay, so being flexible with it yeah, yeah, no, let the lord lead me girl whoo.

Kinetra:

No, seriously, you have to. You know, you think you have it all figured out, you think you got it all laid out in the way that it need to go and flow exactly, and then it happens and you're like this is not the direction I thought it was taken. You gotta lead with god. You have to thousand thousand percent have you noticed that some some textures are still missing from the hair inspo pictures on social media?

Nia:

Oh, absolutely, we're still. Okay, let me, let's get, I have a whole soapbox about this, because there are a lot of people that are on social media that are claiming to have 4C hair. Like literally, they will say type 4 or 4C hair and it's not. And that is misleading. That is is extremely misleading. I don't feel there are a few um influencers, but the ones that I see they're not. They're non-american, do you? Oh, they're not american. So, like this one, I follow she. What about ethnicity?

Kinetra:

and well they average. You know you can be another ethnicity and still have that kinky textured hair.

Nia:

Yeah, yeah, but no, I haven't seen. Oh okay, I haven't seen it. Why do you?

Kinetra:

think they want to categorize themselves as 4C. That's a great question, especially when it's not the most celebrated texture.

Nia:

I have no idea. So in the back of my mind I'm like, either you have a lot of heat damage on your hair, but even like the way their hair just weighs back up and I'm just like even as a 4C it wouldn't look like that, it's a certain look you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think too, that the curl chart, it's just, it should have never happened.

Kinetra:

They should have never happened. It's not even real. You know, we only classified, as you know, based on the texture, which is not 4c, you know, it's just relatable, like you know, like, even when you say 4c, it's okay to say 4c, because people know it yeah people are just listening, they know that.

Kinetra:

The idea of what that looks like, you know. But I wish that, um, it's a way that we could get rid of that curl chart, curl pattern chart and get down to if it's coily, curly, wavy, straight, high density, low density, medium density, high porosity, low and medium porosity, and then that's when we're gonna really learn who fits into what and also how to even take care of your hair.

Nia:

Yeah, you know, yeah a thousand percent because, again, as someone who has coily high density, fine hair, it's not the same, and see you know this.

Kinetra:

Yes, like you know and you know, and I think, like, even whenever you do start, if you ever start talking about your hair, make sure you start.

Nia:

Yeah I want in that language.

Kinetra:

Yeah, I desire to, because I think that's another reason why these people may think that they are quote-unquote 4c, because they don't, I don't know, I don't want to hear the channel, so let's talk about that. You know them categorizing themselves as 4c and they're not in, you know, and all the things that come with it. I ask you, why do you think they want to be categorized as 4C?

Nia:

I think that it's just a buzzword.

Kinetra:

Like a clout chase. Yeah, to get views.

Nia:

Yeah, I a thousand percent think it's kind of like well, see, any feel, any type situation or whatever, and it's just a buzzword and people are just using it as a marketing tactic and so forth, because when I look at it I've just been like, nope, me too I've seen it I've seen it, yeah and and so I had a few, like a few followers. Now, can I, can I name? Can I drop a name?

Nia:

please, okay, yeah, so jackie, aina, I love me some jackie um jackie. Is it lavish life jackie? No, maybe is that on youtube. That might be what it is. How does she? Oh, this is on youtube. I know I don't know she's on youtube instagram um.

Kinetra:

Do she wear her?

Nia:

hair like colored, is it blonde?

Kinetra:

yes, and she has like a perfume line yep, yep, she is lavish, that's lavish, jackie. Lavishly, jackie, she is the bomb. Okay, yes, yes.

Nia:

So Jackie Aina has type four hair and, like she's to me, has the closest curl pattern to mine. But she's also colored. That's why I said the closest, because she does have color and it's possible that she could be right on the money if she didn't have color. But um, she's also, you know, used to be a licensed cosmetologist so she, you know, also understands hair type and all that. So I love when she does her like curl hair refresh. I'm just like this is real, like I can see her. You know she doesn't even typecast her, her, essentially she doesn't, like you know, but she talks about it. She talks about it and I believe she's also high density. I think she's. I think she may have mentioned it was type 4, but just how she cares for it and just like that's the closest that I've seen, it's definitely high density yeah, it's gorgeous.

Kinetra:

you know it's high density Because when she stretched it I'm like it has some length. Yeah, it was gorgeous.

Nia:

Yeah, and I just wish there was more content, not necessarily from her, but just on, and maybe I just haven't found them, maybe I don't know who I'm looking for, but there's a few people that I've come across on TikTok, but not so much on Instagram. I think there was one girl I found on instagram and like baby, when I talk about shrinkage, baby, she got some shrink it's, it's yeah, it's like pull, pull, pull, pull, yeah, um, yeah. So I just think a lot of people use it as a buzzword versus like actually, or it could be that they're, they just don't know. You know, it could be a lack of um knowledge, so that's kind of where it's like well, my hair don't look like this, so it's got to be this do you ever check the comments?

Kinetra:

and people also say like your hair is not 4c um, or you don't go to the comments. I love going to the comments.

Nia:

I love to see what people have to say it really depends, because sometimes I I'm very intentional of like I may want to check the comments but sometimes, like in comment, I kind of want to comment but at the same time, like, oh, y'all be wanting to tell us on the comments and I'm trying to build a brand. Not trying to, I am building a brand and you know, I do know that I have the right to put my foot down as somebody who is in the type four hair community and who does understand it. But it's like, but do I want to tussle?

Kinetra:

in these comments. No, it's not, because it's endless and some people they are on there to tussle exactly. They're not on there to gain an understanding and share a different perspective at all. They're there, that's their mission. Honey, I ain't got time, okay. Do you think social media has helped or hurt when it comes to how we value hair length in the black community?

Nia:

That's a double edged sword. I think that it shines a light on the problems that we have within our hair community. Okay, I like that. So it can be, which can be helpful and hurtful if you're not careful, right, yeah, so again, social media is this vast platform. You have the world at your fingertips but, um, the language, the, how we celebrate or demonize stuff on social media can be extremely hurtful.

Nia:

However, educational, like this podcast that's up on social media, other platform, other people who are doing very similar work to deconstruct the way we view texturism and so forth, is extremely helpful, because I want my daughter to be able to come back and find this episode and be like my mommy was talking about this 10, 12, you know whatever, how many years ago, and you know, and she can see why I value her hair texture in the way that it is. I mean it may be like mine, it may be like her dad's, it may be like, you know, genetics, baby, they can pull from way back, absolutely back, back back. They sure can. Yeah, um, so, yeah, I just, I just I think that it just shines the light on the problem and I feel like, as a people, we have to be willing to do the work.

Kinetra:

I love that answer, I really do. I. I agree with you there. When, even when you said a double-edged sword, you know, um, it's very eye-opening, yeah, you know, and it's making us, uh, more aware of how we do internalize, you know, our views and perceptions on our hair, you know, if anything, it definitely did, you know whether unhealthy or healthy. You know it's it really exposed it yeah, yeah yep. How do you personally define beauty for your hair today, and how does that differ from how you used to view it?

Nia:

I think my hair is the most darling thing. Like I'll be telling my I'll be like man, my hair is so pretty. Like my hair is just so beautiful. Like the fact that I can say that and like feel it in my bones, versus back in the day where you like you try to convince yourself or something like me personally, I would try to, but be so frustrated and feel so defeated and like not understanding my hair type and how to work with my hair type and just be like you know, know, this is a buzz Like what is it? The fact that I have the versatility and I also have choice, I think has really helped. Like I have the choice if I want to be natural or if I don't want to be natural, if I want braids, if I don't want braids. The freedom yes, I love that the freedom, and I, I love that the freedom, and I think that there is beauty in freedom.

Nia:

And with that. It's just like you know, like I get to wear my hair and you know and love the way it looks in its entirety, Curly or not, defined or not.

Kinetra:

You know like I get to wear it and love the way it looks in its entirety. Do you still feel that way, even when you think about the little girl that, I guess, made you, um, go back and revisit the mirror? Like you know what, I don't know if I like my hair anymore, even today, like, do you still feel like you love your hair opposed to back then?

Nia:

absolutely good, absolutely. I think my natural journey has brought me back to where I was when I lived it. Like I feel, like I'm full circle. We've we've made a full circle moment. Now it's just like all right, cool. Are you grateful for the experience? Yes, yes, um, because without it I would be ignorant to my hair type, to um the beauty of my hair, to the caring and loving of my hair, and I'm in a space where I'm not like, where I was celebrated, where I cherish it and so forth.

Kinetra:

And it's good to have the experience of having to reflect, you know, even if you didn't have the experience of seeing her, you know being able to say, like her hair is beautiful, but mine is too there, you go, yeah, but I still like that you actually had to go through that, because it makes you love yourself even deeper, you know. So it's good that you actually went through it yeah, you learn to love different things about your hair.

Kinetra:

It don't. It don't have to look like hers in order to be beautiful, and I don't need your external compliments to know that my hair is beautiful as long as I know it's beautiful.

Nia:

It is beautiful At the end of the day yeah, At the end of the day, it defies gravity and it looks like a plant girl. It looks like a little bush.

Kinetra:

It's like a tree, literally. Okay, and remember, God made those Exactly. What would you say to someone?

Nia:

who's learning to love their high-density coily crown but still feels like it's only valid when it's stretched or long.

Nia:

Oh, be patient, you know, if they are high density and quote, kinky quote like me, we, uh, the beauty industry, what we see, what we see, even not just like when we see, like, um, hair care products and so forth, like we don't really see our hair type, right, it's not that often and that's okay.

Nia:

That's okay, we're just gonna build our own table, but please be patient in the journey and, uh, if you need to like write a love letter to your hair or just like reframe the way you view taking care of your hair, that was a big thing for me because, you know, typically you hear, oh, wash days, it's a chore. But you know, like, you hear that you're internalizing that and honestly, let's be honest, don't nobody willingly want to wash dishes, but you have to, you know, unless you're gonna have a dirty kitchen, right? So if we use language like it's a chore, it's a task, it's like you're, you're saying to your hair like you too much trouble, I have to do it. Yeah, because you know I don't want to be looking motley but you too much trouble, instead of embracing it as a part of who you are in your god-given design at the end of the day, be patient.

Nia:

We rework the framework and the language that you use around your hair. That's what I would say to someone that was dealing with it tell it, tell you, like, like. It's beautiful. But just, you also have to figure out what products work for you. That is a huge part too, because not every products are not one size fit all they're not.

Kinetra:

I'm glad you mentioned that they're not. I don't care whose product it can be, beyonce product, even though it's being promoted as a one size fits fits all.

Nia:

It's not, it's impossible yeah, there's a lot of things that go into it, so find one word like take the time to find out what works for you and be patient. Yeah, and just change the language.

Kinetra:

Change the language. Girl. You took us to church with that little quick sermon. All right, no, seriously, because that's what we all need to hear. You know, when it comes to our hair, yeah, or anyone that's in that transitioning phase of trying to learn how to receive it in a healthy way. And I love the comparison that you made about the dishes. We don't like to do it, it's gonna get done. Yeah, you know, like, just do it, you know, and the more you do it, the more easier it. Do get you know, and over time you will learn to adjust that mind frame and it won't be such a quote-unquote task. But, like you said, you have to reword how you speak to it. Yeah, yeah.

Nia:

Yeah, you do. You want to know who I think does a really good job. I like Tabitha how she named her.

Kinetra:

Oh, Tabitha is.

Nia:

Love her. How she named her fro like. Donna and I just be like you know, maybe give your hair a name and treat it as your best friend. Yeah, because baby she take real good care of Donna. She do. She do it as your best friend? Yes, because baby she take real good care of donna.

Kinetra:

She do, she do.

Nia:

I love that yeah caradonna, and I think, I think that's beautiful.

Kinetra:

I I have yet to name my hair, but uh, you should, and that's gonna grow the connection even more. You're already there, yeah, and it's gonna make y'all tighter, you, the relationship can always get better, absolutely you know, absolutely, absolutely, because it ain't going nowhere, it's not going to change, it's theirs exactly for sure.

Kinetra:

Yeah, well, that's all I have for you today. I want to thank you again for blessing us with your presence a second time. I'm sure I'll have you on here again another time because I really enjoy um our conversations and I love how you really get into it. You know, you do you put your all literally to everything you do, so thank you.

Nia:

I really appreciate it. I just do my best.

Kinetra:

Yeah, and you do. You do a great job at it, honey. Thank you, You're welcome. Thank you. If you've ever questioned whether your texture was beautiful enough, professional enough or feminine enough, please hear me when I say your hair has never been the problem. The problem has always been the people around you that told you it had to look like something else to matter. But here's the truth Short, coily, dense, fine, high shrinkage hair is beautiful. It is sacred, it is enough. Thank you for listening to hear what I'm saying. If this episode resonated with you, share with someone who needs to hear it. Please like, share and subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date with the latest updates. Want to add more to this conversation? Join us on Patreon. As a member, you'll get access to exclusive bonus episodes behind the scenes content, limited ebooks, early access and a community that's all about healing, growth and real talk. Tap the link in the show notes. We'll see you there.

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