| Natural hair video community: Help or hindrance? |
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| Healthy Hair | ||||
| Wednesday, 08 September 2010 00:00 | ||||
Many hair-nistas turn to YouTube for style inspiration (Photo credit: iStockphoto).
Pros urge consumers to investigate advice thoroughlyBy Nichole Nichols, My Salon Scoop writerGetting married and going natural usually aren't done at the same time. But Tauri Laws, 30, made it work when she surfed YouTube hair tutorials looking for "the" style for her big day a year ago. She found the style, and also found the second love of her life: Kinky Curly Custard.
"I went through every Kinky Curly review I could find online and figured out what works with it and what doesn't work with it through watching videos" says the Dallas native.
Alexis Felder, 25, knows just how Laws felt. Having been familiar with the online hair community through YouTube, Felder had found solid advice, style tips, and product reviews; however, she had not found natural hair tutorial videos that discussed her particular curl pattern. So, the Atlanta native created the YouTube channel LexiWithTheCurls.
"I hope women are inspired to go and stay natural. I have people come up to me in various cities thanking me for helping them on their transition," Felder says. "I love being an inspiration to women who are in transition because that is the toughest time during the natural process."
Proceed with Caution 
Laws saught help from YouTube hair gurus when transitioning to natural.
"We have people who come in and say that they did their research online," says Sunny Osei, a natural hair stylist and owner of Eclipse Salon in Greensboro, N.C. "Not taking anything away from anyone who already has something there, but especially with natural hair, a lot of states don't really have a way for you to know who knows what they are doing. So a lot of times...we have to fix what has already been done."
The 15-year veteran, who specializes in both loose natural hair and locs, watched one of Felder's videos where she demonstrated a twist set using shea butter. Although the style turned out beautifully, Osei says shea butter is very heavy and better suited for skin.
"Sometimes shea butter tends to be a little heavy for some hair types; however, I don't tell people what to use and what not to use on their hair because everything doesn't work for everybody," Osei says recommending that women use a clarifying shampoo to minimize the shea butter buildup.
Watch Out for Hair Myths Kari Williams, trichologist and owner of Mahogany Hair Revolution salon in Los Angeles, Calif. agrees with Osei, adding that sometimes the video creators unknowingly promote long-standing cultural hair myths.
"Trimming our hair has no effect on the growth of our hair," says Williams of one of several myths video creators sometimes promote. This myth states that constant trimming will make hair grow. "The growth of our hair is internal. It's all about what happens beneath the epidermis or the top layer of skin before it reaches the hair follicles."
Williams says trimming the hair became popular when African American women started straightening their hair. The heat styling process often damages the hair causing the ends to split; thus, the need for trimming. Another reason stylists encourage clients to keep their ends clipped is because straightened hair allows stylists to see the varying hair lengths. Trimming the ends helps stylists give their clients "a more structured neat style."
Though both Osei and Williams caution consumers about completely following the advice found on YouTube hair tutorials, Williams says she believes that with the right precautions, the online hair community is a positive step toward black women becoming more comfortable with their own natural beauty.
"I think it's great that women, especially women of color, are finding all sorts of ways to wear their hair and embrace their natural hair pattern," Williams says. "You can wear these different styles (found on the YouTube tutorials) in corporate or formal arenas. I'm loving...the evolution..."
Research First 
Alexis Felder has gotten more than 40,000 views on her YouTube videos.
"Honestly, I've come across so many stylists who don't know what they are talking about when it comes to natural hair because a lot of them are relaxed or they wear weaves all the time," she shares. "It's rare to come across a stylist who understands natural hair and understands not to comb from the root, but to comb from the bottom up. You would think that was common sense, but it's not. I kind of use my own judgment because it is really hard."
Osei understands Felder's concern. She knows there are many people who start out doing their own hair and perhaps their relatives' hair for fun. But pretty soon fun turns into a full-time job that includes fees. Unfortunately, many consumers can't tell the difference between someone who is really talented with their own hair, and someone who has been professionally trained. However, Osei believes that finding a good natural hair stylist is just a great reputation away.
"I would encourage people to...get the opinion of a trusted professional," Osei says. "Someone in their community that has a great reputation with natural hair care—ask that person's opinion."
Felder also says that she definitely refrains from taking advice from YouTube creators when it comes to chemicals or cutting.
"I know whenever I talk about color I say to go to a professional. Not that a professional is going to do a perfect job, but at least with a professional if something is wrong then they can fix it," says Felder, who acknowledges that taking advice from anyone who is not familiar with your particular hair type is a risk.
"Really, don't take (YouTube) too seriously," she urges. "Just do what you are interested in doing. No matter if it's a stylist telling you, or someone on YouTube, or a friend-just always research first."
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to vote for it in our Anniversary Giveaway and win beauty products from Lamik Beauty. Contest ends April 29.
Nichole Nichols is a freelance writer who has written previously for MySalonScoop.com as well as Pink Magazine. Check out her blog, Reasons and Roses. She is based in Greensboro, N.C.
Copyright 2010 © My Salon Scoop, LLC Comments (1)
  written by Thomas E. Sherburne, March 11, 2011
More please, this information helped me consider a few more things, keep up the good work
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