It’s been over a decade since the golden era of natural hair YouTube came about. Natural hair OGs like Whitney White, Jaelen Mitchell, Joyja Estrada, and of course Jackie Aina helped to usher in a brand new class of naturals seeking to reconcile their relationships with their coils. With the audience largely consisting of high school or college-aged girls embarking on paths of self-discovery, we, in many ways, grew up together through the online community.
Many women and girls approached the movement at vastly different stages. Some slowly transitioned out of their chemically relaxed eras—getting gradual trims until all the damage was gone. Others opted for the big chop, which requires cutting off all the straight or damaged hair, often leaving behind a TWA. Overall, it’s undeniable that the big chop boom jump started countless natural hair journeys and challenged Black women to work through the socially-conditioned attachments we’ve had to striving for “long hair” over healthy hair.
One late night decision to chop all my relaxed hair off, a YouTube upload, and several million views later, I found myself catapulted to the epicenter of the big chop community. Overnight, I received an influx of messages, from natural and transitioning beauties across the world, about natural hair advice.
While I never committed to the content creator path, I had hundreds of people reach out to me for years to come to share their stories, ask for product recommendations, and connect over the mutual experience of learning how to embrace our hair. I embarked on what was one of the most enjoyable, transformative, and regret-free beauty journeys of my life. While overwhelming at times, the global bond we shared pointed to the importance of the movement, the online space it cultivated, and demand for representation.
Though I loved my decision to big chop, my routine, like so many others’, felt like an uphill battle as my curls began to grow. I have been told by every stylist and dorm room braider that I have well over the average amount of density, and for many, the most hair they’ve ever experienced in their careers. This is by no means a brag, as my density and texture caused quite the frustration and disappointment in my hair journey.
While the glory days of natural hair YouTube were filled with helpful tips, affirmations, and creative tutorials, they were also rife with click-bait videos of naturals hoping for virality. Several began labeling their videos as “thick” and “dense” when they were anything but. In reality, I found their hair to be less-than-thick type 3 hair teased and fluffed to the gods or naturally ultra-voluminous. This left an exhausted young natural like myself defeated after my hair didn’t turn out like the “super thick type 4 natural hair” tutorials I earnestly typed into the search bar to find.
Prompted by my struggles to understand my hair and the rarity in finding tutorials that matched both my texture and density, I rotated between a puff, protective styles, or braid outs. This is not to say that there were no naturals with my curl type and texture by any means, but many of them could achieve styles in a fraction of the time, or configure their hair in certain ways I could not achieve, especially in the early days of learning how to care for my hair. The algorithm, mislabeled videos, and desire to have a certain type of curl shaped unrealistic expectations. It took a year or two to realize that my hair would need its own unique approach—and acceptance on my end of its natural state.
Nevertheless, there were thousands of naturals who did find their curl-twins online and learned how to care for their hair purely by online videos and trial and error. Natural hair content creators situated along the curl spectrum, such as Bianca Renee and Fola Amudipe, helped countless naturals to see what was possible with our textures and how versatile they can all be. Rooted in hair health and acceptance, Youtube pages like Bianca (Bianca Renee Today) and Fola’s (Folahontas) provided a wealth of accessible knowledge.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, many Black women, with more time at home, took to educating themselves further on caring for natural hair. Curly hair specialists such as @Iamblackgirlcurls gained larger visibility and naturals reckoned with the shocking information that raw oils and butters were in fact hindering their styling efforts. Proper routines, products, and overall care showed naturals with even the tightest coils that they too could have ultra-defined Wash N Gos and it didn’t take an entire day and half your bathroom shelf to achieve it.
On the other hand, obsessing over the most defined coils has prompted some Black women to wonder if we’ve strayed from the intended purpose of the original natural hair movement from the 1970s, which encouraged women to love their hair even without heavy manipulation. They also accurately point to the stark difference in acceptance between looser curls, and any curl patterns that are 3B and tighter.
One glance at the dominant hair types that fill most curly hair commercials and panels to this day—one can understand why initiatives such as ESSENCE’s 4C Files were created to celebrate kinkier textures. For this reason, successful, kinky-haired content creators such as Fola felt rare and important. Fola continues to show coily-haired girls how beautiful and versatile their hair can be and how to embrace their texture through any of the forms it takes, defined or not. Her ingenuity has led to positive contributions to the argument that braids and natural ‘dos can be considered formal hairstyles.
On that note, we spoke with Fola Amudipe and Biance Renee—two natural hair influencers with different journeys and hair types— about their experiences within the natural hair community and where they’re at today.
What impact do you think the big chop wave had on the natural hair community?
Bianca: The Big Chop wave was CRUCIAL for the natural hair community. Holding on to dead, damaged ends is so much more than a “length thing.” It really shows a person’s insecurity and/or attachment to a social construct that length equals beauty. We have to be able to let go and start over, and the more people that did it, the more it became accepted in the community.
Fola: I think big chopping has taught naturals that it’s okay to start over. Things will grow back bigger, better, and even more beautifully if you allow yourself to detach from what’s holding you back. It’s really a sound life lesson you can apply to anything.
How did you feel in the first few months after your big chop?
Bianca: The first few months were definitely an adjustment. As a content creator I was able to change my perspective and think of it as an opportunity to help and join people on their hair growth journey. Different hairstyles were pretty limited but detangling and my morning routine was a lot quicker.
Fola: Honestly, I felt a sense of nakedness at first, but eventually it was really freeing. It was my first year in college, away from my strict immigrant parents, fresh out of a lil highschool fling, and venturing off into a new [environment] so it felt like a new beginning for me in a lot of ways. I felt like I was in a huge re-learning phase of my life, but I had more autonomy over my body and decisions too.
Were you a big follower or participant in the natural hair movement on YouTube?
Bianca: I definitely consider myself to be a huge part of the natural hair movement on Youtube since I dedicated my channel to natural hair tutorials for over 11 years now. It became my passion and goal to help as many people as possible to change the negative stigma that “only straight hair was beautiful, professional or accepted.”
Fola: I actively watched Natural Hair Youtubers from about 2011-2016, right at the beginning and height of the natural hair movement. I was really invested in learning to grow my hair to its longest length and I ended up falling in love with the healthy hair practices that became like a ritual. I’m still very much an active participant in the natural hair community. I went from consuming to now creating the content I would like to see from tight-coiled naturals. I champion others to embrace and love on their hair in all its forms, styles, and lengths.
What observations do you have about the curl community from that time?
Bianca: At one point in time it seemed to be a very well received space. People became excited to try new products and find what truly worked for them. One naturalist would inspire another sharing tips and tricks so that we all could thrive. On the flip side, there also came a point in time where things became too strict and people started to judge others for not following the “curly hair rules.” It added an unnecessary stress to new naturals that eventually made some people give up on their journey. I do believe there are better practices and ingredients to use on our hair but at the end of the day, if something works for a particular person, it really doesn’t matter what other people think you “should” do.
Fola: Honestly, it felt like a big family trying to all figure out this journey of defying social norms, ideas of assimilation, and revolutionizing what Black hair looked like in its most natural form
What impact do you think the popularity of Wash N Gos has had on the natural hair community?
Fola: I believe the impact of Wash N Gos has allowed people in the natural hair community to see their true curl patterns and love it for what it is. I think early on in people’s hair journey, if they’re unfamiliar with their curl pattern, they tend to admire and want a curl pattern that isn’t their own. It can be really harmful especially to younger folks who internalize what curl pattern they deem as “beautiful”. However, I think Wash N Gos really make people face what their hair truly looks like in the best way.
Do you feel embraced and represented in the 2010s-and-beyond natural hair movement?
Fola: I think we’ve done better over time since the 2010s to have representation in these spaces. Look at the rise and influx of Black-owned hair care brands that showcase us in their marketing materials. It’s beautiful to see. However, I think there is definitely way more room for improvement across the board with all brands to showcase tight-coiled textures. A LOT MORE!
If you had to start all over, would you?
Bianca: I absolutely would. due to the sweet messages I receive daily from people telling me that I have “saved their hair” [or] inspired them to start.
Fola: With what I know now, yes absolutely.
