My Voice, My Truth : Youtube University, Raw Ingredient Haircare, Curl Definition, & Privilege

Hi, i'm fo, i decided to film a get ready with me. I think i want to talk about, and this is the covergirl clean matte and i put i'll put everything down in the description now. So something that has been on my heart and that is concerning to me is um. I want people to realize that i'm full, like i'm faux my perspectives when it comes to hair care, are my well-researched perspectives um. They come from me being natural for a very long time. The majority of my life, i've been natural. They come from the ups and downs and my natural hair care experiences and they come from me working in a beauty store where i gave hair care consultations. I worked in a beauty store where i gave haircare consultations for nearly two years. Now, i'm not saying that this puts me on the same level as say: um, a hair stylist. No, it doesn't i. I wasn't actually touching hair um, but i still, i still helped a lot of people to the point where some people would come in and they would ask for me by name like people of different races were coming into the store saying you know. I want foe to help me with my consultation or phil help me do this or you know, so that's where a lot of my perspective comes from, and my perspective also comes from what i learned from hair professionals. So this is what all mixed up the base of my understanding when it comes to hair care and every single day. Even when i'm supposed to be doing class work, i'm i'm typically trying to learn something new about hair care, whether it's from a theoretical perspective like thinking about you, know like social implications of different things or whether it's from a more technical perspective um. But this is what makes up my framework when it comes to my understanding of hair care. So with that being said, i want people to know that when i share my opinions on whatever different hair care practices and things like that, that's fun! That'S! Well! I'M not saying things because some stylists said xyz, i'm not saying things, because i'm just picking up from some other education from somebody else and just regurgitating it. No, i say things from my rich understanding of hair care right. So you know i was talking to my mom and she just told me it's at this point in me being in youtube. It'S so important for people to hear my voice a lot louder, and that makes me that makes me nervous, and so that's why you all have gotten some of the responses that you have gotten from me, like you know, like people will say something like like in The past people say, like i, put up a video showing how i care for my hair, and somebody will say thanks for the tutorial and i'm like. Oh no, no, it's not a tutorial. I like tutorials up to the haircare professionals. This is just me showing you how to do my hair, like i'm, not trying to tell you how to do your hair, or you know you know things like that. That'S why so i've sort of like clinched up when it when it came to people. You know saying well you're telling me how to do my hair and stuff like that and i've kind of back moved back because i'm, like you know, i'm not ready to stand on my own, like i, i i feel like i'm, not a hair stylist. I feel like i'm, not a hair stylist and you know i don't want. I don't want somebody to go to a hair, stylist and say well folk told me to do xyz, or i heard this, even if i didn't tell them, which i tried to tell people to do stuff, specifically with hair. Even if i didn't tell them, i just get nervous somebody's gon na go to herself and be like well. I saw this on foe's channel and that that hairstyle was look at my stuff and be like girl, you're. Listening to this youtubers, don't know what you're talking about she just you know so because i i didn't want. I didn't want that to be the case with my content, i kind of like shied away from sharing my perspective more loudly um. So there's i didn't want to end up in that boat of okay you're, an influencer, that's spreading misinformation. I want to get up in a vote. No, i did not want to end up in that vote and so how? How do i feel when style is now? How do i feel when i say stuff like that, like? Oh, these influencers are out here, giving out misinformation and stuff like that? How do i feel about that? I feel like it doesn't apply to me. That'S part of me thinking that way that that doesn't apply to me is what is part of what helped me to now begin to establish or establish the self-esteem or not the self-esteem, but the boldness. To share more of my perspective now um was just me realizing. Okay, when these stylists are saying, oh so so i haven't given up misinformation, they're not talking about me, i don't know who they're talking about any other influencer they're like dang. These guys are talking about us. If you i mean you know, you know the quality of your information they're, not talking about you they're, not talking about you, they're, not um, that's what i've grown to think of it. You know, and i got a comment. This is hard. My makeup, i'm probably gon na, come out looking like mozzarella clown, but um i'm putting this. This is the true complexion contour palette. I love this thing by black radiance, i'm putting it on my eyelid. So, oh, okay, so i got a comment where somebody was like you know. Oh you know. I know you're not going to comment on um the prices um that curl tight curl artists are charging or certain hairstylists are charging because of your affiliation with black or curls, and the thing that that comment, let me know is i need to explain. So what is my affiliation with, for example, that girl, curls and also, i want to say this - i have already done a video where i talked about the prices that um tycho artists, charge and i'll put that somewhere description cards, whatever's easiest for me, but um. What'S my affiliation with lego curls, my affiliation with lego curls is the same as my affiliation with hydropower salon and the same as um tycho specialists. They have taught me um. These are the people that i learned my hair could not learn all my hair care education from, but these are the people that help me to establish a better framework when it comes to my hair care, education and, like i said like i've, said before i'm 10 Toes down about that, because it's so important for me to give my stylist how to watch the line - lego, curls credit, so people can know okay. So this is how she established her understanding of hair care, and maybe, if i'm interested, this is possibly where i can also go to establish my framework when it comes to hair care right. So that's sometimes i was down about that something that kind of like made me go into a shell was when i put up that video last summer. Let me style my hair with a leave-in conditioner, a gel and a mousse, something that kind of made me go into. My shell was people saying you see how easily i sweat. I don't want to turn on the fan, because you're not gon na, be able to hear me, but something that made me kind of go into a shell. Was people saying oh you're not doing you're, not styling your hair, the way black girl curl says this is not the typical way let go. Curls does styling, and so i knew what i was doing made sense and i had already talked to my curl artist and she told me that it made sense um, but it made me go back and kind of pull into a shell because i felt like people Were critiquing me and saying you know, oh now, i'm doing something wrong because i'm not following lego curls teachings to the t you know or the way that they do things to the t um. You know that people being critical in that way people being critical in that way, really really really emphasizes for me, people being critical of me doing things my own way on my channel. It really emphasized for me not being critical of other influencers. So that's that's so important to me now because i mean even before even before people started being critical of me, i started to really learn like okay, better ways to express certain things when it comes to youtube uh, because when i, when i came on youtube, i Was all writing story guide um about talking about natural, hair and stuff like that, and then you know, i started to learn from professionals and i started to kind of i don't know. I started to kind of like trying to figure out a way to stand on this balancing beam on not stepping on professionals, holes, um and also i was dealing with my own frustration was feeling like i couldn't relate to where i couldn't apply or things a lot Of things that other people were saying work for them, i felt frustrated that i was like. Why aren't a lot of people other a lot of other people's haircare practices? Why aren't they working for me? So i spoke from that frustration at times, and so since then, i've just been learning over and over again better ways to like communicate what i have to say when it comes to black hair, because i have a lot of i have a lot to say. I have a lot to say, i have a lot to say. I have a lot to say, and you know something that some but something i know what happened regardless is that people will watch some of my stuff and they won't understand me because they don't know me or they may watch something and it's just a snapshot of A moment - and they may think okay, so this is what i think about who focus, and this is who is, and this is why she said that this is why this - and this is why that and people can totally take things out of context, and so it Gets me sometimes, when i talk to people about my perspectives and they immediately say - and they talk to me as if they're responding to a tight, curl artist or maybe a hairstylist that made them upset. Or they talk to me as if they're responding to black girl. Curls and i'm like i'm, not black girl curls. I have my perspectives for my own reasons, um, so there's that um and i'm grateful i'm grateful for the difficult conversations that i've had with some of you all where you know you're like oh y'all. I don't understand why you said xyz or i feel like this - is problematic, because that's why then we talked about it. We got to understand, i think, sometimes generally some conversations just aren't really meant for social media like when it's not a back and forth conversation when it's not on the phone conversation, a visual conversation or whatever the case may be. Some things are better with a natural ebb and flow of conversation, because i i know that sometimes you can write things on social media, whether you're a comment, whether you're a viewer or an influencer. Things can be written on social media and people read it as like. Oh and it's like it's not even like that, but that's why it means so much to me to collaborate with other influencers. I guess something about me too. If you look at my videos in the past with like makeup, i like to do kind of weird looking stuff, sometimes like like what are you doing? Why do you have on black lipstick? Because i want to do something different? I don't want to be told that i have to stay in a box as a black woman and i think that's another thing. That'S important! That'S another thing, that's important, um, sometimes i'll say like okay. This works for me and other people like saying, for instance, i say something like i wash my hair every 45 days, because i like a fresh, clean, scalp and fresh clean hair. That'S what i like for me i'll, say that, and you know what people will hear they will hear. Shame. Shame you're, telling me it's bad that i don't wash my hair as often as you. No that's that's! No i'm talking about my hair or i'll, say something like you know. I don't like raw ingredients. I don't want to use any more ingredients in my hair and i'm like shame, shame, but it worked for our ancestors into a whole different conversation about how science is not just. It doesn't have to only be something to be something: white centered and some of our ancestors. They were cool with innovation when it came to hair products, and things like that, so some of my ancestors - yes, they use very natural, think very raw ingredients, and things like that and some of our ancestors experimented um. I think any term turnbull malone um. They had a background in science um in the 1900s, and she used that in how she developed hair care, so basically um yeah. So some of my some of my ancestors are if they saw what we were doing when it comes to like innovation when it comes to hair products and formulas they're like oh, go ahead girl, you know so there's space for someone using raw ingredients and someone not Using raw ingredients - and so that's how i feel now, that's how i feel now so somebody said what do i think of the current culture right now when it comes to the nigerian community, i actually think the natural community is doing really good. I think that it's going through this is this is still vibrating. This is this right here for contour. I think the natural community is doing good. I just think it's going through growing pains. I think it's going through growing pains. I think it's doing quite good um. So i know for me i don't for me. I don't want to feel like i'm at war with anybody, so i'm just so over that i'm so over there. But i i don't want to feel like i'm at war about any sort of hair care perspectives, or anything like that. But what's disappointing to me is that i don't know i wish people would disagree more in the natural community and it'd just be okay. You know like i wish people would disagree more about certain hair care practices and things like that and people not feel like. That'S, that's you stepping on their their tradition or something like that. I'M talking about consumers, i'm not talking about how maybe some hairstyles are discussing things um, i'm talking about how consumers are discussing things, and i encourage other consumers not to take on like a pessimistic tone. I fell into that trap not to take on a pessimistic tone and just you know, figure out ways to just be really gentle when you're talking about other people's practices, because listen i've made mistakes with that. It'S not because i tended to be rough or just because the level of like gentle, i would need to be, would it just it was it's a skill, it's a skill yeah. So i'm i'm optimistic right now about where the natural community is. I'M optimistic. I feel like a lot of big stuff is about to go down. I feel like a lot of people. Um are learning how to apply basic care care better and if they aren't learning, then i want to help help them to figure out. I want to figure out how to help spread more resources for people to learn different types of hair care to help them not just one type of hair care, but different types of hair care um. So it's just exciting to me to see how we are taking back. We as people of african consent, are taking back our hair care um, despite how oftentimes the industry, like companies and things like that, have been largely white owned and profit going to white people or going to asian people um. I'M excited to see how we're going to take that back. In that regard, i'm excited to see how um we're gon na try to funnel more of that money to our communities in different ways and not necessarily saying all the companies have to be black owned because that's impossible to help fund the money back into our communities. I'M excited i'm excited. This is sort of reparations to me also for more of us to have different and better understandings about hair care. Like you know, instead of looking at our hair and saying nothing can be done with it, you know having having some sort of frame of reference to understand how to care about here, because still so many people, despite the knowledge just been out there for years, there's Still so many people that don't they just don't know how i care for their hair, they don't even know where to start, they don't even know where to start. I just feel, like you know, a lot of the a lot of the things that i participated in a lot of things that i like when it comes to hair care, because people don't know me and they haven't asked me like okay. So why do you like this, or why do you do that, and they don't want to um it might give people a different impression than what something is actually what actually something actually means to me like, for example, i love to wear my hair defined. I absolutely love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it right here to find, and for me, that is that helps with manageability, because me wearing my hair defined with setting product. I hop in the shower. The same product comes off. My hair's not super tangled because it was encased in you know the definition it was created by whatever strand binding ingredients and whatever product i was using and also for me my definition. It speaks to my level of skill with my styling. It speaks to my hair health that i work so hard, for there are some people that they don't necessarily have to work as hard as i did, or they don't have to do the things that i went through in order to get your hair definition. They can hear the difference boom for me. No, it required me to figure out how to get my hair more hydrated. It required basically a big chop for me and just a whole overhaul overhaul of my whole haircare routine. So to me, when i look at my definition, i look at my skill with my hair. When i look at my definition, i think about my skill, i think about because i'm a beast at applying a technique. I think about how i've learned to put together products and the way it works best. For me, i think about the hair health that i've invested and worked so hard for, and i know some people that think definition. They think something white centric. My current definition is not white center; no, it's not defined curls, just because somebody's white that doesn't automatically mean they're gon na have to find curls. There are a lot of white people because of the current wave of the curly girl movement, which you know to anything, was inspired by people of african descent. A lot of white people are just not discovering that they can have defined curls and not frizzy. All over the place here, so my understanding is my current definition is not white centric. It'S based on me because i'm a beast but me enjoying definition and showing up on camera being like bam, love. My definition boom bam me showing up on camera like that. For some people is triggering to some people, what makes me feel uncomfortable it makes me feel, like you know something anti-black or wrong is going on about me enjoying my my hair's definition, and you know that's just really like that's sad to me, um, that's not sad To me, it's just disappointing. I wish we had a better understanding, especially with you know my my perspective. That'S not it's not white centered! Let me tell you if i take this buff off this head covering off. I went for a walk yesterday with nothing on my head, nothing on my head, so i know that i cut into my hair's definition and everything, and also so basically me wearing this. If i had went on my walk with one of these, it would help wick some of the moisture away and help preserve my definition better and also the day before that i went for another walk, but i wore one of these. But the thing was that i um yeah, this hair is meant to a lot this week and also when i set my hair when i initially styled this hair, i didn't i just slapped something together, so i'm not sure what's going to come from under here. Whatever comes up from under here is going to be beautiful, of course, but i'm not. I have no idea my hair's not going to be predictable today because of how, when i initially said it, i didn't do my usual routine to really give me a good set. So, let's just take this off and see what we're working with see when we work when we work it. We, oh oh yeah. This is day five here, so this is day five, but this is not typically how my day five looks because that's not my hair to be more defined than this, but let's just see what it's giving. Let'S see, what let's see, what's giving? Let'S see what she's got, let's see when i set my hair, i can sit. My hair lasts up to two weeks. I know how to do wash last me for two weeks, but i never want to do a wash and go wear my hair for that long. Without cleansing my scalp without cleansing my scalp, so i know some people might say so what would i do if i couldn't do, it would have had kids running around or something like that or i'm i'm dealing with depression or something like that for me, for me, Hair is something that is really relaxing it's something that makes me feel better styling. My hair makes me feel much much better. It'S like a ritual, so even if i had kids right so i'm a phd, let me say that to an undergraduate instructor i am busy, but even if i had kids running around or even when i've dealt with, i i'll have to get real low in terms Of because i've dealt with depression before i have to get real low for me personally, not to do my hair and i've been there, but typically, if, if i'm feeling sad, it's not just sad if i'm dealing with if i'm dealing with with depression. Typically me, knowing my hair will make me feel better. So, even when i have kids, even if i'm really low, i would wake up at 6 00 a.m. I would wake up for 6 a.m for nothing else, maybe a flight, but i would go back at 6am and i'm gon na style. My hair, i'm going to shampoo conditioners down my hair and it takes a minute it takes me like. I think i told you it's like two hours or 20 minutes, i'm gon na do my hair, i'm gon na. Do my hair um. Now, if i didn't have the resources and stuff like that, if i didn't have the resources to do my hair like the water and stuff like that, then i don't know i think i would likely have to cut. I think i'll likely have to have a short haircut like really really short. So that way i can just get my head under that water. Just get that scalp refreshment um, a fresh scalp that just feels so good to me, like i said, if i had limited water, probably have that really low haircut and it's it's not fair. If somebody wanted to have longer hair and but but they had an issue with cleansing around like that because of water, that's not fair, and so that's why me and elaine and sony talked about that in a video um, and i've been talking about this on my Channel about hair care is a part of my social justice when it comes to us as people of color and so just trying to figure out in a way you know innovative ways to answer to that. Like i know, elaine was saying that she's trying to make it to where she educates people in these different parts of the world, people african descent, to the point where their clients could easily like walk to the shop or something like that. If they wanted that and it's affordable for them for them to come and get their hair cleansed and styled, so that's one solution that elaine is working on and i'll leave elaine's information down below with typical nation, but yeah - and you know i know some people me Talking about my hair care me talking about how i like to style my hair, what i like to do for my hair, i know some people they feel like. Okay. This is very privileged. So therefore, this is wrong like when it comes to my hair care, and i think that's the. I know that that's the wrong perspective to have. Why not think i should have that too, and let's figure so and this person is, i guess why do? I think i should have that too, because you should you're deserving of being able to cleanse your hair whenever you want to you're deserving of being able to purchase a product that you find to be quality, you're deserving of being able to have not the knowledge of How to care for your hair as a person of african consent, you're deserving and things aren't where they should be right now, but me, and so many other people are working on it, we're working on it. Things are not fair right now, but that doesn't mean that me, for example, cleansing my hair. As often as i cleanse my hair, i'm styling my hair, i'm going to get curly cuts. That doesn't mean that me, taking advantage of those things, is wrong or should be shunned or something like that, like you know like, and you know you know sometimes sometimes i keep it real with you all. There are some people that do sort of that do. There'S some people that do have access to what i have access to hair care, wise, there's, some they do have access, but they're not ready to tap into they're, not ready their mind is still their mind still. Maybe at a point where oh, my hair is ugly, and so you know some people might say the privilege thing when it comes to the way that i care for my hair and say: oh, like there's something wrong with how i care for my hair. There are some people that not everybody, some people genuinely need resources. That'S the point of this channel, but some people may look at the way i care for my hair and say: oh, this is privileged because they're giving a sort of it's a sort of excuse for them not to take hold of their power. Palpatine star wars take hold of their natural hair journey. How does video helped you all get to know me tell me if you want me to do another video like this, and if you want more focus like what you want me to talk about, but talk from my heart and not just not necessarily like sit down Organize and i will put a picture of the final look at the end once again, my name is fo. Thank you. So much for watching bye,