A Lesson On “Hairspiration” For All My Type 4 Naturalistas

From a fellow type 4 something girl, this message goes out to the other type 4s who may be running out of ideas, hairstyle wise, as well as those of you who I see in the comments section of YouTubers or bloggers with type 3 hair, writing things like ‘I wish my hair texture was like this’, or ‘teach me’ or ‘why can’t my hair be like this?’ *insert distressed/crying emoji face* here.

Stop! You are looking in the wrong places for hairspiration!!

And of course, I’m not saying you must always watch hair bloggers with the same hair type/ texture as you. I’m just saying that we have to accept that our type 4 hair also offers us a range of options, provided we don’t actually start to believe the lie that our hair is just impossible to style.

I’m not here to rant; I just want to remind some of you who need reminding of the importance of looking up to hair bloggers/YouTubers that can provide us with accurate and educational depictions of what we can do with our hair.

I remember when I first went natural… I was excited, overwhelmed even at the plethora of information available to me on the internet, on styles, hair to dos and not to dos, how to grow X amount of hair in a month, etc. Fast forward a few months and I was on YouTube, seeking out exactly who it was that I would look to in order to motivate and inspire me as I stumbled along my hair journey.

I started out on the wrong foot, to say the least…

Before I knew about hair typing, as well as the simple fact that your hair will not always do what another person’s can, I found myself frustrated at the outcomes of certain styles. Why were my twist or Bantu knot outs failing or why couldn’t I achieve a decent afro puff?

There was one main answer to my questions:

I was and am still learning about what works and doesn’t work with my hair- (this year being the year where I’ve made the most progress in the twist out department) *cue photographic evidence*.

And two, I feel that part of my hair journey has involved finding good sources of “hairspiration”.

My journey progressed into familiarizing myself with the ins and outs of hair typing and hair care in general. I learned that I’m a type 4 b/c, I learned about hair porosity as well as just how much moisture our hair needs. I also learned that protective styling is a major key for 4C hair given its fragility, and that I should switch to more water based creamy products rather than “liquidey” products to retain moisture longer.

With the more knowledge I gained, the more my perspective changed when it came to identifying the Youtubers, the natural hair bloggers, and the celebrities that I could look to on those days when I was wondering what to do with my hair or simply after some hair candy to admire.

So when it came to finding my “hair crush” or “hair goals”, I began to look to those with a similar hair type to my own.

In doing so, I found a range of tutorials I could try out when I got bored or frustrated with my hair. I also experienced a surge in my own creative impulses, which lead to my hair being my own source of inspiration.

And once again, I’m not saying only watch type 4 hair tutorials (there are plenty of natural, non-type 4 haired bloggers whose hair care videos I watch)… I’m just saying it’s pretty cool if you can look to someone with a similar hair texture when it comes to styling and general hair care.

I encourage all of you today to seek out those beautiful type 4 women who you can look to and learn from instead of feeling like you can’t do anything with your hair.

And now, with that being said, here’s a somewhat truncated list (there are so many beautiful type 4 haired women out there!) of some gorgeous and talented women who have been my hairspiration, may already be yours or may indeed end up being yours too:

Chizi Duru

Check out her signature braid out below:

Instagram: @chiziduru

West African Baby

All I can say is this lovely lady regularly demonstrates 4c hair in all its glory. Check out this awesome style below:

Instagram: @westafricanbaby

Vantasia Brumfield

I’ve wanted to try this style for the longest time! It looks so cute and neat. Check it out:

Instagram: @vanlenore

And of course, this goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, remember that you can be and are your ultimate source of “hairspiration”; every external role model just adds a bit of spice to the mix or the cherry on the cake, so get in the mirror and create!