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Nappturality has been online since 2002. Dedicated to all the women in the diaspora who proudly wear their highly textured hair naturally. Nappturality.com is the place to find photographs,, forums, information and links about the care, maintenance and politics of natural hair. Natural napptural hair. Here you will find photos of all natural styles, comb coils, two-strand twists, afro puffs, afros dredlocks (dreadlocks), locs and many other natural styles. Styled by natural napptural haired women on their own hair.

Blogs

Blogs and stories written by Nappturality and Friends
Shaded Tree Organics

Learning to love my hair

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From being a child with kinky hair I used to feel unpretty. Both siblings had the "good hair" that everyone wanted to have. The water and grease hair! I was given my first "just for me" perm at 4! at my pre k graduation. I spent every month and a half getting a perm. fast forward now I'm completely natural. It took so many years to feel beauti...
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Patricia Gaines

Just. Stop. with the Natural Hair Insults

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Stop Insulting Natural Hair
A tweet by a self-proclaimed "progressive "man – who says he is running for Mayor of San Francisco - on Twitter – unhappy with the appointment of Zerlina Maxwell to a new senior position, made his unhappiness known by tweeting an insult about her natural hair, which he called "ridiculous" and "comical." Let me say off the bat, that although this ma...
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Patricia Gaines

The Diluted Natural Hair Sisterhood

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I want to say something about the current iteration of the "natural hair community" and I am going to be blunt. Fractured -- that term came to mind because of all the splits into tribal factions on Facebook and other platforms. Maybe it's more diluted than fractured - or maybe a combo of both. Everything changes and evolves, sometime...
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Patricia Gaines

Tackling ​Congested Scalp and Hair

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First, I need to explain what I mean by this term. It's not a medical term – nor something I found on the internet. Congested Scalp and Hair (CSH) is a condition I have found that happens with my own natural hair, and can cause all types of problems. But it can be reversed and prevented if you know how to do it. Remember back in the days of Bl...
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Patricia Gaines

The Toxicity of Hair Shaming

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You know, people have ALWAYS been up in Black women's business when it comes to our bodies, our hair. Too skinny, too fat, short, too nappy, too whatever. And you know what? Leave us alone. There is a trend emerging in this *new* nappy hair movement. Yeah, another one. And it seems to be coming from OUTSIDE our regular women-space. It's coming from...
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Patricia Gaines

Natural-Haired Job Applicants at a Disadvantage - New Study Shows

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A new study conducted by Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, a management professor and a senior associate dean who conducted the research at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, has been released with not-so-shocking findings: Black women with natural afro hair are less likely to be offered job interviews. This study detected bias against Black women ...
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Deecoily Nappturality

Tyra Banks SLAYS Instagram with her Natural Hair

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Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks is one of those women whose looks are timeless. She changes up her hair, her makeup, her clothing style and every single time, she nails it. And we love it and we love her in all her reinventions. So when she came onto Instagram last week and we got to see her hair – her real hair – her natural color, texture and styled simply in a ...
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Patricia Gaines

Nappy: The Word Debate

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A couple of times a year, this subject come around. Like a comet, it blasts through natural hair groups, discussion forums and social media. Is the word "nappy" good or bad? Should we use it or not?  20+ years ago it was unheard of to call yourself nappy. The word was that bad a connotation for hair. Also, 20 years ago it was rare to see a Bla...
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Patricia Gaines

Understand Shea Butter

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We all have heard the benefits of African Shea Butter for decades. Centuries. And it has rightfully earned its place at the apex of nut butters. But what is it, where does it come from and is it for everyone? What is Shea Butter?  Shea butter is the fat that has been extracted from the nuts of the Shea Nut tree which is native to Africa and sp...
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Patricia Gaines

Curl Definition on Afro Hair

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Challenges of Texture Definition
Curl definition really isn't the right term for use with actual afro hair. Afro hair is more tightly coiled that curly. Curls are a loose pattern. Afro coils are a tight pattern. So, I am going to refer to this as coil definition. STEP ONE: DETERMINE YOUR HAIR TEXTURE First, you need to HAVE coils for them to pop. Some of us don't have co...
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Patricia Gaines

3 Natural Hair Bloggers Reminisce About The Early Days Of The Movement

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These hair bloggers shaped the discourse around Black hair and beauty.
by Tatiana Pile, On Assignment For HuffPost02/03/2020 09:00 am ET   What started as conversations on hair care forums evolved into a full-fledged online community over the last 20 years. Twenty years ago, Patricia Gaines had a terrible hair experience with a chemical relaxer and was left with extremely short hair. For decades, she'd used ...
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Patricia Gaines

Going Natural with Afro Hair is a Big Deal

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Afro natural hair
This natural hair revolution has meant different things to different women. For some it changed their lives by giving them a reason to stop destroying their hair. For others it didn't play a big part but created a little sense of more freedom and acceptance. For me as Nappturality's founder – it became my life's work to help empower Black women by ...
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Deecoily Nappturality

Zozibini Tunzi - Miss Universe

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Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi
"I am a daughter of the African soil and I am beautiful. See your face reflected in mine" Zobizini Tunzi Congratulations to Zozibini Tunzi, Miss Universe 2019. Her beauty is strikingly honest, Earthly and natural. And it matters that she has won the 2019 Miss Universe crown.  Zozibini Tunzi is a force. She is bold, proud an...
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Patricia Gaines

Smelly Scalp Syndrome

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You are in the car and lean over to grab something. When you lean back to your seat, you get a whiff of something, and it's not pleasant. It's like a musty, sweaty or sharp smell. Where is it coming from? What just happened? Repeat the motion, same result and now it hits you. It's coming from your hair! Or more likely, from your scalp. Smelly Scalp...
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Patricia Gaines

It's Not so Scary to Cut it Short. The TWA

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Nothing, and I mean nothing – is as fierce as a cool, sharp and on-point teeny-weeny-afro. And I mean that. I have worn almost every style out there on my natural hair. And the one that gave me the most power, was my TWA. Choosing to keep it short has its challenges but if you can manage it, the TWA can turn out to be your best friend. But.... "I h...
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Deecoily Nappturality

2019 New York Fashion Week Natural Hair

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Street Flair
We LOVE New York Fashion week! It's a jewel in the crown of fashion. Not only do we get a look at what's new and trending, but how we can update our look to evolve with the times. More and more models of color are gracing our runways and more and more of them are working with their natural hair. Let's face it, when it comes to modelling, it is...
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Patricia Gaines

The Newest Face of L'Oreal - Viola Davis

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Back when I wrote this article about Viola Davis and her big beautiful afro at the Golden Globes, I was super excited. No one had dared to wear their natural hair so OUT and so BIG before, and she absolutely stole the show. It shouldn't be a big deal, but because it was so rare to see, it was. And not just for me, for everyone there. Now Viola Davi...
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Patricia Gaines

Cheap Tricks: Natural Hair on a Budget

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When I first went natural, I was really on a tight budget. And I had no idea about styling natural hair let alone what products to use. There weren't any products for natural hair anyway because it was 2001 and no one had any products specifically formulated for my type of afro, kinky hair. So, what I did was started to make my own. During this tim...
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natural hair afro hair nappturality cheap hair products homemade hair products
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Patricia Gaines

Natural Hair Outside the Mainstream

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It seems to me that the essence of going natural is being transformed into not so much of a journey of self-discovery but a journey to see how many hair products one can use on their heads to make their natural hair into something more acceptable. More like that lady they saw on TV. Wait, they SAW ON TV?Not too long ago, and I mean within the last ...
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natural hair afro hair nappturality
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Patricia Gaines

Skincare for Women of Color Series

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Vitamin C Serums I was never a big fan of facial serums. To me they were always sticky and made claims that were ridiculous and unbelievable. But entering my 40s, my skin started to lose its glow and did not hold moisture when I used my regular day and night creams. And dark pigmentation started to happen around my jawline that wouldn't go away. So...
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Nappturality Shoe 300 faded

Your Natural Hair is NOT a Fad

Wearing natural hair is not a fad. It is not a fashion trend. It's the natural hair you were born with. So why can't you wear it?
Don't believe the negative hype..

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