8 Celebrity Naturalistas Explain Why They Love Their Curly Roots

In the natural hair world hair envy can be a serious thing, but Tracee Ellis Ross is calling for all naturalistas to stop obsessing over each other’s textures and curl patterns. The curly girl and self-love advocate is encouraging all women to embrace their hair just the way it is with her new “Hair Love” Campaign.

The actress decided to launch the campaign after she saw an Instagram meme that showed a little girl crying with the caption: “That moment you realize you don’t have Tracee Ellis Ross’s hair.” She took the issue to heart, and in response, created a love-your-own-hair YouTube video.

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“I love that you love my hair but I only love that you love my hair if it’s an inspiration for you to love your hair,” she said during the five-minute clip.

“I don’t want you to want my hair,” she added. “The reason I don’t want you to want my hair is I’m of the school of love what you got. For me, the reason my hair was such a battle was because I was trying to make it something it wasn’t. I wanted the hair that somebody else had.”

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Check out the video below, then click through the slides to find seven of our favorite celebrity naturalists explain why they love their curly roots.

1. Solange says her natural hair gives her flexibility.

“I think many people, especially from other cultures, just don’t understand the role hair plays in Black women’s lives. I can now transform the energy surrounding my hair into something way more productive. Now that [my hair is] growing back, I’m kind of in that in-between stage. Previously, I would have said, “I’m straightening it again; it’s just becoming too much work.” But I think the key is to find styles that give me flexibility,” she said.

2. Alicia Keys describes her big chop as “special and brave.”

“I thought I was kind of special and brave, but apparently it’s a new mother thing. I had been talking about cutting my hair for awhile and figuring out in which way it would feel right,” she said. “I put out a song called ‘New Day’ that’s also on my album and I was just like, ‘You know what, it’s a new day, and I’m cutting this off.’ So I did it!”

3. Janelle Monae says she had to learn to love her hair.

“Growing up, my mom put relaxer on it. When I was 18, I grew it out and wore it natural, and I haven’t turned back. Then I figured out my style by experimenting,” she said. “I wanted a look I could walk into a dinner party with and also wear to rock out onstage.”

4. YaYa Dacosta says she aims for healthy hair; not to be a revolutionary.

“I’ve seen so many more curly, kinky, nappy whatever you want to call it, heads walking down the street now. I grew up in a time when that was not ok. In my family, you know my mother never had a relaxer in her entire life. My sister and I (have never had a relaxer) it was never an option. It wasn’t me trying to be a revolutionary, you know cutting off my perm trying to make a statement. It had nothing to do with that. That was just how I wore my hair,” she said.

“Ultimately I just want my hair to be healthy. So to act as the whole ambassador thing is by default and it’s a blessing and I’m glad that so many people are inspired, I think the more the merrier. That way if more girls feel beautiful as they are then great, but at the same time I’m not judging anybody, so please weave it up! Do what makes you feel good.”

5. Ledisi says she loves being a natural hair role model.

“I decided to loc because it felt natural going that way,” the songstress said. “When I wore my hair down, nobody recognized me.”

“I love the fans who appreciate what [my stylist] Michele and I have offered to the world of locs and natural hair.”

6. Marsha Ambrosious says her hair is a part of her identity.

“With me and my hair, I never really thought I had this emotional attachment, but looking back to my pictures as a kid, I haven’t changed,” she said. “It’s very weird. I still have the side part or [wear it] all to the right side.”

7. Jill Scott says her natural hair allows her to see her true self.

“I don’t mind wearing a weave or a wig–I don’t have a problem with it, but when I come home to myself–I’m natural. Hair is fun but I’d like to see who we are,” she said. “I always think about it like this: if 30 black women were to be lost on a deserted island, those weaves would come out–they would all come out. We’d have to start taking care of our hair, and when the ship shows up two months later, there’s going to be a bunch of African-American woman or African women getting on that boat in all their glory.

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