Hey Nikki,
So I came across this article on MediaTakeout. And when I read the description…
“SOLANGE KNOWLES CLAIMS HER HAIR WENT FROM BALD . . . TO A FOOT-HIGH AFRO IN LESS THAN 2 YEARS (DO YOU BELIEVE HER??)”
…I just busted out laughing! Natural myself, I know that our hair most certainly grows, and with proper care, great lengths can come quickly! So here are these people trying to dog Solange’s beautiful hair, saying it’s IMPOSSIBLE to grow hair that fast. Totally ignorant of the fact that it’s quite possible to grow a foot of hair in two years. Just wanted to share!
CN says;
Me thinks Solange looks gorgeous! That amount of growth is totally plausible, and even if it is a weave/wig… who cares!
And wow… really? I never expect much from the comments section of MediaTakeout, but I must say that I was a bit taken aback.
My favorite– it couldn’t be a weave because they’d “h8 2 believe that something that horrid n nappy lookn would be artificial!!” Classic.
We’ve got a lot of work to do divas!
I know that I'm ex-supremely late . But as a teen I admire solange for going natural . I won't even use the word "sad" to describe these people commenting on MTO . They are grown people (grown enough) to make their own decisions and choose to be ignorant or smart. I have no feelings for these people. It is IGNORANT that with all this info online (wher they found this article ) , they did,nt even take the time to educate themselves on how fast the average human head of hair grows a year ( about 6 inches). Now (dummies) , take that and multiply by two and that gives you 12 . In translation a foot of growth in 2 years is how its supposed to be . I swear the highschool mentality rules the world . Just because your hair isn't retaining that doesn't mean that because a young , very rich, and very pampered CELEBRITY has something wrong with her—> point: her hair retained the length and was able to be so big and healthy because , think about, is there any possible way her hair wouldn't be extremely healthy ???? Celebrity stylists and top notch products that are available to her and all. Her moms a stylist for peeps sake. To even create a topic to begin with about the follicles growing from another persons head and then trash them is ignorant in itself . I love solange , but why is her hair anyones business and in any relevance to anyone who doesn't positively support her. This is so ignorant it frustrates me and I've come to this conclusion on my own 17 year old lonesome. She is so beautiful , and in this "euro-brainsoaked" world and america , people don't want to see this type of thing in any aspect ( from the growth, to the black women being natural, and even to the impowered and confident black women aspect ) , and they will take any chance to thrash it. Also because she is a celebrity and people believe that celebrities create the bar for beauty . This is maddening for some people (escpescially for ones who want to down our beautiful chocolatey race ) , they don't want young girls to think that this is a good positive look or even beautiful . Its ignorant . Just IGNANT !!!!
It's MTO. I don't expect any better from them or their patrons. They thrive of negativity.
Solange has been dogged from day one, even back in the days when she wore the weaves like her sister. No matter what, people will find her wanting – and that's their problem, not hers.
Ur, yeah I'm standing by my statement. @ LBell, I've been natural longer than a minute as well, and curl envy is real, and the most insidious comments, anger management issues, accusations of lying, looks of resentment as of late, have been from casual acquaintances, complete strangers, and close friends who thought that a wave of Miss Jessie's would have their curls "poppin". Shockingly, the most anger came from darker skinned black women who had convinced themselves that hair that wasn't curly wasn't good enough to be natural and took out that anger on the surrounding public. And blog forums. And the endless questions about hair typing. Etc… Etc… And yes, I know that lighter skinned black women don't have a "lock" on good hair but come on. I know for DANG sure I wasn't the only one that saw the "Rudy" post and thought that thread reeked of insecurity, and that a lot of it came because she's darker with longer hair.
I mean, if folks wanna get real about it, there are a lot of new naturals that saw Chris(t) Rock's movie, saw the Obamas in the White House, and decided that they were oppressed/wanted more options/didn't want to look like a bad black woman/wanted to be an example for their daughters. How many folks who are profiled ON THIS SITE have said as much? Heck, I've seen posts by bloggers who I LIKE admit that they're mad that Kinky Curly has looser hair models and those bloggers sure aren't light bright and dayum near white. People who comment here have talked about the uptick in "defining your curl pattern". I'm up for a discussion if folks want to have it, but I'm not about to play stupid either. In the last two years, a lot of black women have decided to go natural, which is great! They brought their baggage with them. That's not great. And if you're like me, brown-skinned with curly hair, you've been on the receiving end of a whole lot of other folks projected issues.
#realtalk
@Anon 10:59 I didn't get the Obama comment or the entire post for that matter ? 🙁 Generalizing about darker skinned black women and insecurity really? Well, clearly Brittany recently featured on this site looks gorgeous happy and quite secure. She is beautiful.
In any event, while the cotton cuticled Negroes continue to be hoodwinked I am rocking my afro big and all and lovin it. I make no explanations or excuses to anyone about my hair.
They'd better watch out. Solange may swallow them up with her big, bold fro!
I am speechless.
The only thing I will say is that I wish she would make another album. I love her music!
@ Cindy – "Makes me sad that some people still doubt the ability of our (people of predominantly African heritage) hair to grow sans chemical treatment."
Why do you feel that us people of "African" heritage have any doubt about growing hair? I have been to Africa, many different countries, as an African, I have never such a ridiculous comment. We are all individuals with different growth rates, hair types etc…
I'm late to this but Solange is a true example of the natural hair process we're all going through. Yes I'm a fan of her music as well. Take a look at Getty images when you have a chance and look up Solange's editorials. She's been rocking a natural on red carpets all over the place (kudos to her holding all of us down) and you can see the growth and it's plausible.
She has rocked a kinky wig and braids but so have lots of naturals. The majority of shots though are her real hair and it is gorgeous. I love Beyonce – but love the fact that these two sisters are presenting two different but equally beautiful ideas of black beauty.
Also I BC'ed three months after Solange and my hair looks longer than that. And this hair looks a little different from the Honey mag shoot which was indeed a wig and she admitted that on twitter. Girl keeps it real – so don't think she would lie now.
*buy
How embarrassing! Hehe!
Also, 'bald'? By a dictionary and/or some glasses, please!
Wow! The ignorance, the self-hate and the unnecessary abuse was rife and disturbing in those comments! Whether the hair is hers or not and whether it's not yet 2 years or not, it most certainly is not impossible!
Is it fake? – 'It has 2b cuz I'd h8 2 believe that something that horrid n nappy lookn would be artificial' My God!…
Anonymous 11:13 pm- what do the obamas have to do ith natural hair? I didn't get that.
Funny, the last picture I saw of Solange was a healthy sized afro and it didn't look unrealistic at all. I think that since cutting her hair, when I've seen pictures, sometimes she's worn afro wigs, but the pic that I JUST saw that I think was recent showed a big but what I felt very real looking head of hair.
It all depends on your experience I guess.
I didn't realize it had been 2 years, but I'd also point out that a lot of BLACK people are ignorant about how much their own or other people's hair can add length (I won't say grow b/c EVERYONE's hair is always growing and if it doesn't get longer, you're engaging in practices that make it break off as much as it grows). And it is why I hate how people will ask you how long you have been natural when they clearly do like your hair b/c I always want to say, okay, but what you have a year from now could be the same, a lot more, or a lot less than this. I'd never use anyone else's head as a yardstick of what I can expect.
But back to Solange, the regular shape and color of the latest pic made me pretty sure that it was real. No bells and whistles, no curls, just what looked like a wash and go afro.
But Solange is hardly Beyonce, so we don't see pics of her all of the time (nor would I be looking for any).
I would say that even if Media Takeout was being obnoxious, it's someone repeating something that they heard from us first. Not excusing it, but I'll point out that many white people for example don't realize that Beyonce, Tyra, Naomi Campbell, Janet Jackson, etc. have been or currently are frequent weave/wig wearers.
While in grad school, my non-black classmates were gushing over someone's fresh weave and recommended that I might ask that person who did her hair(at the time I was getting blowouts and had commented on scheduling problems with my salon). Never mind that the hair had gone from one extreme color and a bob to long hair down the back overnight. They really didnt' think it was fake. So the ignorance goes both ways, and they marvel at how I can spot fake hair on another black woman so easily. And I'll say, I don't think I saw any white publications showing pics of Naomi's ruined hairline, just to put things in perspective regarding who is mocked by whom.
Consider the source–MTO… Disgusting.
@Anon 4/4 11:13 pm: I trust you're describing your personal experience in your limited circles of influence. Dark-skinned sisters don't have a monopoly on kinky hair, nor do light-skinned sisters have a monopoly on curly hair. And insecurity crosses ALLLL skin tones, sweetheart.
Re Solange and comments (which I refuse to read): First, I can't believe it's been two years :-0 …and second, yeah, there's still a lot of ignorance out there about how shrinkage works. We shouldn't be surprised by this.
Oh yeah…her hair looks great, and I'm assuming it's real. If not, never mind.
Actually her nappiversary is in October, and she left her hair short for a couple of months after that.So, its been like 1 and 1/2 years and she recently sported coils that were maybe a couple of inches. So, dont fall for the hype. Our hair can grow, but thats not hers…
A couple of months ago her hair wasnt nearly that long so I get what theyre saying. It hasnt actually been two years either, i think her nappiversary is in July. Yes, our hair can grow but im not going to defend her just because im natural. i think its a wig.
And… she had it braided the last 4-5 months. So, keeping it in a protective style will cause more growth! Geesh!
All I could think about when I read this is that they would definitely think my hair was a weave as much as my hair has grown in 2 years!
But at the same time, I cant blame them. Alot of people are uneducated about our hair. They believe that because a mass majority of African American women wear weave that that automatically means that we dont have hair underneath or we are uncapable of growing our hair to long lengths.
Youre right, we have alot of work to do divas! =)
I had to click on the link to read some of the comments that people had to say about Solange and her natural hair, IT WAS DISTURBING, MTO doesn't have a clue about the way natural hair grows. People will forever be uneducated about certain things,so it is just like teaching a cat new things and yet still they never learn. SO MTO GO HAVE A LOOK ON YOUTUBE AND ALL THE OTHER NATURAL WEBSITES AND MAYBE YOU WILL LEARN A FEW THINGS. BLACK PEOPLE HAIR GROWS AT ON AVERAGE 6 INCHES A YEAR AND THATS FACT!. So it's all about taking good care of it and to know the ingredients of products that you use. SO SOLANGE KEEP DOING YA THING AND FORGET THE HATER!!
Are the people at Media Takeout dumb? It's really possible to achieve that growth in two years.
I too liked the cotton cuticle comment!! Teehee! Black hair can grow. It's hair just like white people's hair which very little seem to question the authenticity. And this is from the same people who think Nikki Minaj is the best thing since sliced bread. BWAHHAAHAAA! But on the serious note, people are going to add their ignorant comments regardless. OUR position is to represent OURSELVES in the best possible way. And ignore the mindless banter; just remember the source 😛
The only thing is that solange showed a couple of months ago her hair and it wasn't near that length at all. No that matters as long she looks good I have no issue with her sporting wig/ real hair etc….
Of course black women can grow their hair very quickly, specially when it's short it grows like crazy the first 2 years.
Also i don't understand why some are upset like Solange represents all the naturals, not every heads are alike!!!
that reminds me when some were claiming that Bey went on TV with her natural, I don't get why people need others to validate their choices/growth etc….
Do not want to sound radical, but Media Take Out's writers are not of African America decent. I have a friend who cut her hair in 09 and now her hair is nearly at her shoulders. It's about taking care of yourself and living right and eating healthy. Trust it works. This is the kind of measuring that limits us as a culture or prevents us from moving forward and cultivating change among us. ALWAYS trying to find the defaults within us!!
When you lack knowledge you lack everything else.
I forgot she went natural. Gorgeous hair. There were actually more positive replies in that post than I would expect from a gossip-rag type site, but the negative ones and the "article" itself were just plain ignorant. Luckily I didn't read them all–got distracted when one of the posts mentioned Corrine Bailey Rae. It would be lovely to see an interview here with either one of those ladies.
"We" don't have a lot of work to do, just some of us. I'mma go there, I preferred the "natural hair community" pre-Chris(t) Rock and the Obamas. This new awakening has set off all kinds of issues amgonst black women that I know that I didn't see before and to be straight up, frank, no chaser, the newly "in" darker black women have been the WORST in terms of insecurity issues. This past year has been the one where I've curbed darker black women who wanted to go natural but wanted curly hair that they might not have and I didn't feel that way before. Now random chicks are asking me about my curl pattern at the grocery store and (new) people on this site are acting like this is a-okay DESPITE basic manners and decorum? I'm sad that I'm saying this but if this whole "natural hair" thing doesn't stick, a lot of chicks would have been better off in the long run of being left out of the loop.
honeybrown1976…"cotton still trapped within their cuticles." LOL LOL! That is too funny, I gotta use that one LOL
See what happens when you deal with Negroes with cotton still trapped within their cuticles? Ignorance is bliss. We know better. I feel sorry for them. Why must our community continue their stride towards an ignorant mindset?
I believe it is all of her hair! I BC'd a few months ago and my hair is growing like weed. In two years time, my hair growth will exceed Solange's current length. Therefore, I cannot believe the ignorance in the Black community. We need to learn more about our own God-given hair. It's sad when Black people don't know the type of hair growth they can achieve when they take proper care of their own natural hair.
I think Solange's hair is beautiful! In her profession it takes a lot of courage for someone to chop her hair off and go natural. It would be great if her sister would follow in her footsteps!
Believe it–Shoot I B/C'd back in Aug 2010, then took a little more off a week later in Sept 2010 and all my friends (black, white & Hispanic) are amazed and love it. One month it looked short and the last 2 weeks BAM, it's out there and with no heat and I'm 50! I got older sistas trying to figure out how to get my thickness because many say their hair is thin or fine even though some have been natural long before me. My hair always grew fast even with a relaxer so it's genetics along with a healthy natural hair regiment. Started using Kimmaytube's Leave-In Conditioner Recipe. Go to her YouTube channel!!!!!!
How ignorant!!!! That's actually the average amount of growth most humans produce within exactly 2 years. An average of 1/2" a month adds up to 6" per year. Her growth is right on track and is consistent with this average that mostly all humans share!! When will this crazy era of painful and embarrassing hand-me-down ignorance/myths/legends/folklore/ about what our hair can and can't do, end????!!!! It's sooo annoying!
It is so sad that so many people are brainwashed! I am not saying the having a relaxer or weave is bad, but to believe that a black woman can't grow her own hair naturally is absurd!
In 2011 these people still exist:
"I believe her. The Knowles family has good hair to start with."
Anyway yes it looks like her real hair, very thick and healthy. I have seen women on YT with even more growth in 2 years.
Wow Nikki I was thinking about messaging you this link because I just saw it earlier today. I was so very very mad because other black people were ridiculing solange, calling her ugly and not as good as her sister because she's darker skinned. Also other black people commented on how she needs to stop with the hippy nappy head. Wow when I read the comments I wanted to slap these people, they are awful to their own natural God given hair. I am just extremely mad at the ignorance in our community. I have seen girls grow their hair to bra strap in 2 years. The people at mediatakeout obviously do not understand hair and are giving into the ideology that black hair cannot grow. I am just so urked by the stupidity. Honestly I prefer Solange in many way to Beyonce. Also I love Solange's hair, it is just beautiful yet I don't understand why people, our people, cannot see the true beauty in our hair! Ugh so frustrated!
My hair grew that fast….. lol… yall should see my before and afters… my fro is bigger than hers, and I've been natural for only a year.
Yes, hair can grown that quickly in less then two years. If you maintain it properly, it is possible.
Couldnt even read the comments on Mediatakeout…I can only imagine. Sad what people think. Anyway, her hair looks so thick and beautiful. And EVERY natural knows with the right elements, your hair can be completely shrunken or a BAA. Ughh…so frustrating to see haters!
I agree with Nikki. Solanges hair is beauutiful weaved up or not. SMDH. People still think we're incapable of growing hair.
Her hair looks great! Unfortunately, a lot of people still don't know how diverse natural can be. I'm glad to see that she is still rocking her natural hair.
I got curious and decided to click on the link… le sigh!
the level of hate these comments have is beyond evil…
@MommieDearest: while I totally agree with you I wouldn't wait my fingers typing on that website! It would give these haters the attention they're looking for. I'd rather comment here with my fellow curlies =)
the comments toward the bottom get much better…thankfully alot of them come in defense and rag on MTO for their ignorance…
*sigh*
Of course she grew her hair from a TWA to a BAA in 2 years. I did the same thing! When you stop punishing your hair with harsh chemicals and start nuturing it in it's natural form and let it be, it will grow.
I'm almost tempted to go on Media Takeout and register just to educate those folks. ALMOST… I don't need to get my pressure up so I'll just leave it alone.
I think she looks great!!! Love her with an afro. MediaStakeout is a waste of optic fibers on the World Wide Web. Maybe Solange had a slight blow out on low heat to give her some added fullness. Sometimes we need a little KICK to the afro you know?
~LiisaLee206
I think the problem is that solange BCd wore it for a month and then weaved/wigged it up. No one ever saw her with hair that wasn't either a TWA or a huge fro.
It's very obvious to me that it can be all her natural hair. Makes me sad that some people still doubt the ability of our (people of predominantly African heritage) hair to grow sans chemical treatment.
Cosigning CN, we certainly have a lot of work to do!!!
Interesting, when I look at this it reminds me of myself. On any given wash and go day my hair looks 2-4inches in length (at best) it coils up fierce! BUt if I take the time and blow it out a bit and or twist it to make it retain length people are amazed! I mean it is at or just past shoulder length in most areas and people think I am crazy when I say "respect the shrinkage".
BUT regardless, wig or real….this is disrespectful and insulting to all with kinky/coily/nappy hair. Our hair grows! Just accept it! geesh
She looks gorgeous!! To H E Double Hockey Sticks with the haters!