Zahara, the adopted daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, gets no hair love.
Jolie was criticized by a black stylist, DaRico Johnson, when she put braided extensions in Zahara's hair.
Now, my general rule is that kids (especially little ones) are off limits for bad criticism online and on blogs; no one should have their child subjected to that mess, especially when it's about their bodies or, in this case, their hair!
This is what Johnson was quoted as saying:
“If Angelina wants Zahara to be in touch with her roots and have her hair braided then she can do that with the child’s own hair and she doesn’t need to add extensions."
“She is far too young for that and Angelina is creating insecurity in the little girl that what she has is not good enough. Growing up with siblings who have long flowing hair, Zahara may grow to feel that her own natural hair is not pretty enough, and that without the fake hair she is not beautiful. She should be made to embrace who she is.”
*blank stare*
Really?
Johnson is looking for his 15 minutes of fame, and I guess he just got it. He couldn't be more wrong: Her hair is age appropriate -- she doesn't have weave to her ass. It's just extensions, and I've seen this look with extensions and without extensions on countless Black girls -- including my own, when they were Zahara's age.
What's the problem? If anything, he could argue that you have to be careful putting extensions in her hair, because her hair appears to be fine and the weight of the extensions could break her natural hair off. If he'd made that argument, that would be OK. I never put extensions in my daughters' hair for that reason, when they were Zahara's age.
Why Black Folks Have A Problem with Zahara's Hair
As long as Zahara still wears her God given hair, I don't see a problem with some extensions occasionally. I get his point about the "long flowing hair" but I think he's overreacting.
But, let me say this for the record: Black folks have a problem with Zahara's hair, and the fact that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (or whomever they choose to hire as a stylist) are white and they're maintaining it. As my grandfather would say, they can't win for losing.
When pictures of Zahara's hair showed up online, Black people were the first one to dog Angelina Jolie out, criticizing her hair skills. Called her hair a dry, crunchy mess, and called Angelina and Brad out for adopting an African girl and not knowing how to maintain her hair. Folks still gave them the side eye when Angelina and Brad said they use Carol's Daughter products on Zahara's hair.
Are We Unfair?
Lemme be real for a minute, boo boo.
I've seen plenty of little Black girls with eaten up, jacked up edges and napes from bad perms, ratty fake ponytails and raggedy extensions that were not age appropriate, and horribly broken off hair right here in these United States. And I'm assuming their Momma and Daddy were Black, so what's the point?
Just because you're Black doesn't mean you're an expert in hair care. Brad and Angelina are White and they have different hair. Give them a damn break! I'm sure that none of the Black people who criticized Zahara for dry hair, ever had dry hair a day in their lives.
Zahara's a kid. No child's hair will be camera ready or perfect on every occassion. Black folks in general can be very judgmental when it comes to kids and their hair. I'm not saying your kid will go out all the time looking a hot mess, but kids play, get dirty, roll around in the dirt. Every strand on their head won't be perfectly in place at all times -- far from it.
I wish folks would put down the shea butter, coconut oil and YouTube tutorials for a minute and remember that for many of us, learning our natural hair was a process. Most of us hadn't seen our natural tresses since we were girls or at least pre-teens. And so we weren't experts out the gate. We had to relearn our hair care and hair rituals -- shampooing, conditioning, moisturizing, maintenance.
Hell, some of us are still learning.
*raises hand*
The Real Problem
Why would we expect anything different from Angelina and Brad? Is it because they're white and they should be experts on black hair care since they chose to adoopt? If anything, folks really want to say: "This Black child should not be with these adopted parents."
That's what the real argument is really about, right? Can't win for losing. If Angelina goes and cuts off all of Zahara's hair, I'm sure folks would have something to say about that, too. Maybe Angelina and Brad are the parents of the year. Don't know and don't care.
But, please cut Zahara -- and her parents -- some slack (pun intended).
What do you think about hair extensions on children?
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