I know plenty of naturals who are, but to each her own.
For me, I haven't seen anyone with hair that's like mine --- dense, thick and with shrinkage like a mug! Not that they don't exist, I'm sure they do. But I think it's pointless to look at hours of YouTube vids and not be able to duplicate the results on my head.
Why I Don't Obsess Over YT
That's not to say that I don't look at YT hair vids -- I do from time to time, especially product vids I'm interested in and style vids. I happen to subscribe to one YT vlogger who I maybe check out a few minutes of her vids once every few weeks or so. I just like to keep it in perspective: Her hair ain't mine and my hair ain't hers.
I don't like to set myself up for hair disappointment. And I think many naturals do, especially new naturals, when their curls don't come out looking like their fave YouTuber. We like what we like, but it's still a dangerous, slippery slope.
Do YouTube Vids Cause More Harm Than Good?
I don't need to obsess over KimmayTube, because her KinkyCurly leave in/aloe vera mix won't look like exactly like THAT on my hair. Nor do I need to wish for straighter ringlets than Taren916 because our textures are totally different. No amount of wishing or praing will ever make my hair like that, without a perm or flat iron.
I don't need to stalk and follow the growth regimens of certain YouTube gurus, because no matter how much I try to duplicate someone's regimen, my hair is gonna do what it do. And going from one YT guru to another in the quest for length is set up for failure: Soon enough, nothing works, because you go from one thing to another too quickly to see results.
Keep It In Perspective
That's not to say I can't learn things from YT vids. I think we can, but I like to keep it in perspective.
YT vids are great ways to learn styles, read product reviews. But, if you are stalking YTers, wishing your hair was like theirs, obsessively comparing your length to theirs, or wondering what the hell is wrong with your hair because you both big chopped at the same time and she has more hair than you ... that's where the problem comes in.
With that said, check out this funny video by suzyquzy. I love her energy and I think she's hilarious. Her spirit is just infectious! She big chopped and has lots of growth less than 2 years later. The most important thing?
She met her hair goals -- a goal she set for herself by comparing her hair length as a natural to when her hair length when she graduated from high school. Not by comparing herself to some other YT vlogger, but she used her own hair as her length standard.
Have you obsessed over YT vids? Do you think too many naturals compare their hair to their favorite YT vloggers?
I don't watch them because I'm not newly natural. They serve a purpose for women who aren't comfortable wearing their hair in just one or two styles, but are for those who love variety.
ReplyDelete@Divalocity, Thank you for reading my blog and commenting! I definitely think they serve a purpose for the newly natural, as they try to navigate their way. As long as their expectations are realistic -- very few curls are alike.
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