Gabby Gets A Hair Style Over

Before: Gabby's hair while competing in the Olympics         After: Gabby's hair done by stylist Ted Gibson  

Gabby Douglas -- the 16-year-old, two-time Gold Medal gymnast whose hair some folks just love to hate -- received a hair "style" over by celebrity hair stylist Ted Gibson,  who has styled the locks of First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey.

Gabby, who wrapped up the Olympics in London last week, made talk show rounds sporting Gibson's handy work -- a weave of cascading curls. Gabby She made an appearance on Good Morning America with long beach waves; earlier, she appeared alongside Michelle Obama with a long weaved ponytail on the Jay Leno Show.

After winning two Gold Medals, Gabby's hair became the topic of blistering criticism online, with some labeling her hair style of choice -- a gelled, weaved ponytail with clips -- as inappropriate.

Gabby's Hair is Different; So What?

Some have dubbed Gabby's new style a hair "makeover," but it's anything but. Earlier, Gabby defended herself against hair critics and made it clear that her ponytail and clips were going to stay while performing -- a style that many on her team also wore. 

Gabby's new style isn't much different than her previous styles. Past pictures of Gabby show her wearing what appears to be a straight weave; the only difference with this particular new style is that it's a bit curlier -- technically, no different than what she usually wears -- and was done by a celebrity stylist.

Who would turn down a chance for styling by a celebrity stylist? I certainly wouldn't. And you know that just about all of the Olympic Gold Medalists will be offered some kind of style, hair and makeup advice.

This is what Gibson told the Daily Mail about Gabby's hair:

"I believe all that talk had to take a toll on her," he said, referring to the criticism Gabby received about wearing her hair in clips and a gelled ponytail and how it affected her subsequent performances. "How could it not? You've worked so hard for something and then people tear you apart for little or nothing."

 The stylist said he hopes his efforts will help Douglas "feel good about being in her own skin."

"Women know coming to me is a soothing and nurturing experience that compliments the styles I give them,' he said. 'It's about the hair, and then it's about much more."

I'm So Over It

I really don't get all the criticism about Gabby's hair. So many folks chastised Gabby -- read: Black folks --telling her that she needed to "do something" with her hair and calling her derogatory remarks. Never mind that she won two Olympic medals and is the first African American to win a Gold Medal in the Women's All-Around Gymnastics' competition.

Who among us has hair that is always picture perfect, especially if you are an athlete competing in the Olympics? Black women won't work out now, for fear of destroying their hairstyles, and it's absolutely killing us. 

There's something wrong with us when we are all too happy to throw shade on Gabby's accomplishments in order to focus on her hair and how we think it should be styled. Really? And folks wonder why Black women are so fucked up about our hair?

OK, now Gabby has done "something" with her hair; that should make everyone happy now, right? Most of those folks who bashed her online are probably happy, because she's got straightened, weaved locks -- an "appropriate" style for an athlete, right?

*shade*

Jesus!

Can we please just close the book on Gabby's hair now once and for all?

What do you think of Gabby's new hair style?