

As someone who has been a naturalista for many, many years now (minus when I took a break to rock a modified mohawk and so I relaxed it), I would argue with just about anyone who didn’t think that very few things in this life will teach you more about yourself, your level of self-discipline and patience and how to figure out what works best, no matter what everyone else is doing, than our hair.
However, sometimes, when our tresses are not cooperating in the way that we think they should, while it can be easy to simply chalk it up to having a “bad hair day,” the reality is there could be some underlying health issues going on. Yep, even though it’s not discussed a ton, your hair can actually reveal a lot to you as far as your health is concerned.
Let’s tackle that today. Below are seven things that, if you’re noticing about your own locks, you might want to tend to more than just what’s growing out of the top of your head.
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1. If You’ve Got a Lot of Graying Going on…
You might’ve thought that stress causing hair to turn gray was just a myth; it’s not. What science has discovered is not only does stress have a tendency to compromise your immunity, but it also elevates a neurotransmitter known as noradrenaline, which can lead to melanocyte stem cell loss (those stems play a role in the melanin that is produced inside of our hair follicles) which can ultimately cause gray hair.
Although some studies also reveal that it’s pretty normal for people of African descent to start going gray in their 40s, if you’re younger than that or you’re seeing more silver strands popping up than usual as of late, pondering if you’re allowing yourself to get stressed out (which would also include not getting enough rest) is definitely something that you should put some real thought into.
2. If Your Hair Is Shedding More than Usual…
If you’re losing somewhere between 50-125 strands of hair a day, that’s perfectly fine. Hair runs on life cycles (each strand has its own), so shedding is a part of the process. On the other hand, if you’re seeing a lot more than that in your comb, pardon the pun, but you shouldn’t simply “brush that off.” Gaining over 20 pounds, hormonal fluctuations, stress, and recently giving birth to a child can all be the underlying cause for why you’re losing more of your hair. Also, a reason that shouldn’t be overlooked or underestimated is being anemic (or borderline anemic).
The reality is that when there isn’t enough blood in your system, your hair follicles are not able to receive the nutrients and oxygen that they need in order for your hair to thrive. So, if lately, you’ve been feeling extra tired or weak, you’re dizzy or lightheaded, you’ve got headaches out of nowhere, and/or you’re experiencing a shortness of breath and you’re losing hair strands, make an appointment to see your doctor ASAP.
If you’re anemic, that’s nothing to play with (Black people are over three times more likely to have anemia than white people, by the way).
3. If Your Tresses Are Dry and Brittle…
Not drinking enough water, not deep conditioning your hair (along with using a leave-in conditioner on wash days), using hair products that contain harsh chemicals, and not applying hair products that contain sunscreen — all of these things can ultimately cause hair that is both dry and brittle. So, can scalp infections, hormone imbalances, hair shaft disorders (like Menkes disease), and a side effect of prescribed medication.
Speaking of prescriptions, if you’re on the pill, it’s worth noting that going on or off of it can cause dry hair and/or scalp (due to hormone fluctuations). So, if your hair seems to be extremely dry, no matter what you do, and you do happen to be on an oral form of birth control, speak with your doctor; they might be able to switch up your prescription for something that will be “kinder” to your tresses in the long run.
4. If Your Locks Seem to Be Thinning Out…
Many things are connected to hair thinning: stress, poor diet, hairstyles that pull at your hair follicles, and permanent hair dyes and relaxers. However, it should also go on record that a hormone disorder called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) could be the culprit, too. Long story short, PCOS is what happens when your body overproduces certain types of hormones to the point where it can lead to cysts on your ovaries, irregular periods, abdomen weight gain, really oily skin, and excessive body hair — only not on your head (wild, right?).
The way that hair thinning reveals itself when it comes to PCOS is your hair parts may be inexplicably wider or you could have a bald spot on the top of your head. Anyway, if more than one of these symptoms is popping up, see your doctor. PCOS isn’t something that only Google can fix.
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5. If Your Hair Is Dull and/or Limp…
Does it seem that no matter what kind of product you put on your hair, it’s not able to hold any shine or keep a style for longer than a couple of hours? It could be due to a nutrition deficiency. Yeah, if you’ve been sitting in drive-thrus more than cooking over your stove, the reality is that your hair may be suffering because of it. That’s because when you’re not getting enough protein, iron, zinc, or fatty acids into your system, it can either cause your hair to not look healthy or it can ultimately result in hair loss.
Your strands are made up of mostly protein, so definitely get some meats, lentils, yogurt, eggs, and almonds into your body. Also, don’t forget about dark leafy greens and quinoa (iron), dark chocolate and whole grains (zinc), and salmon and walnuts (fatty acids).
6. If Your Hair Is Breaking Off Rather Easily…
I promise that if you go to YouTube and put “long hair” and “4 type” in the search field, you’ll see all types of Black women with long ass locks (like these women here, here, and here). In fact, a part of the reason why I penned, “Looking For Hair Growth? It Might Be Time To Bring 'Blue Magic' Back” a few years back was to showcase that no matter what hair type you have, if your hair is growing out of your scalp, you can have long full, super healthy tresses.
The reason why a lot of us struggle with length retention is because due to our hair being naturally drier than some other ethnicities (because our curly texture prevents natural sebum from getting to the tips of our hair shaft), along with how some of us are too harsh with styling — so, our hair ends up breaking off about as fast as it grows.
While deep conditioning and handling your hair like it is silk will probably remedy this issue, if you’re already doing that and your locks still seem to be snapping off like twigs, you might want to see your doctor. Believe it or not, hypothyroidism is another underlying cause of hair breakage and hair loss.
7. If Your Scalp Is Irritated…
Your scalp is the foundation of your hair; so, of course, making sure that it’s healthy at all times is paramount. Although an itchy and irritated scalp could be connected to a dry scalp or dandruff (check out “Stop Scratching: The Differences Between Dandruff And Dry Scalp”), it could be pointing to more complex health issues including eczema, psoriasis, folliculitis (inflammation of your hair follicles), seborrheic dermatitis and the autoimmune disease lichen planus. Most of these things require an official diagnosis from your healthcare provider or a dermatologist; however, a healthy diet and a low-stress lifestyle can definitely help to bring some much-needed scalp relief.
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If there’s one thing that all of us desire, it’s healthy hair. So, if no matter how hard you try, you’re struggling with reaching your goal, before spending more money on hair products, speak with your physician. Ruling out any underlying health issues will get you just that much closer to the hair results that you seek.
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Adrian Marcel On Purpose, Sacrifice, And The 'Signs Of Life'
In this week's episode of xoMAN, host Kiara Walker talked with R&B artist Adrian Marcel, who opened up, full of heart and authenticity, about his personal evolution. He discussed his days transitioning from a young Bay Area singer on the come-up to becoming a grounded husband and father of four.
With honesty and introspection, Marcel reflected on how life, love, and loss have shaped the man he is today.
On ‘Life’s Subtle Signals’
Much of the conversation centered around purpose, sacrifice, and listening to life’s subtle signals. “I think that you really have to pay attention to the signs of life,” Marcel said. “Because as much as we need to make money, we are not necessarily on this Earth for that sole purpose, you know what I mean?” While he acknowledged his ambitions, adding, “that is not me saying at all I’m not trying to ball out,” he emphasized that fulfillment goes deeper.
“We are here to be happy. We are here [to] fulfill a purpose that we are put on here for.”
On Passion vs. Survival
Adrian spoke candidly about the tension between passion and survival, describing how hardship can sometimes point us away from misaligned paths. “If you find it’s constantly hurting you… that’s telling you something. That’s telling you that you’re going outside of your purpose.”
Marcel’s path hasn’t been without detours. A promising athlete in his youth, he recalled, “Early on in my career, I was still doing sports… I was good… I had a scholarship.” An injury changed everything. “My femur broke. Hence why I always say, you know, I’m gonna keep you hip like a femur.” After the injury, he pivoted to explore other careers, including teaching and corporate jobs.
“It just did not get me—even with any success that happened in anything—those times, back then, I was so unhappy. And you know, to a different degree. Like not just like, ‘I really want to be a singer so that’s why I’m unhappy.’ Nah, it was like, it was not fulfilling me in any form or fashion.”
On Connection Between Pursuing Music & Fatherhood
He recalled performing old-school songs at age 12 to impress girls, then his father challenged him: “You can lie to these girls all you want, but you're really just lying to yourself. You ain't growing.” That push led him to the piano—and eventually, to his truth. “Music is my love,” Marcel affirmed. “I wouldn’t be a happy husband if I was here trying to do anything else just to appease her [his wife].”
Want more real talk from xoMAN? Catch the full audio episodes every Tuesday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and don’t miss the full video drops every Wednesday on YouTube. Hit follow, subscribe, and stay tapped in.
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Sometimes I get asked the same question, often enough, that I’m like, “It’s time to address this on a larger platform,” — and for, whatever the reason, as of late, folks have been asking me what different sex acts mean.
No, not from the perspective of positions or techniques. What they’ve basically wanted to know is if making love, having sex, and f-cking are simply different words to describe the same thing or if there truly is something deeper with each one.
Let me start this off by saying that of course, to a certain extent, the answer is subjective because it’s mostly opinion-rather-than-fact driven. However, I personally think that sex is hella impactful, which is why I hope that my personal breakdown will at least cause you to want to think about what you do, who you do it with, and why, more than you may have in the past.
Because although, at the end of the day, the physical aspects of making love, having sex, and f-cking are very similar, you’d be amazed by how drastically different they are in other ways…at the very same time.
Making Love
Back when I wrote my first book, I wasn’t even 30 at the time and still, one of the things that I said in it is, I pretty much can’t stand the term “make love.” Way back then, I stated that sex between two people who truly love each other and are committed for the long haul, when it comes to what they do in the bedroom, it’s so much more about CELEBRATING love than MAKING it. To make means “to produce” or “to bring into existence;” to celebrate means “to commemorate,” “to perform” or “to have or participate in a party, drinking spree, or uninhibited good time.”
The act of sex, standing alone? It can’t make love happen and honestly, believing otherwise is how a lot of people find themselves getting…got.
What do I mean? Tell me how in the world, you meet a guy, talk to him for a few weeks, don’t even know his middle name or where he was born and yet somehow, you choose to call the first time you have sex with him (under those conditions) “making love.” You don’t love him. You don’t know him well enough to love him. He doesn’t love you either (for the same reason). And yet you’re making love? How sway? Oh, but let that sex be bomb and those oxytocin highs might have you tempted to think that’s what’s happening — and that is emotionally dangerous. And yes, I mean, literally.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times before, that one of the reasons why I like that the Bible defines sex between a husband and his wife is by using the word “know” (Genesis 4:1) is because, well, I think that is what celebrating love is all about — we know each other well enough to know that we love each other, we know each other well enough to know that we aren’t going anywhere, and that knowing is what makes us want to celebrate that union by getting as close to one another and bringing as much physical pleasure to each other as we possibly can…as often as absolutely possible.
To me, that is what the peak of physical intimacy is all about — and the people who choose to use the term “make love,” it should be seen through this type of lens. When this type of mental and emotional bond comes together via each other’s bodies, they are amplifying love, enjoying love, embracing love.
Making it, though? Chile, the love has already been made. Sex is just the icing on the cake.
Having Sex
A few nights ago, I found myself rewatching this movie called Four of Hearts (which you can currently view on yep, you guessed it: Tubi). It’s about two married couples — one that is in an open marriage and another that isn’t although they somehow thought that sharing a night with the other couple would be a good idea (chile). Anyway, as one of the partners found themselves getting low-key sprung, the one they fell for said in one of the scenes, “It wasn’t a connection. It was just sex.” JUST. SEX.
Listen, when you decide to let a man put an entire part of his body inside of you at the risk of potentially getting an STI/STD or pregnant (because no form of birth control is 100 percent except for abstinence), it can never be “just sex” (somebody really needed to hear that too). At the same time, though, I got the character’s point because, if one or both people do not love each other or even deeply care for one another and/or sex is treated as an activity more than an act to establish a worthwhile connection and/or you and the person you are sleeping with have not really discussed what you are expecting from sex besides the act itself — you’re definitely not making/celebrating love.
Not by a long shot. What can make things get a bit complicated, though, is you’re doing the same act that “love makers” do without the same mental and emotional ties…or (sometimes) expectations.
You know, back when I decided to put all of my business out there via the piece “14 Lessons I've Learned From 14 Sex Partners,” now more than ever, I am quite clear that most of those guys fell into the “having sex” category. I wasn’t in the type of relationship with them where “making love” even made sense; however, because I was friends with most of them, we weren’t exactly f-cking (which I will get to in just a moment) either. We had a connection of some sort for the bedroom yet not enough to be together in the other rooms of the house.
We were really attracted and curious, so we decided to act on that. Oftentimes, the sex was good and so we rationalized that “having sex” was enough because if the friendship was, eh, “sound enough”, that we could justify the physical pleasure.
And y’all, that’s kind of what having sex is — it’s the limbo (or purgatory, depending on your situation) between making love and f-cking. The thing about limbo ish is it’s a lot like something being lukewarm: it’s not really one thing or another which means that it can completely blindside you, if you’re not careful (and totally honest with yourself as well as your partner(s)).
So, if you are contemplating having sex, I really — REALLY — recommend that you figure out how you feel, what you want (outside of the act itself) and if you are prepared for what “not quites” can bring. My mother used to say that the consequences of sex don’t change just because the circumstances do — and there is some solid “wow” to that, if you really stop to think about it.
And finally, f-ck. Although most experts on the word (and yes, there are some) agree that its origin is rooted somewhere within the German language (although some say that it might’ve come from Middle English words like fyke or fike which mean “to move about restlessly” or the Norwegian word fukka which means “to copulate”), you might have also heard that it is an acronym that once stood for “Fornication Under Consent of the King”; and there is actually some data that is connected to that as well.
Legend has it that way back in the day, in order to keep reproduction rates where a particular king wanted them to be, he would instruct his residents to have sex with each other — whether they were married or not (hence, the word “fornication” being in the acronym). However, because sex outside of marriage was taken far more seriously at the time, residents had to apply for a permit to participate so that the king could determine if things like their occupation and lineage would prove to be beneficial for the kingdom overall. F-ck: no love; just necessity. And although some believe this to be more myth than fact, what is certain is it was only over time that f-ck was seen as a profane/swear/cuss word — a word that was perceived to be so offensive, in fact, that between the years 1795-1965, it didn’t even appear in dictionaries.
Personally, when I think of this four-letter word, the first thing that actually comes to my mind is animals. Take a dog being in heat, for instance. That’s basically when a female dog is ovulating and wants to have sex the most. It’s not because they are “in love” with another dog; they are simply doing what instinctively comes to them — and since animals do not reason or feel at the same capacity that humans do, although they science says that many of them do experience pleasure when they engage in their version of sexual activity, it’s not nearly as layered or even profound as what we experience.
Let’s keep going. Another reason why f-cking makes me think of animals is due to the doggy style position. Hear me out. Ain’t it wild how, most of us pretty much know that the term comes from how dogs have sex, even though most animals have sex that same way — and think about it: Doggy style doesn’t consist of making eye contact or kissing while having intercourse. It’s “hitting from behind” without much emotional energy or effort at all. Just how animals do it. And so, yeah, f-cking does seem to be more about pure animal — or in our case, mammal — instinct. I don’t need to feel anything for someone, so long as the sexual desire is there. Hmph.
Something else that I find to be interesting about f-cking is how dictionaries choose to define it. Many of them are going to provide you with two definitions: “to have sexual intercourse with” and “to treat unfairly or harshly (usually followed by over)” and that definitely makes me think of another term — casual sex and words that define casual like apathetic, careless and without serious or definite intention. So, the dictionary says that while f-cking is about having sexual intercourse — just like making love and having sex is — it goes a step further and says that it can include being treated unfairly or harshly.
And although that can make you think of assault on the surface, for sure — sometimes being treated unfairly or harshly is simply feeling like someone had sex AT you and not really WITH you; instinct (i.e., getting off) and that’s about it. Yeah, the way this puzzle is coming together, f-cking seems to be more about lust and self and not much else.
Now That You Know the Difference, What to Keep in Mind
Y’all, this is definitely the kind of topic that I could expound on until each and every cow comes home. That said, here’s hoping that I provided enough perspective on each act to close this out by encouraging you to keep the following three things to keep in mind:
1. Before you engage in copulation, be honest with yourself about what you’re ACTUALLY doing — and that your partner agrees with you. You know, they say that our brain is our biggest sex organ and honestly, breaking down the differences between making love, having sex and f-cking helps to prove that fact. I say that because, although the sex act itself is pretty much the same across the board, you and your partner’s mindset can make the experience completely different. That said, if you think that you are making love and they think y’all are just having sex — stuff can get pretty dicey. Bottom line: communicate in the bedroom before attempting to connect outside of it. It’s always worth it when you do.
2. Yes, you can feel one way and do something else. I can just about guess what some of y’all are on: Shellie, we can love our partner and still just want to f-ck. If what you are saying is you can emotionally love someone and physically lust them and want to act sometimes on the lust without really factoring in the love — yes, I agree. Doggy style continues to be a favorite sex position for people, in general, and I’m more than confident that many of the participants polled are in a serious relationship. However, having lust-filled sex with someone who you know loves you is vastly different than doing it with someone who you have no clue what they think about you or you barely know at all. Y’all, please just make sure that you know…what you should know. Sex is too amazing to have a lot of regret after it.
3. Have realistic expectations about sex. Listen, so much of my life consists of writing and talking about sex that I will be the first one to say that it deserves a ton of props for what it is able to do, in a wonderful way, for people mentally, emotionally and physically. Yet again, I’m not a fan of “make love” because something that feels really good doesn’t always mean that it is good for you. Meaning, you’ve got to be real about what sex with someone will do to your mind and spirit — not just what it will do for your body. An author by the name of Gabriel García Márquez once said, “Sex is the consolation you have when you can't have love.” For no one, should this be a constant norm. Feel me? I hope you do.
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One act. Three very different experiences.
It’s kind of wild that sex has the ability to create that — and yet, clearly, it does.
Please just make sure that you know which experience you’re signing up for.
So that you’re having sex (you know, in general) instead of sex having you. Real talk.
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