YouTube will have you out here applying a concoction of honey, mayonnaise, bananas, and avocados to your tresses in an attempt to get your unapologetically untamed coils in alignment and before crafting her haircare line, Tracee Ellis Ross was a sister one the DIY haircare struggle, too. In a recent interview with Dazed Digital, Tracee revealed that before the birth of her brainchild, Pattern Beauty, she tried everything (and I literally mean everything) to whip her curls into shape—including but not limited to employing one very unusual (and frankly, ineffective) hair hack.
Recalling a story that proved what works for some won't work for all, Tracee shared how a friend from Italy gave her an idea that would ultimately do more harm than good when it came to her hair health:
"I was trying different things, I put beer in my hair. I had an Italian friend who had big, huge, glorious curls. She would wash her hair, wet them, and then pour a can of beer in her hair. And it would make the curl. So I tried that."
It was then, Tracee said, that she began to learn what products her hair did and didn't like. While her friend's hair care tip may have been effective at first, the 47-year-old actress says it didn't take long before her tresses were stressed the f*ck out by her alcohol-infused antics:
"But that was the beginning of me discovering how my hair did not like alcohol. Maybe for the first couple of hours because they would curl, but if you do that for a month it will be dried to a pulp. I've tried all of it...And then I started to educate myself both about what worked on my hair and what didn't."
The actress, who says that she later became "extemely protective" of her crown, says that this wasn't the first time she had tried to beat her curls into submission. In fact, there was a point where she even tried to iron her hair—yes, I mean with an actual iron. In a previous interview, she shared:
"I even whipped out an iron (the kind you use for clothes) in an attempt to straighten it that way. Trying to make my hair look 'easy and breezy', 'bouncin' and behavin' actually had the opposite effect. My hair was broken, damaged, and tired of trying to be something that it wasn't."
While Tracee's relationship with her hair has been tumultuous, to say the least, she explained that she has now come to a point where she's done trying to live up to society's expectations of natural hair "should look". The Black-ish star, who plans to release the second phase of her product line that features styling products this June, had this advice for anyone who feels lost on their haircare journey and has resorted to beer and avocados as a final resort:
"First of all, I am not opposed to iron, beer, wig... anything. They're all choices. The only suggestion that I would offer people, is inform yourself and be your own start from the seed of finding your own self-love and connecting to the beauty of what you and who you authentically are, what is authentically growing out of your head. Even if your choice is to wear wigs, make sure that you are caring for your scalp and your hair and offering it the love and support that it needs, even if it's only in the privacy of your home.l"
Crusty curls are never a good idea, so if you need recommendations on a few products that will keep them thangs poppin', scroll below!
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