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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Featured image by Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com
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Among the many individuals who battle severe asthma, Black women face a unique set of challenges. It's not uncommon for us to go years without a proper diagnosis, and finding the right treatment often requires some trial and error. Thankfully, all hope is not lost for those who may be fighting to get their severe asthma under control. We spoke with Juanita Brown Ingram, Esq. and Jania Watson, two inspiring Black women who have been living with severe asthma and have found strength, resilience, and a sense of purpose in their journeys.
Juanita Brown Ingram, Esq.
Juanita Ingram has a resume that would make anyone’s jaw drop. On top of being recently crowned Mrs. Universe, she’s also an accomplished attorney, filmmaker, and philanthropist. From the outside, it seems there’s nothing this talented woman won’t try, and likely succeed at. In her everyday life, however, Juanita exercises a lot more caution. From a young age, Juanita has struggled with severe asthma. Her symptoms were always exacerbated by common illnesses like a cold or flu. “I've heard these stories of my breathing struggles, but I remember distinctly when I was younger not being able to breathe every time I got a virus,” says Ingram. “I remember missing a lot of school and crying a lot because asthma is painful. I [was taken] to see my doctor often if I got sick with anything so I was hypervigilant as a child, and I still am.”
Today, Juanita says her symptoms are best managed when she’s working closely with her care team, avoiding getting sick and staying ahead of any symptoms. Ingram said she’s been blessed with skilled doctors who are just as vigilant of her symptoms as she is. While competing in the Mrs. Universe competition, Juanita took extra care to stay clear of other competitors to ensure she didn’t catch a cold or virus that would trigger her severe asthma. “I would stand off to the side and sometimes that could be taken as ‘oh, she thinks she's better than everybody else.’ But if I get sick during a pageant, I'm done. I had to compete with that in mind because my sickness doesn't look like everybody else's sickness.”
Even when her symptoms are under control, living with severe asthma still presents challenges. Juanita relies on her strong support system to overcome the hurdles caused by a lack of understanding from the public, “I think that there's a lot of lack of awareness about how serious severe asthma is. I would [also] tell women to advocate and to trust their intuition and not to allow someone to dismiss what you're experiencing.”
Jania Watson
Jania, a content creator from Atlanta, Georgia, has been living with severe asthma for many years. Thanks to early testing by asthma specialists, Jania was diagnosed with severe asthma as a child after experiencing frequent flare-ups and challenges in her day-to-day life. “I specifically remember, I was starting school, and we were moving into a new house. One of the triggers for me and my younger sister at the time were certain types of carpets. We had just moved into this new house and within weeks of us being there, my parents literally had to pay for all new carpet in the house.”
As Jania grew older, she was suffering from fewer flare-ups and thought her asthma was well under control. However, a trip back to her doctor during high school revealed that her severe asthma was affecting her more than she realized. “That was the first time in a long time I had to do a breathing test,” she describes. “The doctor had me take a deep breath in and blow into a machine to test my breathing. They told me to blow as hard as I could. And I was doing it. I was giving everything I got. [My dad and the doctor] were looking at me like ‘girl, stop playing.’ And at that point [it confirmed] I still have severe asthma because I've given it all I got. It doesn't really go away, but I just learned how to help manage it better.”
Jania recognizes that people who aren’t living with asthma, may not understand the disease and mistake it for something less serious. Or there could be others who think their symptoms are minor, and not worth bringing up. So, for Jania, communicating with others about her diagnosis is key. “Having severe asthma [flare-ups] in some cases looks very similar to being out of shape,” she said. “But this is a chronic illness that I was born with. This is just something that I live with that I've been dealing with. And I think it's important for people to know because that determines the next steps. [They might ask] ‘Do you need a bottle of water, or do you need an inhaler? Do you need to take a break, or do we need to take you to the hospital?’ So, I think letting the people around you know what's going on, just in case anything were to happen plays a lot into it as well.”
Like Juanita, Jania’s journey has been marked by ups and downs, but she remains an unwavering advocate for asthma awareness and support within the Black community. She hopes that her story can be an inspiration to other women with asthma who may not yet have their symptoms under control. “There's still life to be lived outside of having severe asthma. It is always going to be there, but it's not meant to stop you from living your life. That’s why learning how to manage it and also having that support system around you, is so important.”
By sharing their journeys, Juanita and Jania hope to encourage others to embrace their conditions, obtain a proper management plan from a doctor or asthma specialist like a pulmonologist or allergist, and contribute to the improvement of asthma awareness and support, not only within the Black community, but for all individuals living with severe asthma.
Read more stories from others like Juanita and Jania on Amgen.com, or visit Uncontrolled Asthma In Black Women | BREAK THE CYCLE to find support and resources.
