As someone who grew up flicking through hair magazines and oohing and aahing along the way, I couldn’t ignore the noticeable and growing trend in many of these magazines. Many hair magazines have started to include more natural hair.
The hair magazines I looked at years ago were entirely dedicated to relaxers or weaves. The adverts in many of these magazines were for relaxers and weaves as well. Of course I did notice the odd natural hair style here and there (mainly short cuts and small afros), but the amount of natural hair then compared to now, was minuscule.
As a natural, I welcome the incorporation of more natural hair in mainstream hair magazines. While promoting natural beauty, many of these hair magazines are promoting small natural hair care businesses as well. An example of a magazine that promotes small natural hair care businesses is United Kingdom based BlackHair magazine.
BlackHair Magazine’s latest issue
It is very clear that demand is changing and that hair magazines are working very hard to keep up with the latest trends. However, this is bittersweet to me because while the trends are changing, the editors and writers of these magazines may have negative attitudes regarding natural hair that remain unchanged.
It is also undeniable that natural hair is making a big impact on the hair industry (granting it more attention in hair magazines), but despite this, I am still disappointed with the little attention it is still given in these magazines. The majority of hairstyles, adverts and sometimes articles, do not cater to natural hair. I suppose I should accept that the majority of people still wear weaves and/or relaxed hair.
Hair magazines are still businesses and are doing what they can to appeal to a wider audience. Naturals have definitely gained more publicity and popularity but we still have a long way to go. It’s good that hair magazines are putting us on the map a bit more, if only I could see more afro’s on their front covers!
What are your thoughts on the growing natural hair topics in hair magazines?
