A cup of chai
Chai is a natural hair blogger who writes Back to Curly. In this feature, she explains her take on something which I have noticed: the monopoly of US blogs on the Anglophone natural hair blogging scene. Check out Chai’s perspective below as she answers Charcoal Ink questions:
1) Do you think the US is the centre of the natural hair movement or
is it more diverse than this?I’ve never believed the US holds a monopoly over the natural hair movement & it’s growing popularity over the years. On the contrary, I believe no matter the continent or distance that
separates one natural from the next…we are all part of something much greater. There are no boundaries, no limits on who gets to go natural. I think individually, we all hold the ‘center’ of
the movement…it’s how we pass on the inspiration from one to another… to go for it, go natural & see where it takes you.2) Are most of the natural hair blogs you read from the US?
Honestly yes. If I were to guess, I’d say I have close to over 30 blogs on my Rss feed. I don’t have the time to read most daily, but out of the majority, about 3 or 4 are from outside the United
States. And this is not to say I don’t welcome non-US natural hair blogs, but blogs outside the US devoted to natural hair are hard to stumble upon if not from word of mouth.3) Do you think the natural hair movement will become a proper
business industry within the black hair care industry?Hard question to answer. Right now, it seems many are trying to find the right balance with the two which is a good thing. At the same time, I’m willing to be patient and see where
this ‘movement’ goes and hope it serves a greater purpose in the black hair care industry. The current industry is a bit convoluted because it’s been focused on the business model of making
money, which is understandable. But lately we’re seeing a great deal more companies begin listening to their customers, especially the popular hair care blogs…zeroing in on we want from
our products and how we chose to spend our money. This is a great direction to head in if we expect and hope for change.4) Do you think a too-American focused view on natural hair care on
blogs and the Internet will hurt natural hair as a whole?I’m not fully aware of the differences between an American view and others…or if there even is one. How we all care for our natural hair is something that should, if it doesn’t already, bring
us together in better understanding. I do know that a lot of the natural hair care products that are readily available in the states are especially hard to come by in other countries, and to that
extent I can see why the focus has been on America. But as far as any harm on natural hair as a whole, I don’t see it.5) Where are the women from who read your blog?
The majority are here in the US, while a small percentage are outside the states. I have a very small readership in Europe. The number grows gradually each time I check in on stats, etc.,
which is really nice to see.
Back to Curly is a natural hair website that you should check out. Let us know what you think about whether natural hair blogs are monopolised by the US.
Charcoal Ink 
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So many of the blogs on Natural hair are American and I must admit that when I first started my hair journey, I got most of my information from US based bloggers and only found UK based bloggers later on in my journey. Due to this My best friend and I decided to start a Kenyan Blog for natural haired ladies in Kenya and Across the world….www.thenaturalgirlsguidetobeauty.blogspot.com ( I know its a mouthful). There are very few blogs that deal with natural hair from an African perspective and we do hope that more natural haired bloggers from across the world come up
Sounds brilliant, can’t wait to have a look at it 🙂
I so disagree. The Natural Hair community and blogs websites and forums are mainly American and therefore there is a bias. Having a small readership outside usa would indicate the appeal is there. Though is there any point reading about anything you cant buy all the time.
I ready many blogs and to be honest not many are about hair. It is such a shame that euronaps disappeared and the vibrant forums that TyteCurl had are gone. They were Europe based.
Before African Americans were going natural en masse the African continent and Diaspora were still rocking natural hair as well as all the other popular hairstyles African women adorn all day everyday.
I do not do much with my hair blog but I am now seeing more natural hair sites pop up again that are uk based with products and services available in the uk. The market for natural hair in the uk and elsewhere has always been there just has not been tapped hard enough.
Ps. (sorry to ramble) I just feel any blog will have a strong bias according where it is located based unless and effort had been made to reach more than the four walls that surround thee.
i think you said some good points here. i wished i had know about those sites when they were around! lol
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this is EXACTLY why i started blogging again. i remember when i first stumbled on hair boards, EVERYONE was american. they would talk about products that weren’t even available here in the UK. i learnt tips and tricks from them, but i knew as a whole, the UK hair scene is dead, or just starting up. i see SO many women with broken hair and thin ends, and i think – how comes they dont know about the hair boards? when i went to university, i told my friends about hair boards. at first they didn’t believe that the women i showed, it was their hair or if it was, it was because they had ‘good’ hair. i left it at that. they knew i was on the hair boards and they SAW how thick my hair was. they knew i didn’t wear weaves – all the hair on my head was mine. without them saying, i knew they were watching my hair closely. and when i decided to go natural, it was a process i knew they were apart of. next thing i knew, i heard them talking about healthy hair practices and they were asking me questions. i broke through the barrier by SHOWING them that it is possible (without even saying anything). i now have one friend planning to go natural and i know a couple more of girls going or who have gone natural. but they still have questions. my friends suggested that i write a blog again (i kind of came off it in the past). my blog fully ‘launches’ around january time, but for now, im just posting little tid bits here and there. but the goal of my blog is to encourage healthy hair here in the UK. right now, i dont mind if its relaxed or natural, but they need to learn! lol
So sorry about this late replying. I think a mixture of diaspora voices is key to healthy natural hair debate.