Topic: The future of hair care Hair care as an industry, a cultural practice, and a scientific field is in the middle of a period of rapid change. The forces driving this change — technological development, shifting cultural demographics, evolving sustainability expectations, advances in biology, and the growing economic power of previously underserved consumer segments …

Format: Long-form editorial | Topic: History of African hair braiding Braiding is simultaneously one of the most ancient hair practices in human history and one of the most commercially contemporary — a technique with roots stretching back thousands of years that is today a multi-billion dollar industry, a subject of legal battles, and a central …

Format: Long-form editorial | Topic: Hair anxiety and mental well-being Hair care is supposed to be a practice of self-care — an investment in one’s appearance and health that produces a sense of control, pleasure, and confidence. For most people, most of the time, it functions this way. But for a significant number of people, …

Format: Long-form editorial | Topic: Hair texture alteration and identity Few topics in natural hair culture are more charged than the question of hair texture loosening — the practice of altering the curl pattern of natural hair to a looser state through texturizers, stretch washes, heat training, or the gentle curl-loosening effect of some conditioning …

Format: Long-form editorial | Topic: Reframing hair growth goals Length is the metric by which most people measure hair progress, and the desire for longer hair drives an enormous proportion of the hair care decisions, product purchases, and stylistic choices that natural hair wearers make. This is understandable — length is visible, measurable, and culturally …

Format: Long-form editorial | Topic: Sleep and hair health Hair health conversations almost universally focus on what you do while awake — the products you apply, the styles you wear, the foods you eat, the tools you use. What happens to the hair and scalp during the eight or so hours we spend asleep receives …

Format: Long-form editorial | Topic: Community culture critique The natural hair community has been an extraordinary source of support, knowledge, and solidarity for millions of people navigating a hair care landscape that was not designed with their hair in mind. Online forums, YouTube channels, Instagram accounts, and community groups have collectively produced a body of …

Balayage and ombre are two of the most popular hair color techniques in contemporary styling, and the two terms are frequently confused or used interchangeably — even in salon settings. While both techniques involve creating a gradient or transition of color in the hair, they achieve this through very different methods and produce visually distinct …

Hair slugging is one of the more unusual but genuinely effective hair care trends that has circulated widely in the natural hair and general hair care communities. Borrowed from the skincare world — where slugging refers to applying an occlusive moisturizer like petroleum jelly to the face overnight — hair slugging applies a similar principle …

Money pieces have become one of the most talked-about and requested hair coloring techniques in recent years. If you have seen someone with a striking, bright frame of color around their face that seems to catch the light and draw attention to their features, you have likely seen money pieces in action. This guide explains …