When a Black woman decides to rock her natural hair, she knows she’s opening herself up to a ridiculous amount of opinions. If you’re a global superstar like Rihanna, you know that attention is going to be multiplied times a thousand when you show up to the launch of your new hair care line, Fenty Hair, with your short, natural curly locks.
First of all, Rih looks gorgeous no matter what she does with her hair. Over the years, she’s given us every style and color imaginable, and they’ve all worked. But for some reason, when it comes to natural hair, the rules are different. People get extra passionate on both sides of the debate. To that end, the internet went crazy over the “Diamonds” singer’s hair, with opinions ranging from she’s bald with damaged edges, to her knocking it out of the park and once again changing the game.
The beauty billionaire’s loyal fans were inspired by her choice, with one person writing on X, “I just want to say that @Rihanna rocking her short, natural curls for Fenty Hair makes my heart SING! I choose my short curls over a lot of styles…”
Another person noted how we’ve seen a different side of the superstar since she’s become a mom, writing on X, “I’m truly loving Rihanna rocking her natural hair. Something about motherhood really glows up a woman when/if she becomes one.”
One user pointed out how pregnancy can change hair, posting, “I ain’t saying nothing about Rihanna hair because postpartum hair loss is real. My baby left my hair effed up too.”
Meanwhile, someone responded to those taking issue with the fact that Rihanana rocked short hair for the release of a hair care line, writing, “I know ppl have given their critiques but I think it’s actually nice that Rihanna has her hair out like this. Short hair needs care too, not everyone seeks out products to gain waist length hair. Healthy hair should be the goal regardless.”
Of course, we can’t have nice things on the internet, so it wasn’t all positive.
With some people joking about her hair line, or pointing out that her hair could be damaged, one user posted, “I’ve seen her look better is all I’m saying.”
Another person aired their issues with celebrity hair care lines, noting that we’re probably not getting the whole story, writing on X, “GOOD HAIR vs NOT GOOD HAIR. Some of y’all need to stop trying to make this about texturism or discriminating against short, natural hair. We love coily, short afros. What we don’t love is when women market their overpriced hair products when their natural hair is struggling.”
We know that stars like Rihanna and Beyonce probably wear wigs and hairpieces. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t have the same struggles with their natural hair that we all have. In fact, they may have more issues with damaged hair, as there’s is expected to handle a lot of changes in color and texture.
For Black women, going natural or not is always going to be a hot topic. There are merits to both. However, considering how wildly different our various hair textures are, we need to be more understanding of one another’s hair choices because we all know nothing works for us 100 percent of the time.
