This week, we share Fertility Friday’s podcast on black hair care products and their impact on our reproductive health.
Tola Okogwu is a British blogger and author of the ‘Daddy Do My Hair?’ book series for children. She recently launched KECHIS ‘Kechi’s Hair Goes Every Which Way’ in May 2018, Tola wants to tackle the relationship between young black girls and their natural afro hair in a vibrant, entertaining and educational way. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and has written for several publications including Black Beauty and Hair Magazine and Metro UK.
In her own words: “For black people, hair is so much more than just what grows out of our heads. Along with our skin colour, it’s the biggest signifier of the differences between us and other races and for the longest time we’ve been made to feel that there is something wrong and unattractive about it.”
In today’s show, we talk about the issue of chemicals in black hair products, and how black women can move away from products that contain harmful chemicals.
Today’s episode is sponsored by my Fertility Friday’s FAM 101 video series. Click here for access.
Topics discussed in today’s episode:
- The complexities and politics of straitening your hair as a black woman
- The toxic and damaging nature of hair relaxer
- Relaxer and chemical burns
- Is there a link between hair relaxer and fibroids?
- The importance of informed choice as it relates to hair-care products
- Embracing the beauty of natural hair
- How manufacturers have adapted to the natural hair movement
- The xenoestrogen and other chemical content of natural hair products
- The particular way black women use hair-care and other beauty products, and why this exacerbates our toxic exposure
- How to minimize your exposure?
- How many products do you need?