this is so cool! (x) | follow @this-is-life-actually

the dreadlocks double standard has got to go (x) | follow @this-is-life-actually

It's time to stop poking fun at the wet hair trend and start embracing it

In truth, the wet hair look is a lazy girl's dream, and it couldn't have come at a better time. According to hairstylist Vernon François, it is incredibly low-maintenance, and highly summer-appropriate. But it doesn't exactly mean taking a shower and then running out of your house. To perfect the wet hair look means using 3 products. Follow @this-is-life-actually

newsflash: there’s no such thing as “normal” hair

Is it ever OK for white people to wear dreadlocks?

Although historians and anthropologists have found evidence of dreadlocks across many different cultures — from Egypt to tribes in Africa to Somalia and so on — it's white people wearing dreads that have caused the most ire. After all, while black people have been banned from school and fired for wearing them, white celebrities wear them like an accessory. We asked women of color about their thoughts as to why it may or may not be offensive, and why it may never be OK.

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CRWN is a new magazine devoted to natural hair — and it’s a f*cking dream come true

At this year's Afropunk Festival in Brooklyn, New York, people milled about between sets from Ice Cube, Janelle Monáe and TV on the Radio by booths selling jewelry by black artisans or comic books starring black characters. There were shops for soap and African foldable flats and art and candles — something for everybody. 

But tucked into one booth over the weekend, was something special. In one booth, there were the first few copies of the first issue of CRWN, a lifestyle magazine for natural hair and the women who wear it, up for grabs.

It might not seem like a radical idea, after all there are magazines devoted to seemingly everything under the sun from cats to yarn, but with stories about natural hair (both the celebration of and attempts to curb it) popping up more frequently than ever, an outlet devoted entirely to the topic feels all the more prescient.

The idea for CRWN started with a conversation back in 2014.

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You Are Not Defined By Your Hair campaign offers tutorials for breast cancer survivors

For many women battling cancer, one of the hardest aspects of their diagnosis is a sense of losing oneself. This feeling is perhaps most apparent in the hair loss associated with chemotherapy. In a new campaign titled You Are Not Defined By Your Hair, a select group of women both diagnosed and living with breast cancer are shown tips for how to style themselves in a step-by-step video series. Follow @this-is-life-actually

A female sports broadcaster dyed her hair, and faced an onslaught of sexism

According to Charissa Thompson, a reporter for Fox Sports, female reporters can't dye their hair without inciting national controversy. In an interview with HBO's Real Sports, Thompson recounted what happened when she decided to dye her blond hair brunette and don glasses. Later, after Thompson dyed her hair back to blond, Deadspin published an article with a disturbing headline.

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It's never been easy being a woman, especially when looking back at the gender's history of conforming to hair-removal standards. The history of women removing their body hair is steeped in misogyny. Fact: Cavewomen had to shave their body hair for safety.

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Watch: YouTuber Deepica Mutyala made amends for screwing up model Malyia McNaughton’s natural hair — and then McNaughton got to exact her revenge.

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Science has revealed that it's bad to sleep with wet hair

Have you ever gone to bed with dripping wet hair and wondered whether you were secretly doing damage to your strands? When you fall asleep with wet hair, the hairs often press and rub against the pillow case, leaving the cuticles at different angles, and thereby reducing shine. If you're too lazy to wake up early and wash your hair, there are some products that might be able to salvage your stands.

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'Cosmopolitan' received major backlash for claiming that cornrows are a new hair trend

On Saturday, Cosmopolitan posted a cornrow tutorial to its Facebook page. Now the publication is being dragged for insinuating that this is the first time its readers would have seen one of the oldest black hairstyles that originated in ancient African civilizations. After criticism,Cosmopolitan issued a promise to its readers. 

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Alessia Cara is doing what no pop star would. She has vowed to perform without done-up hair, makeup and wardrobe. In an interview with Mic, she explained how horribly negative comments mostly from other women drove her to this decision.

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E! News pulls article asking “WTF is a hot comb”

Apparently E! News has been taking some cues from the Kardashian family in discovering "new" hair trends. This time celebrities are loving hot combs — at least according to a now-deleted post published on Wednesday. The writer did mention the African American community in the story — but her use of the word “we” made the whole thing even more problematic.

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Women are tweeting #LesPrincessesOntDesPolis in defense of their body hair

French teen Adele Labo's invitation for women to send her pictures of their natural body hair on Twitter went viral. Her hashtag, #LesPrincessesOntDesPoils ("princesses have hair") has spread across multiple platforms. She was inspired to start the movement when she discovered the staggering amount of money women spend on hair removal products each year. Follow @this-is-life-actually

Guess who’s got white dreads for the summer??? We’ll give you one guess.

Peer into the dark, weird, and surprisingly expensive world of selling dead celebrity hair

According to Adrian Roose at JustCollecting.com, an online community for collectors where they can buy, sell, upload and manage their collections, buying celebrity hair now is just an extension of a long, weird history dating back to the 19th century. Yes, it's a thing — and a lock of David Bowie's hair just went for a small fortune.

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