Tracee Ellis Ross is a hair idol to most women, but the actress is starting a movement to get us to adore what's on our own heads. In a new video post, Ross chats with her fans and expresses her gratitude for being a muse, but admits that it wasn't always easy for her to accept her hair.
"I am genuinely honored and tickled and excited by the fact that people like my hair," says in the video. "It's really nice when people like something about you, especially when they like something that you worked so hard on and used to hate. I used to hate my hair. My hair was so much work. It's still a lot of work. But it's a lot of work with a lot of payoff now."
After debunking the notion that her hair is easier to manage because she's of mixed ethnicity, Ross details a childhood filled with relaxers and early morning attempts to press her hair flat. Eventually she learned what would work for her curls and grew to love them and accept their nature — something she wishes we could all attain.
The Hair Love campaign was created as a response to an Instagram meme from AroundTheWayCurls in which a young girl is seen crying with the caption stating, "That moment you realize you don't have Tracee Ellis Ross' hair."
"I'm flattered and honored…but at the same time, I don't want you to want my hair," she continues. "The reason I don't want you to want my hair is I'm of the school of love what you've got. For me, the reason my hair was such a battle is because I was trying to make it something it wasn't. I wanted the hair that somebody else had. And because of that I was damaging my hair and trying to beat it into submission.
"I love that you love my hair but I only love that you love my hair if it's an inspiration for you to love your hair."
She then asks viewers to submit a video stating why they love their own hair. She also invites them to share their own tips about how they manage their manes in the hopes of opening discussions and finding out what would work best for individual styles and textures.
To view her entire message, click here.
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(Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)