Wigs/Weaves in Natural Hair Product Advertisements?
By now, you’ve probably seen lots of new and existing companies pop up with a product line targeted directly (or indirectly) at naturals. From new companies like Carol’s Daughter, to Oyin Handmade, to Karen’s Body Beautiful, to 4 Naturals, many are creating lines specifically for natural hair. Then you have existing companies like Sofn’free, African Pride, Dr. Miracle’s Curl Care, Loreal (Mizani) and Organic Root Stimulator that are creating/re-launching lines for the curly, natural, or “multi-textural” woman.
Now, let me tell you why I think this is important. It’s significant because of the way that these companies market their products to naturals. Take this Organic Root Stimulator advertisement I found in the April 2012 issue of Essence magazine. As you can see, Curls Unleashed is a new product line meant to “unleash the power of your natural beauty”. Ok. If that’s the case, then why does one of the models seem to be wearing a wig or weave? *raised eyebrow* How is her natural beauty being unleashed under a wig/weave? Personally, I don’t get why they would use a model who wasn’t wearing her hair in its natural state.
Let’s be real for a minute. There is no shortage of women with natural hair out there, and my blog is evidence that there are plenty of models with natural hair, too.But I’m sure Organic Root Stimulator is not the only company who uses models with natural hair wigs.Matter of fact, check out these posts from Coco and Creme, Clutch magazine, and Newly Natural on black hair care commercials.
Update: After engaging in a Twitter conversation about my post and the Curls Unleashed advertisement, I have been informed that the models’ hair in question (the third model) is indeed real. Thank you @africamiranda for gracefully indulging my questions and correcting me.
What commercials/advertisements for natural hair products have you seen with models wearing wigs/weaves? Do you think it’s a fair practice, or a misrepresentation?
