Garcelle Beauvais embraces her natural hair and talks about “good hair”

The magazine Hype Hair features a radiant Garcelle Beauvais on its March cover. In a sit-down chat with Hype Hair, Beauvais discussed why she has recently embraced her natural hair. It was actually at the recommendation of Kimberly Kimble, her hairstylist, when Kimble told Beauvais to “stop relaxing.” And “relaxing” didn’t have anything to do with Garcelle’s schedule.

As many black women know all too well, the “relaxing” process often begins in childhood as an attempt to have “good hair.” But Kimble told Beauvais that this unnatural straightening of naturally curly black hair may be counter-productive to having “good hair.” Years of applying chemical hair relaxers can often turn perceived “good hair” into “unhealthy hair.”

So Beauvais, with a measure of hesitation, embraced her natural hair. What she found is that she liked her natural curl pattern, and she said it actually “redefined” what she thinks as her hair. And now, she said she can tell her kids that they got their curls from her.

In her 40s, Beauvais said she finally saw her natural “good hair.” In her joking way, Beauvais said, “We come out of the womb and they’re already putting relaxers and all kinds of stuff in our hair and you don’t know your hair.” Now she’s finally been introduced to her own hair.