Health and Wellness

Check out the video HERE!

No matter what background or ethnicity we belong to, hair, or the lack of it, is a part of our appearance. It’s an integral piece of how we present ourselves, helping define our personality without us having to say a word. When our hair is not accepted or when it’s deemed “bad hair” we can start to think that maybe there is something bad about who we are. Maybe we aren’t pretty or beautiful because our hair doesn’t look like the women in the magazines we read or movies we see. Maybe we’ll draw too much of the wrong sort of attention or look unprofessional if we opt for a bolder haircut, locs, or a voluminous twist-out.

Now more than ever, people are turning to alternative wellness and fitness strategies to manage stress, cope with mental health issues, and deal with chronic medical conditions.  Within the African-American community, many of these issues are compounded by stigma, limited access to resources, and systemic injustices.  Recent data collected by the US Department of Health and Human Services suggests that African-Americans are 20% more likely to report serious psychological distress than their white counterparts.