Good hair—everyone wants it, but who has it? While a girl once told me she wished she had “good hair” like mine, I once wished I had “good hair” like my mixed best friend. Even Beyonce, described Becky with only one attribute—having, “good hair.”
However, the concept and reinforcement of “good hair” upholds a system of colorism in the black community. One where the looser the curl, the more desirable the hair. While the natural hair community has made tremendous strides in recent years, Tracee Ellis Ross is here to remind us all how beautiful our curl patterns really are and that good hair is not a type but an attitude.
Over 10 years in the making, Ross has finally launched PATTERN, a haircare line exclusively for “the curliest, coiliest & tightest of hair textures.” The collection features hydration shampoo, conditioner in medium, heavy and intense, leave-in conditioner, argan oil and jojoba oil. Beyond the actual products, Ross has provided a shower brush, perfect for detangling, a towel that won’t break your delicate strands and a hair clip for sectioning off your hair. Travel sizes are also available and can be refilled by your larger everyday shampoo and conditioner (genius!). This was my favorite aspect of the line, since I always blowout my hair during travel to avoid bringing a carry-on stuffed with just hair products. Honestly, the only thing missing from the PATTERN launch is the perfect hair gel, for that sleek Tracee Ellis Ross bun.
What I found even more impressive than the brand itself, was the message. On their Instagram, PATTERN chose to highlight the tightest textures first. So much so someone commented,”will there be products for 3A/3B (curly) hair?” PATTERN’s response: yes, but “since 4C (tight textures) are always listed last, we decided to give them some love first.” It’s intentional actions like this that begin to reverse our ideology of what “good hair” really is and open our minds to what it could be.
While the word diversity could win buzzword of the year, the brand promotes diversity in a different way. They don’t just check off if they have that one black girl on set, but feature models of all shades of brown—freckles, vitiligo and age included—and they reclaim black hair by describing it in unique ways such as “gravity-defying, cloud-like and springy.”
In a shocking revelation, PATTERN, doesn’t want you to “tame, control, or stifle your curls & coils.” Instead, “let them free.” Which is the exact opposite of what I’ve been told my whole life— “slick it down, make it smaller.” A boy actually told me once my hair looked like a lion and that I needed to tame it. PATTERN seeks to end this type of thinking.
The icing on the cake for PATTERN is Ross’s infectious energy. She has infused her joy, passion and love into the DNA of the brand, including showering (in a swimsuit) in front of a room full of beauty editors to show them not only how excited she was, but to demonstrate how well her products worked.
PATTERN is the celebrity beauty brand we actually needed and our reminder that every pattern is truly worth celebrating.
Available online at patternbeauty.com, and in Ulta Beauty stores on 9/22
Tracee Ellis Ross photo courtesy of Allure
Product Shots courtesy of brand PR