Black Girl Magic: VOGUE Shines A Light On Naturalistas In The Military

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(Photos by Mayan Toledano)

VOGUE Magazine Highlights The Surge In Natural Hair Styles For Black Military Women

We’ve covered the plight of black servicemen and women who wear natural hairstyles in the military quite a bit over the last few years so we are enthralled to learn that there has been a surge in the numbers of black women in the Army and Air Force who are exploring natural hair options since regulations have eased up in January of this year.

VOGUE did an incredible feature on 17 trailblazing military naturalistas, noting that in recent years, “the Army and Air Force have approved for female soldiers braids of increased size as well as twists, and removed words such as unkempt from their grooming guidelines.”

Peep some of their stories below:

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In January of this year, the United States Army revised its grooming and appearance regulations, including its ban on dreadlocks for female soldiers. The implications of the new directive were far greater than a single style, signaling a seismic shift in attitudes toward Afro-textured hair that has long been the subject of intense scrutiny, both in the military and beyond. Major Tennille Woods Scott has adapted her beauty regime under some pretty adverse conditions during her 12 years of military service. “In Iraq, I would relax my own hair every eight weeks, which was quite dangerous,” says Woods Scott, who served in the region in 2007 and 2008. “In the hour or so that it took, I was nervous, thinking, What if a rocket or mortar comes in?” When she eventually decided to ditch her chemical straightening kits, she inspired members of her family to do the same, including her younger sister, who was recently commissioned to the Army. “It’s refreshing to see women up and down the ranks embracing their natural hair,” she says. “I think my mom would be pleasantly surprised.” Tap the link in our bio to read more about the trailblazing military servicewomen who are embracing the natural hair movement. Photographed by @thisismayan.

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Lieutenant Junior Grade Arabia Littlejohn had natural hair that fell past the shoulder-length limit for candidates when she enrolled at the Naval Academy in Maryland. She used a traditional African hair technique to avoid cutting her curls and had her hair braided into a circular beehive-like crown that stood within the three-inch regulation above her head. “Considering how long it takes for black hair to grow, I was willing to do whatever it took to save my locks,” says Littlejohn, who regularly alternates between straight-ironed hair and natural braids these days. Such resourcefulness has put her in good stead for naval life: She often finds herself in far-flung destinations—Morocco, Spain, Colombia, Greece, and Israel are among the countries to which she’s been deployed—as one of the only female officers aboard a ship of hundreds of servicemen. “I know that as a woman of color, I have to lead from the front and be a model for other black junior officers,” she says. “It’s a responsibility that’s on my shoulders, but I’m grateful for it.” Tap the link in our bio to read more about the trailblazing military servicewomen who are embracing the natural hair movement. Photographed by @thisismayan.

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“When I first came into the military, people would always say, ‘What’s the problem? Why can’t you just straighten your hair?’” says Army Captain @deshaunabarber (right), who, like her peers, has wrestled with regulations that were diametrically at odds with her springy, breakage-prone coils. “I don’t think people realize requiring someone with curly hair to have straight hair is like requiring someone with straight hair to make their hair curly. When you’re repeatedly putting heat on textured hair, guess what? It falls out.” The pressure to conform to a traditional smooth bun often demanded harsh chemical relaxing treatments or crack-of-dawn styling sessions, and was only exacerbated by the challenges of life on the front line, where all members of the Army are pushed to their physical and mental limits. “Hair is a complicated thing for women of color,” says Barber, who still remembers struggling with the discomfort of wearing wigs under her helmet. “The new regulations show they did the research; there’s an understanding and appreciation of just how diverse our backgrounds are.” Tap the link in our bio to read more about the trailblazing military servicewomen who are embracing the natural hair movement. Photographed by @thisismayan.

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(Photos by Mayan Toledano)

First Lieutenant Whennah Andrews of the Army National Guard can actually take credit for some of the regulatory changes. Andrews, a medical service officer, helped create a video on locks in collaboration with Nikky Nwamokobia of Green Beauty, a popular natural hair channel on YouTube:

“We wanted to dispel the myth surrounding them, this idea that the style is somehow unhygienic,” says Andrews, who submitted the clip to the uniform advisory board at the Pentagon last year. “We literally put the hair under a microscope to show that’s not the case, to show that locks can belong in any place of business and certainly in the military.”

Andrews’ video helped create policy changes that were made within a year and had her own Sisterlocks installed this May. She’s now in the process of making a second video to push change in the Navy, where bans on dreadlocks remain in effect.