"Your Hair Ain't Twisted — The Language Is!"

"Kink? No, Honey — Just Curls!"

Let’s talk curls. Not coils. Not kinks. Just good old curls, darling.

See, when we talk about Afro hair, the term "kinky" gets thrown around like confetti at a bad wedding. But here’s the tea: for many of us with roots in Sub-Saharan Africa, that word doesn’t feel cute. It doesn’t feel empowering. It feels like another dusty relic from a colonial attic. And frankly? It’s time we stop unpacking our beauty through someone else’s dusty lens.

Kinky implies twisted, hard, unruly. But our hair isn’t any of those things. It’s curly. From tight corkscrews to loose loops, curls are curls. And when it comes to describing hair texture, isn’t it funny how white folks get the sweet end of the language stick? Words like "bouncy", "beachy", "ringlets", and "romantic". Meanwhile, we’re left with "kinky", "nappy", or "coarse". It’s giving bias.😒

This isn’t about being politically correct. It’s about reclaiming dignity and rewriting narratives that have long defined Black hair as a problem to solve, not a crown to celebrate. If your curls grow up to the sun instead of down to the floor, that’s biology, not bad behaviour.

Now, if you find joy in the word kinky? Rock it. Empowerment is personal. But let’s not ignore the weight words carry, especially when used to judge or diminish. We deserve language that uplifts, not undercuts.

Let’s chat: What words do you use for your curls? Which ones make you feel seen, and which ones make you cringe? Drop them in the comments. Let’s rewrite the curl dictionary together.