Black women have been pushed into the stigma of wanting long straight hair for decades. From the straightening comb and relaxer to the Dominican Blow Out and 22-inch weaves, these methods to have “good hair” has not only been damaging to women’s natural hair, but also to their appreciation of their natural beauty.

There are too many instances in which women of color are judged and disrespected for their natural curl patterns and beautiful kinky hair. Unfortunately, even babies are subject to disrespectful and degrading comments about their baby ‘fros.

Beyoncé had to come for haters who were bullying about Blue Ivy’s baby hair and afro. 

While natural hair is on the rise along with some serious #blackgirlmagic, there are still moments of straight hair desire.

Recently The Shade Room posted a disturbing video on Instagram of a woman blow drying a baby girl’s hair along with the caption "How soon is too soon, #Roommates!?"

Poor baby!

Instantly the video was swamped with comments! Garnishing over one million views, many were heated by the video. There were many factors that left viewers wanting to cry with the poor little girl; the heavy brushing, the blow dryer way too close to her hair and the most heartbreaking of it all — her tears and wincing from pain. 

We knew that this was definitely not the correct approach to straightening hair, but just to get clarity, we spoke exclusively with beauty expert Sina Marie to get professional insight, and it appears that people were quite accurate with their concern.

“This is one of those situations where as a beauty professional you start off with ‘First of all…’” Sina revealed exclusively to BET.

“This poor baby for sure dreads this process every time. To start, there are way better blow drying brushes to use, especially on a baby. Applying that much heat and trying to get it that straight is not necessary for a child that small," she shares.

"Also, the size of the dryer head is way too big for the size of her small head. Thankfully, the dryer doesn't appear to be as powerful as the professional one I use or else she would be jumping completely out the chair. Investing in a concentrator (an additional piece applied to the head of the dryer to direct the heat more efficiently) would make the job much easier for them both!” Sina explains.

Now that we know the wrong ways of blow drying a little one’s hair, we wanted to know the best route for lessening the pain, preventing damage to the hair, and getting the best results for mother and daughter. 

1. Use more sectioning.


2. Depending on the texture, plait the hair and allow the hair to pre-dry. This makes the job faster and less force is needed.


3. Use a wide tooth de-tangling comb, vent brush, or even a good ol' blow dryer attachment comb. (Classic!)


4. Add a small amount of moisturizer to each section, to help silken the hair. Glide the brush during the process.


5. Never concentrate the heat too close to the scalp for long periods of time. (Yikes!)


6. Invest in a great blow dryer and brush — it just makes the process so much easier!

This video definitely struck a nerve and started a serious conversation about managing a toddler’s hair. What are your thoughts? Is there such a thing as too young for heat?