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Tracee Ellis explores complex culture of Black hair in 'The Hair Tales'

Tracee Ellis Ross explores the complex culture of Black hair in 'The Hair Tales'   -  
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USA

Tracee Ellis Ross is the first to admit that she's been on a hair journey.

As a teen, she fought against her curly texture and would go as far as to use an iron to straighten it.

"I wasn't seeing myself mirrored back the cool people, what I thought was desirable, the standard of beauty was not telling me that my natural texture was going to get me what I wanted from life."

It wasn't until she was on the TV show "Girlfriends" that Ross finally understood that most Black women have felt pressure to conform to unfair and unrealistic standards of beauty.

She delves into the complex culture of Black hair in her new six-episode docuseries "The Hair Tales" by The Onyx Collective, now airing on OWN and streaming on Hulu.

On "The Hair Tales," Ross speaks with people including Oprah Winfrey, Issa Rae, Chloe Bailey, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and "black-ish" star Marsai Martin about their experiences with Black hair.

"This is a show that is about Black women for everyone. I hope that Black women and Black people see themselves and are able to see themselves held in love and in celebration and joy, and that everyone else who watches gains a deeper respect and understanding of the resilience, the beauty, the power, and the history of Black women and our hair, and what all of that means for Black women. Hair is more than just personal. It's about community and economy and identity. And this is an opportunity for us to in a very intimate and intentional way and beautiful way, explore that. And more than that, sit with it, you know, the way you do in conversation."

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