Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Note to Angelina: Zahara's Hair Needs Help

Unlike Madonna, Jolie doesn't seem to get that black hair takes work

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 11, 2009 8:53 AM CDT

(Newser) – She may be the world's most fabulous mom, with her beautiful multi-ethnic brood and the world's hottest babydaddy, but here's one thing Angelina Jolie clearly doesn't get: black hair. Photos of 4-year-old Zahara sporting dry, untamed hair show that Jolie is clueless about why and how black mothers style their kids' hair. If she wasn't, she wouldn't allow her adopted Ethiopian daughter to go around with a head that's basically a "hot mess," writes Allison Samuels. Neat hair isn't just about style, "it’s about pride, dignity, and self-respect."

"Any self-respecting black mother knows that she must comb, oil, and brush her daughter’s hair every night," Samuels writes in Newsweek. "This prevents the hair from matting up, drying out, and breaking off. It also prevents any older relatives from asking why you’re neglecting your child and letting her run around looking like a wild woman." Black bloggers and commenters are outraged, she adds, saying Zahara will know, when she gets older, that her mother failed her.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

Actress and UNHCR Ambassador Angelina Jolie, left, with daughter Zahara, and Brad Pitt, second right, with son Maddox, walk near the Gateway of India, in background, in Mumbai, India, in this Nov. 12,... (AP Photo)

Hey Angelina, it's time to figure out how to deal with Zahara's hair, writes Allison Samuels for Newsweek.

In this Nov. 12, 2006 file photo, Angelina Jolie carries her Ethiopian adopted daughter Zahara, in Mumbai, India. Madonna's efforts to adopt two youngsters from Malawi have drawn the paparazzi. But she... (AP Photo/File)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

It just hurts my heart because I know that little girl won’t be able to look at her baby pictures without being perplexed at how she looks and why. She doesn’t know any better now, but she will once she gets into school.
- Lisa Brown, a 35-year-old secretary

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Man in Mugshot Explains Why He Has Half a Head (HuffPost)

Another Sign Rihanna and Chris Brown Might Get Back Together? (Celebuzz)

These Exes Were Spotted Making Out … and That's a Bad Thing (Bleacher Report)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 12 comments

fancygapva

Oct 12, 2009 11:44 AM CDT

@ Schmidtkoff--African American hair is not usually brittle unles it's been "straightened" with harsh chemicals. White women who over perm or over color their hair have the same problems. And who says the time is long gone for Angela Davis. I thought her hair was inspirational and beautiful. It's been way too long since we saw proud hair like that.

fancygapva

Oct 12, 2009 11:40 AM CDT

What happened to the "Natural"? I have a bi-racial grandson whom I am raising. We don't "style" his hair. It either comes out of the shower in curls or he uses an afro-pic to make it "fluffy". His hair and skin don't appear to need "oil" anymore than anyone else's. And Hey, do African American BOYS get their hair "styled" (not counting Kanye West)? It's always bothered me that some beautiful African American women, and some not so beautiful WAY overstyle their hair or wear wigs and are shamed by their natural hair which can look glorious.

NxBigmouthery

Oct 12, 2009 7:17 AM CDT

'Mother doesn't comb child's hair...' is that the story here? Or is it a race thing?

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

Valentine's Day Role-Playing Goes Very Wrong

Newsweek (Source Grid »)

Entertainment • Celebrity

Angelina Jolie • Brad Pitt • hair • Madonna • Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt • Black Hair

More Newser Stories

Pitt: 'We'd Like to' Get Married

Kids pushing him and Angelina to tie the knot

(NEWSER) - Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie seem to spend most of their time telling magazines that no, they're still not married , but in a new interview in the Hollywood Reporter , Pitt sings a slightly different tune. "We’d actually like to" get married, Pitt admits, "and it seems to mean more and more to our kids. We made this declaration some time ago that we weren’t going to do it 'til everyone can . But I don’t think we’ll be able to hold out. It means so much to my kids, and they ask a lot. And it means something to me, too, to make that kind of commitment." More»

Brad, Angelina Expecting: Sources

Jolie pregnancy rumors fly once again

(NEWSER) - It's been a while since the latest round of Angelina-Jolie-is-pregnant-rumors, so here we go again: "She's almost three months along" with her seventh child, a source tells OK! . "It's not something she wants to officially announce but she's at a point where she is telling a select group of people." Another insider says Jolie is dealing with morning sickness, "but says it's all worth it." More»

Brad, Angelina Score Oval Office Huddle

Couple was in town for film premiere

(NEWSER) - Just another day in the life of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: The super-couple was spotted yesterday in the Oval Office, having a little chat with President Obama. They were in town for a screening of Jolie's directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, at the Holocaust museum, the AP notes. A White House deputy press secretary tells the New York Post that they spoke about "[Angelina's] work to raise the profile of preventing mass atrocities and combating sexual violence against women." More»

Angie's Gift to Brad: a Waterfall

Christmas is a little different when you're rich and famous

(NEWSER) - What to get for the guy who has everything? If you're Angelina Jolie and the guy is Brad Pitt, the answer is ... a waterfall. That's what Pitt got for Christmas from Jolie, but if it makes you feel any better, it was also a combo gift for his 48th birthday. "Brad has always loved [Frank Lloyd Wright's house] Fallingwater and his first trip there was unforgettable," a friend explains to the Daily Mail . Jolie bought the Los Angeles-area waterfall and its surrounding land so that Pitt can build his own house there, inspired by Wright's design. More»

Agent to Jen: Take Brad's Sperm

Today's weird story comes to you courtesy of Maureen Dowd

(NEWSER) - New York’s Vulture blog pulls this priceless tidbit from yesterday’s New York Times Magazine tribute to Hollywood super-agent Sue Mengers: In her piece remembering Mengers, who died this year, Maureen Dowd recalls the time that Mengers gave some advice to Jennifer Aniston after Brad Pitt left her for Angelina Jolie. Writes Dowd, “Mengers told me that she advised her beloved Jen to ask Brad for some of his sperm.” Writes Vulture’s Kyle Buchanan, “Maureen Dowd, the editors from Star and the National Enquirer are surely giving you the slow clap this week.” (Click to see the holiday card Aniston and her boyfriend sent this year.) More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Note to Angelina: Zahara's Hair Needs Help