Meet Leila Noelliste, the woman behind the hugely successful “Black Girl Long Hair” blog. I stumbled upon BGLH last year while searching for blogs about natural hair, and it has been my go to site ever since.  The layout is informative, entertaining and probably most importantly, inspiring.   Originally from Kingston, Jamaica Noelliste now lives in the Chicago area where she’s planning her wedding and working on BGLH!

Noelliste took the time to answer a few questions for NewNaturalista!

NewNaturalista:How did BGLH come about?

BGLH: I was on a break at work one day in April 2008, surfing the net for photos of natural hair. I had done my big chop about a year and a half earlier, was going through a rough time with my hair and needed some inspiration. Most of the photos I found were models and actresses with curly hair, which I appreciated no doubt, but which did not resonate with me.  I also couldn’t find conversation on natural hair that was relevant to me. I wondered, “What are black women my age (22 at the time) thinking about their natural experience.” There were a ton of afrocentric and neo-soul natural hair sites. But I didn’t relate to that. I’ve always been a kind of out-of-the-box quirky black chick so I decided to start my own blog in April 2008.

BGLH: Ha ha. I get this question a lot The idea that black women can have long hair is pretty controversial. Various false beliefs have been forced into our minds over the years — that kinky hair can’t grow, that black women’s hair in general doesn’t grow.  Before starting my blog I had done some research on the rate of growth for black hair, and found that it was comparable to other ethnicities. “Okay”, I thought to myself, “So it’s not about biology, it’s about culture. Our hair culture is the reason why so many of us have short and damaged hair.” The blog is an effort to promote a different culture. A culture of healthy haircare, a culture of options. Our hair can be long or short if we want it to be. We can have a variety of styles.

NewNaturalista: Did you expect for it to grow as much as it has?

BGLH: No. not at all. The subscriber count would be growing and I’d be thinking, “How are people FINDING this thing??”

NewNaturalista: Personally, how have other parts of your life changed as a result of going natural?

BGLH: Being natural has forced me to stop and really think about what goes in and on my body.

I take vitamins and supplements now, I drink water, I pay attention to things like the strength of my nails, the condition of my skin, the clarity of my eyes. I’ve become a HUGE kitchen mixtress, lol. I like experimenting with all-natural products like cassia, bentonite clay, coconut oil.

I have also become more concerned about the state of the beauty industry as it relates to black women. We own no stake in our own industry, and it has negatively affected how we view ourselves and the quality of the products we use. Since going natural I’ve become a huge supporter of black business — particularly black women owned business. We currently have 6 advertisers on BGLH and they are all black women owned businesses. That makes me happy.

NewNaturalista:Has learning about other women’s experiences changed you and your perspective on the natural hair experience?

BGLH: Well, in some ways a lot of what I’ve heard I expected to hear.

I guess the most surprising things have come from BGLH readers in other countries. American women are very much ahead with “the natural hair movement”. The kinds of resistance black women in countries like Nigeria or Jamaica get for going natural, or the eurocentric beauty standard black women in Europe have to deal with is unlike anything I’ve ever seen or experienced here in the United States.

Check out Noelliste’s site at: bglhonline.com

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4. Naturalistas Of The Week: Black Girls RUN!
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