This Influencer Went Viral For Getting A Pixie Cut Without A Perm
This Influencer Went Viral After Her Natural Hair Pixie Cut Reverted In Hours
- Ruffin's attempt at a pixie cut without a relaxer went viral, highlighting societal biases against natural Black hair textures.
- Ruffin embraced her natural hair after years of hiding it, realizing hair should not define one's worth or beauty.
- Achieving a pixie cut on 4c hair requires specialized expertise, hydration, and sealants to prevent quick reversion.
Nassimbwa Ruffin has been consistently posting lifestyle content on social media for months. The 37-year-old mom of two, wife ,and licensed mental health therapist shares everything from her motherhood journey to motivational messages and easy natural hairstyles for her fellow 4c girls. Ruffin recently cut off her locs after experiencing postpartum hair loss that left her with thinning edges. She shared the transition on Instagram. With a new do and the same confidence, she attempted to do a Keke Palmer-inspired pixie cut sans a relaxer and when that didn’t last, she turned to the professionals.
Ruffin went viral after sharing her experience getting a pixie without a relaxer and how it reverted back to its natural state within hours. Her newly discovered followers eagerly camped out in the comments section to share their opinions on her audacity to attempt the style without chemically treated tresses. With over 400,000 views, she had gone viral.
The 4,000 comments varied between the community scolding Ruffin for wasting their time and her money, to them condemning her for trying to get a pixie with natural hair. Hairstylist Joshua Gordon wrote, “Please yall stop trying to get a pixie without a RELAXER.”
Another commenter wrote, “My question is did she make it to the car before it reverted back to Afro??” Ruffin jumped in her own comments section to share an update, “I did a GRWM today, yall gonna see what I’m talking about. It basically an Afro now.” She added, “Happy Easter! This was yesterday but Never again because my hair did not last a day! You do need a texturizer or a perm if u have 4c hair if u want it to last longer than 12 hours.”
We caught up with Ruffin as the views on her video continue to pour in.
If you can’t tell from her social media accounts, Ruffin is full of confidence but the decision to cut her locs wasn’t easy. “I did the big chop because I had to not because I wanted to,” she explained via DM. “I loved my locks, so much! But I had just had a baby and experienced a traumatic birth which caused my edges and hair to start falling out so there was no other option but to cut it. I was sad at first but after some self reflection, it turned out to be an amazing experience. It’s just hair! It will grow back. It made me realize that sometimes we have to shed the old for something new to grow.”
Reflecting on her childhood, Ruffin, explained how she was teased for being dark skin with 4c hair. “It shaped how I viewed myself. The media didn’t help either as society’s standard of beauty was the opposite of that. I remember from 13 to 17 I wore blue contacts and wouldn’t wear my natural hair. It wasn’t until I started college that I decided I’m cutting all my hair off and starting over. Best decision of my life! Because it wasn’t until then that I decided my hair would not define me.”
Onto the pixie. Ruffin never expected her video to go viral. “It’s funny because I’ve been doing videos of me getting my hair done in different styles since cutting my locs but this one just connected more with people. I think the inspiration pic I used of Teyana Taylor and the outcome had some people loving it and others saying absolutely not.”
Despite dozens of family and friends warning her she needed to get a relaxer, she refused to abandon her natural hair for a style. “So many people told me to get a perm and the answer is NO! I love my hair texture and I just want to try different hairstyles, not change my texture permanently.”
I had mentioned Ruffin’s story on a morning work meeting and it was an instant conversation starter. They were outrage at the idea of needing a relaxer for a pixie. It begs the question, is this a case of texturism?
Forbes describes texturism as “a form of discrimination and prejudice that favors looser, straighter hair over tighter, coiler, or Afro-textured hair. Rooted in Eurocentric beauty standards, it positions kinkier hair types (e.g., 4c) as unprofessional, untidy, or undesirable, often leading to harassment and professional or educational disadvantages.”
“Society will do that but it’s up to us to know who we are. It’s up to us to teach our children that they are beautifully and wonderfully made. It makes me think about why I created my podcast Not Your Strong Black Woman. Society pushes this strong black women stereotype but it wasn’t until I decided to redefine what strong meant to me that I was able to take off the strong mask and truly be myself,” she says.
While Ruffin wouldn’t trade in her kinks and coils for the trendy style, she doesn’t blame the women who did. “They are risking it all for a laid pixie. So many comments stated they relaxed their hair because they wanted a pixie. And I don’t blame them because if u have 4c hair a pixie will not last! As you can see.”
So can you achieve a pixie without a relaxer? According to Tierra Milton, mother of hair and owner of She & Her Hair Studio, it is possible. But it boils down to the stylist’s expertise, products and the state of the person’s natural hair. A key component to elongating the pixie on natural hair is making sure the strands are hydrated.
“There are experts who actually specialize in pixie haircuts or hairstyles on natural hair,” Milton explained. “We gotta kinda take it back to the press and curl girl technique from back in the day because sealants lock in that hydration and it prevents any water from getting into the client’s hair which causes swelling to the hair, so anytime water attracts to the hair.”
Milton believes her hair reverted so quickly because her strands weren’t properly sealed or hydrated. “A lot of times hydrants are found in your conditioners, in your shampoos. A lot of times people think that oils are hydrated, but they are not.”
It also goes back to expertise for Milton. “The stylist needed to properly educate her on the fact that she cannot get a pixie because her hair is super dry. She had no business doing it from the jump because to revert back in hours, she wasn’t the optimal candidate for that style. The stylist didn’t have a clue about how products work and how they can impact the ultimate results.”
Follow Nassimbwa Ruffin’s hair journey, here.
This Influencer Went Viral After Her Natural Hair Pixie Cut Reverted In Hours was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
