If Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams had a signature hairstyle it would be the side part with luscious, big-body waves.
And while she is primarily known for wearing protective styles in the form of extensions, weaves and wigs, a few weeks ago the reality star shocked us all when she posted a selfie with the caption, “bald is beautiful…”
The Internet went crazy thinking Williams had ditched her signature style in favor of a low cut buzz. We now know she was wearing a wig cap.
“I really didn’t expect anybody to believe that I had actually shaved my hair,” Williams told ESSENCE. “My natural hair is pretty short because I’m playing Connie in the play, Two Can Play That Game. [My hairstylist] put a wig cap on me to put a full lace wig on, and before he did I snapped a shot and posted it.”
While Williams loves short hair—she rocked a pixie cut last year—she says a buzz cut probably won’t happen anytime soon. She does, however, love to rock her natural hair underneath her pieces. “Last year I did a big chop to switch it up, but during filming, or when I have a lot of appearances, I like protect my natural hair,” she adds.
While she’s always had love for her natural locs, it was a traumatic experience in high school that lead her to wearing protective styles as a teenager. “I had really long hair in high school. I got microbraids that took it out when it tangled, and my mom had to cut it all off. That’s when I had to start wearing protective styles.”
Williams doesn’t perm her hair, but like a growing number of naturalists, she does relax her edges.
“I will say when I’m doing a lot of bookings I’ll take a toothbrush on the edges. And the perm that I like to use is Just for Me — it’s gentle and it’s quick,” she revealed.
While it may be surprising to hear that a self-proclaimed naturalista still uses perm, a growing number of Black women with natural hair are relaxing their edges. A quick search on YouTube, and countless videos abound showing Black women either confessing to doing so, or demonstrating the process.
Our varied approaches to caring for and maintaining our natural hair are what make us unique. While it may be easy to judge or label someone based on their hair choice, doing so is to negate the freedom of personal choice, and we would never want to do that.
Porsha Williams and the entire cast of Real Housewives Atlanta return for season 10 on November 5th.