In 2009, Tyra Banks, known for her long, sandy blond lace fronts, appeared on the first episode of the fifth season of her talk show wearing her natural hair, slicked back. I felt like I needed to solve this mystery, she told the audience. Ive worn weaves and wigs and pieces and clip-ons and clip-outs and clip-downs and arounds since I was 17, 18 years old.

All of this spurred conversations, which continue today, about the ways black people are showing up in professional settings, and what is acceptable.

Girlfriends was important in more ways than one. Rea Ann Silva, who invented the Beauty Blender, was the head makeup artist and spent hours cutting sponges to achieve a flawless foundation finish.

The show was shot in high definition, which was rare at the time. Ms. Ross would dress herself and do her own hair, waking up three hours before call time to let her hair air dry. So, end of Season 2, I started to realize that Joan and Tracee looked the same, she said. Same clothes, same hair.

The experience prompted Ms. Ross to want to start a hair care line in 2008, the year Girlfriends ended. But not everyone thought she had enough credibility, so they offered alternatives. A manager suggested a line of wigs; someone else suggested a TV show on hair. Ms. Ellis tried teaming up with a beauty brand, but she got herself out of the deal when it didnt go in the direction she expected.

Although Ms. Ross was lauded for her natural hair, she noted that Girlfriends was still at the beginning of a larger natural hair care movement. In the early years of Girlfriends, Ms. Ross attended the Essence Music Festival, a series of events and performances at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans that started in 1995. It has been called the mecca trip for black women, a trip all should take.

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The Real Queen of Wellness - The New York Times