When is a compliment not really a compliment? When is praise not really praise? Here's a hint: When you're a white man reminiscing about the good old days, when black people wore Afros. Yeah...no. Talk about reducing something complex to something simple.

From Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas's ponytail to Oprah's natural on the cover of O magazine's September issue, black hair — the final frontier of racial politics for black women — is a perpetually vexed issue. But for all the trend pieces, blogs, and news segments dedicated to the growing natural hair movement, I …

Nivea is running an ad that shows a clean-shaven black man with close-cropped hair who looks like he's about to go bowling with a decapitated head. He's holding the head by its Afro. Tag-line: RE-CIVILIZE YOURSELF. Ah, yes, the enlightened and highly appropriate association of black hair (and, by extension, black…

Some black women with natural hair report receiving hair pat-downs from TSA employees — in some cases while white women with similar hair sailed through. Is this a case of racial profiling?

In a recent interview with Elle magazine, Andre Walker — who was responsible for Her Majesty Oprah Winfrey's hair for more than two decades, said: "I always recommend embracing your natural texture. Kinky hair can have limited styling options; that's the only hair type that I suggest altering with professional relaxing." …

The troubled economy — along with changing style trends — have had a big impact on black hair salons. But is there an upside?

Yet another reason Sesame Street is awesome: In the recently-aired segment "I Love My Hair," a brown muppet girl sings about how much she loves her hair, whether it's natural, braided, or in an Afro.

This is my opinion and I own it. When I read the report that Gabby Sidibe was covering the 25th anniversary of Elle magazine's October issue, I nearly jumped out of my office chair with utter excitement.

Our hair is unique. Our hair is beautiful. Our hair requires the use of products that give it moisture and nourishment. And yes, some of those products have fragrances that are remarkable.

"Zahara Jolie-Pitt and the Politics of Uncombed Hair" epitomizes all of my frustrations with black hair debates. The blog post touches on historical hair issues and transracial adoption while using a pic of Zahara where her hair looks fine.