The Secret to Meagan Good’s Goddess Locs on ‘Harlem’
Meagan Good on Amazon Prime’s Harlem, now streaming
Sarah Shatz“This is the first time where I play a character that is so quirky and so off-beat and so close to who I am that I don’t get to show,” Good says. “Every single character is someone that I haven’t quite seen represented this way. Even though it is a show that is centered around Black women—and there are a few of them—they’re really, really unique.”
For this edition of Wash Day Diaries, she walks us through her favorite products to keep her natural hair healthy and moisturized.
Shampoo
My hair is currently blonde. I’m using a shampoo and conditioner from a young Black woman who owns her own company, OrganiGrowHairCo. She has the best products. The purple shampoo is so amazing because it keeps my hair super hydrated and protects against breakage.
Deep Conditioner
Dr. Kari, who does my goddess locks, and Jasmine Ashley, who does my blonde looks, both have products from their lines and have deep-conditioning treatments. Jasmine’s is called Bathe Oil, and she puts that in the actual bowl with the bleach that she uses for blonde hair. And then afterward, I use it once in a while as upkeep. During the pandemic I was really trying to grow my hair out to bob length. I used the Bathe Oil, and my hair started going like crazy—it was insane. She makes it at home and does everything in her living room. It’s dope.
Hair Tools
I usually will blow-dry my hair a little bit. Hot Tools has a lot of great products that have worked for me. And then I will use my pressing comb to get my edges and my flatiron, which is from Jasmine Ashley.
Edge Control
The Bed Head stick is really amazing when I want to lay down my sides. I don’t use a lot of products, but it’s nice to use something where you can use a very little bit and it’ll just do the job you want it to do.
Baby Powder
I try not to put too much product in my hair because I like it when it’s natural and not necessarily clean. I love when it collects it with natural oils, but I try not to put too much in it. When it starts to collect oils, I use straight up a little baby powder to pull the oil out of it, and an open bristle brush. A lot of dry shampoos are sprays or they have a wetness to them, but I can’t really do that because my hair is naturally curly.
Hair Wrap
I came up with the idea for Good Girl Wraps after I found a headwrap that was probably 15 years old that I had never used and was like, “Oh, this might be able to little hold my locs.” I was struggling with working out. Every time I put my hair in a bun, it would come down when I did certain workouts and get in my face. At night, I couldn’t sleep comfortably; or, if my hair got in my face, it would break out my forehead or cheeks. So I used this wrap, and it just fit the bill. As I was doing workout videos, people were like, “What, what is this wrap? Where did you get by? Where can I get one?”
That conversation persisted for about a year, and I had no idea where I got it. So I decided to create my own in the same shape, but I created it so that it could acclimate to your body’s temperature. If you’re hot because you’re working out, it will cool your head down. If you’re cold, it’ll warm your head. I wanted it to be satin and silk, and something that would prevent breakage and lock in moisture and all of these things. It really took off during the pandemic because so many nurses had dreads, locs, braids, and even just curly hair that is big. They needed to tie it up in a way that was comfortable and wasn’t going to hurt their head or give them a headache.
Paulina Jayne Isaac is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. Follow her @paulinajayne15.
