Every other month, Lisa Bonet is trending for either existing, existing while gorgeous, or existing while gorgeous and boo’d up with gorgeous men. And Denise was always the Huxtable with the most press too. Not that Denise Huxtable isn’t fly, but we don’t pay nearly enough attention to Vanessa Huxtable and the hair game she was bringing to Primetime.
In season one, Vanessa started with a perm, so I think her Braids Stage was probably the best way for her to grow out her natural hair and cut off the relaxer she had at the very beginning of the series. We’re already in novel territory, because the girls on TV in the 80s weren’t really transitioning to bring kinks and curls to primetime.
Vanessa chopped off the processed hair as the show went on and wore her natural curls, styled into geometric shapes. I tried for years to get my hair to do what’s going on in the middle picture, but I just didn’t have that Huxtable magic.
Early High School Vanessa is still peak TV fro. This hair was everything – nobody was rocking an afro like Vanessa Huxtable. I don’t think anybody else has since then either. She had a sidebang cut into her afro. Nobody has been on that level.
Big Fun In Baltimower Vanessa is my favorite hair though. A lot of people think Vanessa had a weave during this hair era…but so what? Everyone on TV is rocking extensions and wigs, but who else have you seen wear this hair, bought or not? I would have this hair all summer if I knew exactly what was going on there.
Everybody picks Denise as the stylista on the show because she had cool clothes, but you can change your outfits everyday. Hair is a commitment and Vanessa was experimenting with naturals way before it was a movement. Maybe she didn’t throw on every single item in the wardrobe closet, but she still stayed fresh for eight seasons. Good job, Vanessa. We continue to stan.
(Originally posted Jan 7, 2022)
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