Karla Redditte recognized for wearing her hair naturally on-air
RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - Our own Karla Redditte has been featured in an article for InStyle Magazine. She's being recognized for wearing her hair naturally on-air and for pursuing her own style.
Redditte spent years using chemical relaxers, wigs, and weaves to achieve what she thought was the ideal reporter look.
"We had station consultants who came in and I was told that I looked more 'credible' with shoulder-length, straight hair," Redditte told InStyle. "After a certain point I never veered from that."
Redditte says in 2014, her news director saw her out wearing her hair in its natural style on a weekend. He asked why she didn't wear it that way on air, too, and, after clearing it with a consultant, encouraged her to try it out. In her case, the response was overwhelmingly positive.
"A lot of people emailed me, 'thank you for doing this,'" she told InStyle. "Messages like that, it kind of empowered me to make it even bigger."
This isn't the first award Redditte has received for her hair - in 2017 she received a "HAIRRY" runner-up award for the best hair in news.
So what are the so-called rules of on-air hair? Anchors, reporters, and industry experts interviewed for this piece laid them out: Wear your hair down, in a smooth style that hits at the collarbone or above. Up-dos and complicated styles are a no go.
Redditte defies that. She says she's seen an increase in other black women wearing natural hair on air in recent years.
"Not everybody looks the same, and not everybody is going to be fabulous in the exact same hairstyle," she said.
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