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Allure Magazine Under Fire For Using A White Model In Afro Tutorial

Allure stands by their 'lose Afro' hair tutorial.

Uh-oh!

Readers are outraged with a spread in Allure magazine's August "Amazing Hair" issue.

The spread includes tutorials for '70s-inspired hairstyles, including a step-by-step guide for what the magazine calls a "loose Afro." However, rather than using a black model for the tutorial entitled, "You (Yes, You) Can Have An Afro* -- *even if you have straight hair," the magazine chose to feature white actress Marissa Neitling with her straight hair styled in a faux fro.

Now the magazine is feeling the wrath of Twitter for the blatant cultural appropriation:

Allure made a rather weak attempt to justify the article in a statement released to BuzzFeed:

"The Afro has a rich cultural and aesthetic history. In this story, we show women using different hairstyles as an individual expressions [sic] of style. Using beauty and hair as a form of self-expression is a mirror of what’s happening in our country today. The creativity is limitless -- and pretty wonderful."

However, the piece failed to mention anything about the "rich cultural and aesthetic history" of the Afro, which was worn by black men and women as a symbol of black pride in the '60s and '70s.

On Twitter, Allure tweeted that, going forward, they would make an effort to "reflect all perspectives" in their stories:

However, readers were not impressed with the magazine's failure to listen to their criticism and apologize for the piece:

What do you think of the Allure spread? Let us know in the comments below.

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