After a long battle with Lupus, natural hair guru and YouTube vlogger, Domineque Banks, who coined the phrase, “Long Hair Don’t Care2011,” passed away on April 9, 2014. Banks suffered a heart attack and was placed on life support, not being able to breathe on her own. She passed away with her partner by her side.
Judging from the scores of comments and YouTube view, Domineque has touched the lives of so many with her inspiring natural hair journey over the course of ten years. Her words of wisdom about appreciating one’s own hair and style, as well as her tutorial videos, have garnered millions of hits on YouTube and inspired many women of color to consider going natural. She is considered by some to be one of the first natural hair vloggers to do their thing (and do it well) on YouTube.
The loss of such a beautiful cornerstone to the natural hair movement has greatly impacted the natural hair community – to the point that the GiveForward online fundraiser, started by Banks’s partner and friend to cover funeral costs, surpassed its original goal of $10,000 in a day.
READ: What All Black Women Need To Know About Lupus
Not only was Domineque a staple on YouTube and BGLH, she was also an avid participant in forum communities like Black Hair Media. Due to her illness, Domineque began taking a serious interest in caring for her tresses. She documented her amazing natural hair journey from 2004 onward, with readers and subscribers enamored, impressed, and inspired by the growth of her tailbone length mane. Beyond dispensing tips and advice using her personal experience, Domineque was also a cosmetology student in Los Angeles.
Please keep Dominique and her family in your prayers.
For more information on Lupus, click here.
