Announcement: Unauthorized Use of my Photos

Yesterday, I received several messages on YouTube and my blog alerting me that someone was using one of my hair pictures to endorse their website and hair products. My photo was not the only one used without permission, and this person had the audacity to even cover up watermarks on several of the photos.

Screen shot of the website that used my photo without my consent

I am not affiliated with this company or any company for that matter.  There are only two websites that I have authorized to use selected photos: Reniece.com and growafrohairlong.com.

I notified Facebook of the copyright infringement issue and they removed my picture. I also sent a cease and desist letter to the scammer. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time this has happened and it probably won't be the last.  Going forward, I will be more diligent about watermarking my photos.

There is a correct way to use someone's photo: ask permission and cite the proper image source.  Using someone's photo to endorse a product they never used is misleading and potentially fraudulent.

I sincerely appreciate everyone who alerted me of the issue.  On a positive note, its funny how we can recognize each other based on a picture of the back of our head (LOL).