Black hair basics for Brangelina
by guest contributor Meera Bowman Johnson, originally published at Our Kind of Parenting
Sisters are miffed about about Angelina Jolie’s upcoming starring role in a film about part Afro-Cuban journalist Marianne Pearl. Many resent that a white girl would even attempt to use self-tanner to portray a woman of color. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not down with the neo black-face, either. But it’s hard for me to completely blame the actress when I find it highly conceivable that within the multi-cultural, Jolie-Pitt clan, love has become color-blind. With a beloved brood that resembles a mini model U.N., it’s quite possible that racial differences are the furthest thing from the Brangelina radar.
What I do find problematic is the couple’s clear lack of clues about styling their daughter Zahara’s hair. Recently, the beautiful Ethiopian toddler has been spotted sporting a slightly matted, slightly uneven twa. Other photos feature the Jolie-Pitt Princess riding regally atop her proud papa’s shoulders…dressed like a mini Aunt Jemima. Not entirely, she was wearing pants, not a hoop skirt. But that kerchief was the clincher. I’m sure the styling move wasn’t intentional, but no Hollywood child can keep their spot on the toddler a-list without being appropriately coiffed.
Even if peace and love has eliminated race from the family’s equation, that still doesn’t mean it’s not there. Zahara Jolie-Pitt is almost two years old now. It’s high time for her hipper-than-thou humanitarian parents to sit her down and learn how to make a straight part. So before I jump on the “See, that’s what happens when white people adopt black babies…” bandwagon, here’s a primer for Angie, Brad, the nanny or whoever is responsible for that child’s hair. At least they can’t say they weren’t told.
1. LET HER CRY
Nobody wants to see their child suffering, let alone be the one to cause it. But shedding tears while getting hair done is just a rite of passage that all little black girls must endure. From Harlem to Hollywood and beyond, tenderheadedness is just a part of life.
2. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
It’s not your fault that the Ethiopian orphanage failed to provide Angelina with hair instructions and a goodie bag of Blue Magic, plastic balls and barettes when she signed that last adoption paper. Accept the learning curve by investing in one of those giant Barbie heads and teach yourself to cornrow.
3. ADOPT A FEW AUNTS
It can be pretty lonely being the only black child, even within one’s own family. So it might be wise to have a few “aunties” of African descent on speed-dial for Zahara to look up to. Halle Berry would make a decent option, provided she’s herself, not in character for an upcoming role. Queen Latifah is a worthy choice too. Steer clear of Naomi Campbell, unless you plan to teach Zahara how to fight.
4. KNOW THE POWER OF THE PUFF
Effortlessly cool, the afro puff is perfect for meeting the paprazzi or just grabbing a plain slice of pizza. Zahara could rock one, two or three puffs, but four or more and you may get criticized for dressing her like a pickanniny. I wouldn’t go there if I were you.
5. PUT THE SCISSORS DOWN
Cutting hair is completely off limits for a little black girl for reasons I’m not even fully aware of. But no matter what, don’t do it. Yes, the Mohawk looks cool on Maddox, but a ‘frohawk on Zahara will not.
6. A PRESS AND CURL CAN BE YOUR FRIEND
Learn how to use a hot comb, every fabulous female needs styling options. Don’t be afraid to use it, Oprah could probably show you how.
7. FIND ZAHARA SOME GIRLFRIENDS
It may not seem important now, but Z will need some friends of color as she matures. Please don’t let her grow up thinking she looks just like Shiloh Nouvel. Iman and David Bowie have a little girl, and Eddie Murphy has a bunch to choose from. Have your people call theirs and set up a play date.
8. DON’T OVER DO IT
Big ups to Brad for the huge shout out to sister-owned Carol’s Daughter in Esquire Magazine. Just don’t get over zealous with those – or any – hair products. The daily shampoo schedule used for Maddox and Shiloh Nouvel won’t work for your brown baby girl. Once a week is fine.
9. REMIND HER THAT SHE’S BEAUTIFUL
There’s really no such thing as too much.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Leigh-Anne wrote:
Aw, what an awesome post!!
Being the only mixed race person in a family of white folk, I naturally grew up with MAJOR hair issues…
I agree that Zahara will need positive hair role models – my family didn’t see it as necessary and i ended up being horribly teased and questioned about my curls! It’s only now that i’m nearly 23 that i’m finally starting to figure out my hair… With the help of my boyfriend’s mixed-race mom!
Sometimes white people just don’t think about such things, however in-the-face-obvious it may be to some of us. i know in my family it wasn’t from a lack of love, simply from a lack of understanding…
Who knows, maybe someone out there will pass this on to Brangelina…!
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 9:25 am ¶
Kaywil wrote:
Not dealing with the difference in hair seems, to me, to be linked to ‘colorblindedness’, which some of us know is problematic.
Possible thought processes: If we are all ‘one people’ then why would I address the fact that your hair looks and feels completely different than mine. On top of that, I watch all of these shampoo commercials where your ‘wild’ hair is always shown in the before pictures, so maybe I just have a kid with ‘bad’ hair. I don’t know how to tame it, even after I tried that shampoo on the commercials, so maybe you’ll just have to be that kid in the class with the weird hair. Sorry about that…but I love you.
The problem I have with this post is the “I may have to resort to the hot comb”. Black/African hair was not meant to be combed or brushed every day (try braiding instead) and there are other methods of keeping it clean than what is seen on commercials (which are not black people, by the way). In order to be respected as human beings and to be seen as being deserving of equal treatment, we don’t have to be exactly the same. We don’t always have to say “I’m just like you” because I’m not. That’s something that other people are just going to have to deal with. We are not all the same. End of story.
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 10:07 am ¶
m wrote:
I also had a problem with the “learn how to use a hotcomb” bit. I think African-American women are too liberal with their use of hot combs, curling irons and what not. What happened to just being natural. I understand that this might be a hard thing for African-Amercian women given the prevasivness of “white beauty” in beauty advertisments, but as long as we passively accept such notions then we will continue to believe that we must conform our appearance to fit other people’s standards no matter how unrealistic those standards are for us. Our hair will never be straight, it will never be glossy, it will never be fly-away without us spending enormous amounts of money on relaxers, hair sheens, hot irons, flat irons, hair extensions, hair wigs and now lace front wigs. And most of us still look bad and unnatural, in my opinion, after making such transformations. The point is not for Brad and Angelina to become, colorblind, which is impossible unless they both lose their sight, the point is that they need to accept their daughter’s color and hair texture and become comfortable with it as it is and try not to transform her (or rather her hair) into something she is not and never will be. I don’t believe in a colorblind nation, I believe in accepting difference and recognizing that value in difference. Saturating Zahara’s hair with grease and straightening chemicals, hiding her hair under a scarf is not an act of acceptance.
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 10:55 am ¶
Niki wrote:
Nothing is wrong with “natural” hair, and pictures I have seen of Zahara, she looks pretty cute to me with her hair nicely moisturized in little braids. I think there is awareness on Brad and Angie’s part–Brad even big-upped Carol’s Daughter products (this is a black owned company with a chemical-free hair and beauty focus).
That being said, in general, it doesn’t hurt if white parents seek out information and assistance with care and styling of any hair texture different that is different from theirs.
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 10:57 am ¶
Angel H. wrote:
I really, really hope someone reading that has Brad and Angelina’s e-mail addy.
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 12:02 pm ¶
kim wrote:
I don’t have a clue what Zahara’s hair looks like, not having seen any pictures, but I do know from whence the post came.
When walking around the suburbs and other environs, and seeing White families with little children (Black) that one only assumes are theirs, it is the hardest thing in the world to resist a compassionate extension of Black Female Mothering Advice to the White mother on How to Care for Black Daughter’s Hair.
In those moments so many questions come to mind, in terms of crossing an appropriate line of etiquette , being the well-intentioned stranger whose imposition is an assumption that truly lies out of bounds (child may not be theirs, or it may have been a mad rush day to get out of the door and the child’s hair does not normally look like it does at that moment), or having that extension seen as an untoward statement of neglect, or sometimes a cultural threat…sigh…one tries to tread lightly.
I have had to forgive myself for not saying something just about twice.
Little Black girls do not want their hair cut off every two months so that it is manageable by the transcultural/racial parent, even when donning the little one with gold stud earrings to accentuate her proximity to an old idea of African Princess. By the time she is four, she will develop a green eye so venemous as to be seen to be affected by glaucoma.
Little Black girls want (nature or nurture, I won’t argue here, not important) loooong hair, as that is what they are told princess have, and that is what they see the ‘beautiful’ women in the commercials have. And, certainly, long(er) hair than the article’s stated matted look brings to my mind, with consistent care and attention to the needs of THIS particular child; not her sister’s (even when biological), not her mother’s (same idea), not necessarily grandma’s (etc., etc).
Of course, the advantage someone familiar with the styling processes of sister, mama, and grandma will have is a wealth of knowledge about styling hair with particular qualities…hair shaft thickness, reaction to heat and water and – hell, how to comb from root to tip (NOT all in one fell swoop!), types of creams, hair greases, detanglers, hair rollers, and even barrettes to use.
Such an advantage predisposes one to being able to recognize why one is going to have to “learn” how to best care for THIS child’s hair.
Like many commenters here, I, too, would like the hot comb banished from use on little girls’ hair. (I believe that if Zahara’s hair is anything like mine, a light washing and conditioning 2-3 times a week would cleanse the hair shaft of the cremes and allow for detangling of the ends, so that one can continue to finger style the ‘do without too much trouble)
Overall, I’m with the article writer on this one (as concerns the Jolie-Pitt styling team): get in touch with somebody. Fly Andre Harrell out, if you have to (he is still alive, right?). I have a cousin who is the stylist for the wives of one of those professional teams in Detroit, football or basketball I can’t remember, and she’s gifted like that…give her a call.
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 12:13 pm ¶
berrybrowne wrote:
just another nod of support for the comments encouraging black hair awareness. i’m 29 and having to struggle with self-esteem issues i never knew were so deep until my hair dresser of 10 years cut my hair to just below my ears. it may not be fair, right, or conscious, but -for black women particularly – hair length and beauty are pretty tightly linked
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 1:11 pm ¶
B wrote:
I also agree with M and Kaywil about the hotcomb comment. So many of us have experienced hair loss as a result of trying make our hair look like those of white women instead of embracing our natural texture. It doesn’t matter how many times you tell your daughter she’s beautiful if she’s convinced that there’s something intrinsically wrong with the texture of her hair. That’s how it begins–then she’ll be asking for blue or green contacts and bleaching creams. Anyone raising a black child–not just white people–should think about these issues. What the woman wants to do with her hair as an adult is her business, but telling a child her hair texture is bad just isn’t right.
As for Bradelina, perhaps Lisa Price can give them a consultation since they name dropped her brand, Carol’s Daughter, and someone can send them a copy of Toni Morrison’s _The Bluest Eye_ as a primer on race and beauty issues.
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 2:04 pm ¶
kim wrote:
…and pretty tightly kinked
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 2:07 pm ¶
Elizabeth wrote:
I think the writer might have been joking about that “hot comb” part. I say this because I recently read a piece she wrote for Anti Racist Parent about how she refused to straighten her own child’s hair for a talent show. I think the tone of this piece was satirical – let’s not take our hair issues too seriously!
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 2:16 pm ¶
kim wrote:
She jokes about the serious, from the vantage point of being “inside the group,” and therefore having that license. Humor does allow us to speak on issues that often are best avoided in ‘mixed’ company.
And, yes, it was funny, it was witty. We all got that, no?
If you don’t take your hair issue seriously, you must have Good Hair. (Can you hear me belly laughing?)
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 3:11 pm ¶
nappy and annoyed wrote:
Seriously? Someone believes that straightened hair leads to colored contacts and bleaching cream? I’ve known a lot of black women with straightened hair; none who’ve changed their eye color and bleached their skin.
I’m a black woman who wears my hair natural and I found this piece annoying and not funny (And is it several months old? It also seems dated). It unnessarily blows up the drama around a non-issue while reinforcing stereotypes–Zahara looked cute in her scarf (and not at all like Aunt Jemima–someone’s got issues).
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 6:19 pm ¶
korshi wrote:
Black hair is a really interesting subject… I sometimes get frustrated having really curly hair that to do anything beyond close cropped/big ‘fro you have to put up a day’s wage and suffer tear-inducing hair-pulling/toxic chemicals.
For black women it seems to have reached a point where they are expected to have long, flowing locks or intricate hairstyles all the time, which is probably a part of the larger problem of female beauty in our culture, but I think a lot of people are going around with impression that black women actually have straight hair, or at least straighter hair than black men.
I don’t blame people for getting weaves or whatever, but our ideas of beauty are greatly influenced by the media, so maybe celebrities like say, Beyonce and Oprah, should be looking more natural now and then so that people aren’t expecting unnatural hair all the time. Labour intensive hair should be a choice, not an expectation.
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 7:28 pm ¶
kim wrote:
nappy and annoyed…
do you simply not want to have the conversation about the internalized, rivers of self-deprecation and deflection from our actual reflections (in dishwater and otherwise), or don’t want those conversations to extend beyond our ‘hair issues’?
While it isn’t something I think of right off, the bleaching and colored contact thing is as symptomatic of our turning away from ourselves, and investing in the Americanized female standard of beauty, as is the language we use to ‘dis and ostracize each other, based on physical aesthtetics.
I think including them here, as a road we walk down, makes sense.
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 9:28 pm ¶
Lisa L. wrote:
I don’t know the author personally, but I took a writing class with her husband once. I have to agree with Elizabeth in that I think a lot of this article was in jest. She and the husband – also a writer – have this dry sense of humor and aren’t known for holding back when it comes to the folks…they go there (you all should read *his* books if you really want to get “mad” about something!).
They actually have a baby with a ‘frohawk (sorry!) and an older child who rocks an afro puff all the time. I don’t think Mrs. J’s the type to make a whole bunch of parts an whatnot, and I don’t think she’d know how to press hair if she tried!LOL And I can’t imagine her wanting to, actually. I thought this served it’s purpose – purely celeb-driven, tongue in cheek satire. Too funny!
Posted 12 Feb 2007 at 10:08 pm ¶
B wrote:
I agree that the author’s other work does put the whole thing in a different light, but I don’t think that those of us who were unfamiliar with it (and her husband, and his work, and her children, and their hair… etc) can be faulted for the sort of things that came to mind when we read the whole “hot comb” line, especially since the majority of folks–the sort that raised a lot of us–still think the comb is required.
Posted 13 Feb 2007 at 12:16 am ¶
Sabrina wrote:
One more bit of advice for Brangelina:
Whatever you don’t DON’t assume that black or biracial people have ONLY dark hair in terms of color. I am a black woman who has a bi-racial daughter who happened to get her dad’s blonde hair and my curliness in the chromosone lottery. One day a very harried white woman rushed up to me in a store. Turns out she wanted “tips” from me on doing ethnic hair as its euphemistically referred to in t he Pacific Northwest…I found out this woman had been dying this 9 y/o child’s hair jet black for more than a year. Why? She said “because black girls don’t look good with red hair”….I told her in no uncertain terms that the first things she needed to do was leave the damn hair dye alone and quit giving her child such negative messages about her hair and her race! I went on to let her know that people of African descent can have hair just as diverse as white peoples…even Malcolm X was a redhead, so if red is the child’s natural color WORK with it not against it…and quit putting such negative messages into her head that she’s not pretty as she is! I also advised her to find a stylist in NE Portland or in the black section of Seattle…then walked away from her!
Posted 13 Feb 2007 at 9:29 am ¶
kim wrote:
Sabrina, seriously, you might have wanted to give that woman your number. For the child’s sake.
There are times when desperate gestures for help are clear indicators that help beyond the moment is needed, and, in that moment, the person seeking assistance may be open to receiving a steady stream.
This will not be the only time she errs in instilling this child with an organic sense of her right to be, just BE, as she is, and her right to grow INTO being the beautiful, peculiar, Black woman she will one day become.
I hope you have a second chance in that regard.
Posted 13 Feb 2007 at 11:49 am ¶
Eloise wrote:
You are WAY off base in your assessment of what the Jolie-Pitts should do with their African child’s hair.
I agree, some of the styles I’ve seen on Zahara make me cringe, but the “let her cry” school of hairstyling is (or should be) completely obsolete.
I recommend “Good Hair”, by Lonnice Brittnum Bonner. It’s a few years old, but it shows how to comb African hair WITHOUT pain, breakage, etc.
Let’s let the torture that is press & curl become a relic of the past. All it does is reinforce and help internalize the notion that there’s something fundamentally “wrong” with African-style hair.
I’m also disappointed that this “long hair” crap is still being discussed. It’s pathetic.
Posted 13 Feb 2007 at 5:49 pm ¶
Icked Out wrote:
Sorry to weigh in on the negative side, but I read the ballet-bun piece and then rec’d notice of this most recent from an agitated friend, which also raised all the ire on my wiry head of curls. I guess there is something funny about using a satyrical vernacular voice that invokes the pain–the infernal suffering of the hot comb and the feminist critique of a historical past that will not go away–yet I missed it with the hot comb. I also felt that as the commentary unpacked the collective response, there were moments of exchange that underscore why ironic jabbing is not always funny, and practicing it is not arriving any of us closer at transcendent parenting prowess. I know this is a forum where we can let it all hang out, admit that we have internalized or unexpectedly externalized racisms or cultural biases, but notch it up a bit. We are not required to help out every single clueless woman we meet in the grocery store, nor or we forced to have compassion for each other, but we choose our moments based on where we at. I like best the point that someone made that perhaps a once-in-a-while natural day (like casual friday–not that natural is casual) for some of our starlets would help us to imagine that hairstyle is fashion, and that fashion is sometimes a way of presenting ourselves for the sheer delight of it. (Utopic fantasy relies on our inhabitting a post-script/alternative to the contemporary where hair is still a salient marker for gendered/racializing/nationalizing/otherizing discourses of inequality.) Be nice, as human animals we barely have any fluffiness left.
Posted 13 Feb 2007 at 7:24 pm ¶
B wrote:
Icked Out–Could you re-state some of your points more simply? I’m not sure if I understood all of your argument.
Posted 14 Feb 2007 at 12:35 pm ¶
kim wrote:
“We are not required to help out every single clueless woman we meet in the grocery store, nor or we forced to have compassion for each other, but we choose our moments based on where we at.”
Precisely, thus, not taking the “opportunity” every time it presents itself, or seems to, but only when it seems like emergency outreach.
Thus, forgive twice because I don’t take the opportunity every time, though twice it may have been an act of kindness, and I wonder if I’d failed by not doing so.
I thought the satiric voice, poking fun and then moving others to discussion, albeit with a less than frivolous tone, does reveal the gravity of simply ‘trying to be’ a Black woman, and our national predisposition to giving ‘the nod’ when we spot each other (both females and males) in places where we felt we were the only one: it is an extension of self meant to convey welcome, and a kind of ‘i got your back,’ that will die hard, if at all.
Posted 14 Feb 2007 at 1:42 pm ¶
Madame wrote:
Yes, love, love, there’s never too much of that. Seriously, there’s all this talk about sistas and their hair, but ever any talk about the brothas (unless I’ve missed out the conversation). I’ve wondered if Michael Jordan shaved his head in part, or wholly because he was ashamed of his natural hair. Now I do consider that he could have been that he was going bald or emulating Kareem Abdul Jabar, it’s all possible. My brother keeps his head clean, and I’ve heard him mutter more than once about his kinks when he was doing it. Thoughts anyone?
Posted 15 Feb 2007 at 6:02 am ¶
korshi wrote:
I don’t live in America, so I can’t say what people’s hair looks like in the streets, but every single black woman I see in the (mainstream) media has hair straighter than Lucy Liu’s in every single appearance. On the flip side, most black guys I’ve seen have had ‘fros of some description in at least one photo/tv appearance.
I think people should be able to do with their hair exactly what they like, but when every single woman with tightly curled hair won’t leave the house without doing something to it, seems like there’s a deeper issue than fashion at work.
Posted 16 Feb 2007 at 12:18 am ¶
Meera wrote:
Thanks for all of your comments on my post.
I had no idea that this snarky little celeb-driven rant would cause so much grief amongst my sistren. It was fun to write and I had a ball doing it. But I do understand the controversy, given the issues we all have concerning our hair. #6 seemed to have burned a lot of people, but the mental image of Brad and Angie telling little Z to “hold her ear down” was too much for me to resist. Unfortunately, the humor was swallowed up by the emotions that surround our personal hairstories.
In truth, I am not an advocate of using the hot comb on a little girl’s hair (I have two and yes, my toddler has a frohawk!) any more than I believe the Jolie-Pitts will ever read this.
But for the record, I think little Zahara is beautiful just the way she is. I don’t believe in “good hair” or that hair has to be straight to be well groomed. I personally have rocked every hairstyle (’cept figerwaves), so I feel that gives me the liscence to discuss hair at great length. Pun intended.
Again, thanks for the feedback. It will truly remind me to be as honest as possible in my writing, more self critical and most of all, consider the audience I speak to with greater sensitivity in the future. No lye.
Posted 16 Feb 2007 at 11:51 pm ¶
kim wrote:
As if we are not tenderheaded enough, now you want to soft-shoe your rants here.
Posted 17 Feb 2007 at 1:57 am ¶
Anonymous wrote:
Awesome post!
Posted 23 Feb 2007 at 5:12 pm ¶
Dawn Johnson wrote:
Maybe Ms. Jolie should ask the person who did her “ethnic-style” hair when she was portraying a woman of color in Mighty Heart for some suggestions.
Posted 15 Mar 2007 at 1:51 pm ¶
miriam wrote:
ethiopians usually have curly hair; therefore, i don’t think the whole “black people hair” dillema will come into play. Trust me, i’m Eritrean..&+ we all have curly hair.
Posted 15 Mar 2007 at 6:55 pm ¶
anon wrote:
Not true, Ethiopians can have very course hair, I have lived around lots of Ethiopians, Somalians and the hair varies greatly. Many don’t like to admit that there are those with course hair but they exist.
Posted 30 Mar 2007 at 8:58 am ¶
Brandelyn wrote:
Look I can’t take it anymore. Please everyone stop believing this viscious lie that blacks cannot bruch their hair or comb it. Boar bristle brushes cause a constant circulation of oils in our hair. We need those oils. Blacks need to stop using things with laureth sulfate, mineral oil and petroleum. Laureth stripes our hair of needed oils and mineral oil as well as petroleum clogs our hair. Use shampoos and conditioners that don’t contain these ingredients. Take the time to read these labels. Oils make our hair the way it is so keep them circulating by adding ingredients that wont strip that natural process of oils. I started using olive oil products in my hair and wrapping as well as brushing it and I am fine. The olive oil restored what was lost from not drinking enough water which is another major issue with black hair. All our hair is not the same so what I use maybe not right for you and baby zahara is ethiopian all africans have not been exposed to our unethical upkeeping of hair from hot combs and products like lye which are prohibited in our household products because of its strength. WE can’t wash our hair daily but brushing with the correct brush will do no harm.
Posted 17 May 2007 at 1:20 pm ¶
Lola wrote:
There’s nothing wrong with lace wigs. I bought one and they’re fun when you need to give your hair a rest!
Posted 19 Dec 2007 at 11:14 pm ¶
Anna wrote:
My son is mixed Ethiopian and Jamaican and his hair is just long curly blonde/brown and very soft. Whilst in a line up a little blonde caucasian girl started playing with this hair, telling her mother that the little girl has nice hair! I have to tie it up for day care or the children treat him like a doll and play with his hair, which leaves it all tangled. What i can see from Zahara, she has lovely soft Ethiopian (Ahroma people/tribe) hair. See looked so cute it the head scarf, i used to put a boyish one on my son, it stops the curls drying out. Oh with Ethiopian hair it’s best not to apply any products at all, just good natural shampoos and a good long once weekly conditioner (olive oil i used it from birth)
Posted 17 Apr 2008 at 6:17 am ¶
brooke desta wrote:
I am ethiopian. And yes some of us will have type 4a/4b hair. Usually the light skinned ethiopian have this hair type and the darker shades will have type 3c/3b hair. So this notion that all ethios have curly, soft hair that is different from AA hair is not right. We also tend to relax our hair often but the main reason it looks so thick , soft and healthy is because we usually have roller sets done instead of flat ironing our hair. We also use real butter as a DC.
Posted 22 May 2008 at 9:21 am ¶
afromania wrote:
What does being Ethio have to do with this discussion? Why can’t they just leave her hair natural and tell her to love herself? They should not straigthen her hair. Just give her cornrows or something. That’s what my mom did for me.
Posted 12 Jun 2008 at 9:42 am ¶
Me wrote:
You all know this whole world is brainwashed into the “European beauty” thing.
If it was the other way around…yea.
Posted 21 Jun 2008 at 1:00 pm ¶
Black Beauty Adviser wrote:
I used to relax my hair but one day I woke and realize that natural was best.
However, I’m cool with however black women want to wear their hair and I give advice about the proper care off all forms.
I truly believe that we need to move past the whole “good hair” “bad hair” argument and wise up. We are the only race who has conversations about our hair as much as we do.
When will we realize that NO other race has hair like ours, and that that fact doesn’t make us strange…it makes us unique and special!
Get with it sistas….stop hating yourselves (those who do)…you’re all beautiful!
Posted 23 Jun 2008 at 7:52 pm ¶
msday wrote:
Okay, I have to step in here. When I was a little girl, I had hair that resembled zarah’s because I was neglected. Being lightskinned, it caused me a lot of ridicule from the other kids in an all black neighborhood. Eventually I came of age and started learning how to care for my own hair. I started out with the grease and hotcomb and found that although my hair began to grow long, I had problems with alopecia on the sides from tight rollers and that d— hot comb. In fact, I had never really seen my natural texture because I was so busy putting chemicals in it. Well, something changed. While I was in the military, there was a regulation that stated “dirty” hair was punishable under UCMJ. So I started washing my hair everyday using a separate shampoo and conditioner. I also started using a lotion like pink oil moisturizer after I towel dried it and used a blow drier to blow it straight. To this day, I still have the same routine. I have never had a problem with my hair falling out. It grows very fast and I can style it in any fashion. I recently moved to italy where there are many italians and other nationalities that wear their hair in natural afro’s. So I got envious and wanted to do the same with mine. Like I have said before, I had never seen my hair without some type of processing. To my surprise, my dark chemically relaxed hair is actually reddish brown and curly. It’s is beautiful and I will never torture it again.
Posted 24 Jun 2008 at 1:24 pm ¶
whitemom wrote:
As a white mom of a black child, I certainly wouldn’t mind being harassed – nicely – on the street with hair care tips or help! Bring it on.
Posted 12 Apr 2009 at 2:06 pm ¶