This is for you MJ fans out there!
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From the category archives:
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow (Random Hair Thoughts)
Hop into the DeLorean with me and let’s go to the future!
I know most newly natural ladies just care about getting their hair to grow, grow, grow. So you reach that point and then what happens?
Will you be happy? Will you chop it off and then start over again? Will you loc?
I have been pondering this quite a bit. My hair has gotten pretty long now…still not to my goal length, but getting there. I find myself longing for short hair again. I know some of your newly BC’d ladies are probably giving me the side eye, but it’s the strangest thing: Growing my hair was all I could think about once I cut out the relaxer.
Now (somedays) all I think about is how neat my TWA was. Don’t get me wrong. I still love my hair. But everytime I walk by the scissors in the bathroom, I stare a little longer and harder than before!
Here is what I feel my hair future will be:
- Grow to at least full BSL (Bra Strap Length)
- Embrace my gray (see a cool interview about transitioning to gray hair here)
- Grow out my layers (possibly)
- Possibly loc my hair or BC it at some point
- Of course, never return to a relaxer
So tell me: What’s your hair’s future?
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I am wearing a bun this weekend. I call it my “Banded Bun” and am currently working on a video tutorial on it. I hope to have it up sometime this weekend. Life has been a little busy!
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There I was innocently buying some liver at the grocery store when I glanced over and saw this display.
Let’s see here…we’ve got some ORS, some proclaim hair gel, and some relaxers.
Now, I wasn’t going to talk about this, because I know most of you have seen the ad that’s been floating around the hair boards and blogs (If you haven’t seen the ad, fellow blogger Alice posted about it last week). But when I see it in the Kroger, in front of my very own eyes, it sets my biscuits to burning.
It’s not just that it’s relaxers, it’s more like why in the world would any hair product be a representation of Black History month?
Did my ancestors march in the streets and get chased by dogs just so I could buy petroleum laden products at the Kroger? I could do that in the 50s! Ok, I have to admit, I’m not that angry…I’m partly amused, partly amazed, and extremely disappointed.
Seeing these advertisements got me to wondering if there were more out there.
Apparently, our cup overfloweth! This ad is from last year.
Notice the collard greens and fried chicken, the perfect way to celebrate! Oooh, and wait a minute! Do I see some pork hocks? Hot damn! (see the ad up close here). I think the only reason watermelon isn’t on there is because it’s out of season.
I actually think this company may have had their heart in the right place. They do mention George Washington Carver and have the Skippy peanut butter on sale. However, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
If you see any other ridiculous ads, feel free to send them in to kcurly@newlynatural.com.
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Somehow, my braidout is still hanging in there but just barely. This weekend has been crazy for me. I had to spend the night at a hotel unexpectedly, so I pulled my hair back in a puff loosely with a scarf for the last few days. It’s frizzy and less defined, but it works.
I hope to do my hair tomorrow. Something I am realizing is that in these dry winter months, I can not rely on spritzes to remoisturize my hair. They are great for the summer, but I need something heavy right now. I’ve been sticking mostly to creams and butters for moisture at this time.
Here’s a few things you can expect in the next coming weeks:
- A pictorial or video tutorial…I’m not sure which!
- An interview with Jane Carter of Jane Carter Solutions! It was my first phone interview and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it!
- Reviews of the Bee Mine product line. Mook (see her fotki here for some beautiful styles) has been singing their praises and I finally took the plunge!
- More accessory stuff!
One last note, I have been slacking off going through my spam folder, so if you notice your comments have not been posted, that is probably why. I am going to try to check the folder at least every other day.
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Growing up, we had a family tradition that little girls waited until the age of 11 or 12 to get a relaxer. When I went to school, other African American girls were , for the most part, also natural. It may have been pressed or blowdried, but it was not relaxed. I fondly remember coming in from the playground and seeing everyone’s pressed hair “go back” from all the running and playing outside.
Fast forward to adulthood. Now, I’m not around a lot of little girls on a regular basis, but I see them out and about. It’s obvious to me that children are being “chemically altered” younger and younger.
I was hanging out with a friend whose nieces were visiting when I noticed their hair. It was very limp, with a slight wave and heavily greased. I asked the little girls if they had natural hair, just because I couldn’t figure out what exactly was going on with it. They said their mom put a texturizer in it.
Their hair looked horrible. They were maybe 7 and 8.
Are little girls getting relaxers earlier now? I think they are, but why? Why am I seeing so many toddlers with “ate up” hair? I’ve been thinking hard on this one and I’ve come up with the following reasons.
Texture softener companies are “tricksy and false”. Thanks to Gollum for the accurate description. By the way, if we keep doing this to our kids tender little scalps, their hair is going to look like Gollum’s by the time they are in their 20s.
Mothers are obviously being tricked by the “gentle” texture softeners . If you ask them if they relax their daughters hair, they say “No, I texturize”. They don’t put it on the same level. The words “gentle” and “for kids” lull parents into a false sense of security that this is not the dreaded, dangerous relaxer, but a nice, safe alternative.
We like things fast and we like them convenient. You can stop on the way home from work and, in five minutes, have a full meal for your family without having to turn on the stove. You can pay your bills online and file your taxes just as easily.
It’s just the world we live in…and for most of us hair is no exception. So, if you’re a busy mom with enough on your hands already, of course you may look for the easier option when dealing with your child’s hair. And with claims like “worry free manageability”, who wouldn’t be excited? After all, we are the “now” generation.
Whatever the reasons, it can’t be good. This article, though it lists many different reasons not to relax children’s hair, lists a reason that I see as being one of the biggest problems:
10 ) The period of age 5-12 is a very crucial time for child development and when a child has low self esteem due to poor self image during this time the results are often times difficult to reverse.
• More than 40% of African American girls have a case of hair loss or alopecia areata by the time they reach the age of 16 and are forced to thus wear wigs and weaves for the rest of their lives to cover up the damage.
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