If you didn’t know, the “Hot Comb” and various products of similar names was not created by Madame CJ Walker (I won’t go into my disdain for “our” distorted celebration of her here because there is so much to unpack there). It was created in France in the 1800’s. That fact is important because it is one of the tools long used to change Black Women’s hair texture, while only temporarily (and much healthier than some of today’s options).
I just finished watching “A Black Women’s History of Hair” on YouTube by Intelexual Media. This is a great hour-long piece put together by a young woman going through, and finding resolution for hair trauma during the pandemic. This piece was put together well and VERY well researched. The amazement held for how this young woman was able to decide how to cut down the amount of information available to an hour is not lost on me. What is most appreciated about the YouTube piece is while discussing what was done to us in the times of slavery and the period of immediate post-slavery, Intelexual Media also covered what we as a people (Black People) also have done to ourselves regarding Black Women’s hair as a means to survive, cope, fit-in, and be successful.
A great many Black Women were born and raised to believe that the first thing they must learn to do with the hair of their black daughters is “get it under control”. By “control” it was meant to deal with the “naps”, you know, be able to get a comb through it. Didn’t matter that the child was crying and snotting from the pain inflicted, especially if their mother (or whoever was combing their hair, for me it was mama or my sisters) was unaware of how to manage the hair in a gentle and healthy manner. The image of a black woman telling her daughter that basically this is how you “get pretty” and that “pretty hurts” can be seen and presented in many a movie, television show, and told in books.
Personally, I was taken to the salon to get my hair done at least every three weeks. My first hairdresser was amazing, and I didn’t even realize it until I started going to someone else later in life (around my high school years after my original stylist stopped doing hair). I have had press & curls, a Jheri Curl (Chile! the trauma), relaxers, color, braids, various natural hair styles, and now finally locs. And I will tell you, in my experience…black folk still love a relaxed head!
Understanding how personal hair is and for black women, the decision of how to wear our hair can be. We have to think, “will I be punished at my job for my hair?” or “will I not be hired for a job?” all because of how we decide to wear our hair. As a professional, I have always held that if you were interested in my skills and what I have to offer your organization, how I wear my hair should not come into play. Yes, I have interviewed and been hired with yarn braids, an afro-puff, a braid-out, and these locs I’m rocking right now. For me, there could not be the comfort necessary for me to be productive if I’m worrying about how my appearance is being judged against an unattainable beauty standard.
Looking back in the more recent decades, natural hair has made great gains in the community of black women. It has forced stylists that tend to black hair to learn more about black hair and the care of non-chemically altered strands. You can find literally hundreds of videos on You-Tube on how to care for “natural” hair (because what is considered natural is greatly debatable). The comparison of this “documentary” to Chris Rock’s (yeah, that dude) “Good Hair” is a smart addition because I remember remarking on how it lacked depth and a real deep dive into the research.
Sure, there is a whole lot more that could have been discussed in this piece, but I think I will save that for one of my Kindle Vella series in order to do a bit of a deeper dive (so be on the look-out!).
I said all that to say this, we (American Black Women) regardless of how we decide to wear our hair should be supporting black owned products and businesses in the hair and body care industry. If we want our existence and decisions to be respected in the professional and personal realms, we have got to walk in the door commanding and demanding respect where we spend our dollars. As was said decades ago, instead of removing the kinks from our hair we need to remove the chains on our brains.
Revolution ya’ll, we are not inferior! (find the source of this joke and I may send you a free copy of “Discoveries”)
