Final Research Essay: Hair in the Black Community

A Community Divided Coming Together

As far back as I can remember my hair has always been an integral part of my life.  It dictated who I was, how I acted, and how I felt.  If I cut my hair, I was interrogated as though it was necessary to have longer hair to survive.  If I didn’t get that Just For Me! ^TM perm at the age of nine, then my mother would hear my continuous complaints.  After all, I had to be like everyone else.  I had to be like the majority so I can feel like I belonged to a group.  Strangely, this thing that was so vital was only HAIR!  It should never have found a way to impact my life so greatly.  However, hair has taken on many aspects in the black community.  It’s been grounds for employment, acceptance into organizations, competition in hair shows, and acceptance among peers.  I wanted to grasp why the black community became so attached to the idea of hair.  I needed to know why it was so critical to have societal separation due to those who wear their hair in its natural state and those who wear their hair relaxed.  Has the black community become divided by hair or is it evolving by becoming more accepting of the difference?  In order to explore this topic, I used interview sources, a survey, and other mediums of the community such as the salon experience, hair shows, and hair forums.

            It is very rare to hear about any black woman growing up throughout life without spending numerous hours every two weeks in someone’s salon or someone’s home getting their hair done.  In the shops, you could have set up a morning appointment, but still never make it out until the evening.  Spread across any black community, you will find plenty of salons where the stylists specialize in relaxed styling, and there are also a select few that specialize in natural styling.  The difference is only made in the hair texture of the two types of styling.  However, that difference is what causes the community to be on two separate sides of the fence.

            According to nappturality.com, to be natural means “you have 100% unrelaxed or unstraightened hair and wear it out with pride and without extensions.”  However, I discovered through my survey that the entire terminology of natural is quite confusing.  Not every “natural” woman wears her hair in the stereotypical styles of locs, braids, twists, and afros.  Some black women style their hair with minimal heat so that they don’t have to deal with the strong chemicals of relaxers.  Previously and sometimes in the present, women who wore their hair in its naturally curly and naturally dry state were said to be “unattractive, unprofessional, lazy, and unmaintained…” (Stay Natural).  This opinion of natural women seems to have stemmed from a racial complex only due to the fact that these women lacked the straight texture of European women.

            Opposed to the chemical-free natural women, the women who relax their hair use sodium hydroxide to alter the texture of their hair.  The chemical penetrates the cortex or cortical layer and loosens the natural curl pattern. This inner layer of the hair shaft is not only what gives curly hair its shape but provides strength and elasticity. Once this process is performed it is irreversible (McClain).  Relaxed hair is praised for its easiness in manageability.  Due to the straighter texture, there seems to be more versatility in styling and less work involved in achieving styles.

            You may ask at this point how women in the black community choose which route they will take with their hair.  Most times it is decided based on the people that one hangs around, or the convenience that it provides for them.  “Since my hair is so thick, it becomes unmanageable if I don't take the steps I do. So straightening it makes me feel more comfortable, or I will put it into a ponytail,” said one of the respondents of my survey on their reason for being relaxed.  Another respondent who is natural said, “Mainly because of the people I was surrounded by. They go natural, so I felt comfortable to do so too.”  However, it is pretty simple to make the decision.  Women in the black community will do what works for them.  With a billion dollar industry set for black hair, both types of styling have supported ways of making them work for women.

            One might ask how the black community ended up being catered by a billion dollar hair industry.  With such entrepreneurial minds like Madam CJ Walker, the need for products to maintain the unique kinky texture of black women was met.  It seems that ever since Walker brought out her products, companies such as Luster’s Pink, Organic Root Stimulator, Dark and Lovely, and Dudley’s have all competed to make better products.  Not surprisingly, the majority of the hair companies are not black owned even though some black owned companies do exist.  The extent of the products offered are much more than the numerous amounts of different textures found in black women’s hair.  You can find relaxers, loc and twist gels, extensions, wigs, essential oils, and more in beauty supplies across black communities.  This assortment of products is what makes it easy for black women to be so versatile in their choice of styling.

            The truth of the matter is that regardless of how black women wear their hair, the dry and tightly curled nature of the hair causes it to be prone to damage.  Some women can afford to have someone else manage their hair while others must do it for themselves.  Though all women in the black community begin with the same type of hair, their lifestyles can lead to one type of styling being better for them than the other.  With the help of sites like Long Hair Care Forum (longhaircareforum.com), both relaxed and natural women are accepted with the goal of growing healthy, long hair.  The misconception that natural women can’t use heat and wear extensions is a possible reason why people aren’t openly claiming to be natural.  The world of hair in the black community is not so black and white.  Both relaxed and natural women can use heat and wear extensions.  While it was thought that natural hair could be the one thing that prevented employment, the results to my survey told a different story.  According to my survey, more women are accepting of women based on their qualifications not their hair.  The change in acceptance of natural hair is due to more women being willing to experiment with this type of styling.  Also with the world being so internet-based, women have access to see other women doing what they’re doing.  From YouTube communities to forums, there is always a way to feel more united than previous notions would like to account for.

            While I may never know the exact reason why the black community succumbed to segregation due to hair, I know that this gap is becoming slimmer.  Much of the black community’s inspiration comes from what is seen in the media, and luckily more celebrities are showing that it is acceptable to embrace the natural texture.  Chrisette Michele, an R&B singer, has recently gone back to her natural state.  Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu are other artists who are natural, but respected on a much larger scale than their hair.  However, for some people the ability to wear their hair in its natural state is their personal shortcoming because they don’t think that it will fit them.  The research of this issue of hair in the black community was well worth the time and effort because I was proved wrong on many levels.  I was also made more aware of the fact that even by labeling someone as natural, there is still some sort of discrimination in the term.  Not many black women claim themselves to be natural because there are some who will attest to the fact that natural women don’t use heat at all.  This then further divides the community because then there is no place for women who don’t relax their hair but use heat.  Unfortunately, hair will never just be hair.  There will continue to be a world focused on hair particularly for the black community.  It’s a successful venture for those that are involved, and more reason for those in the black community to love that head of kinky, curly hair.

Works Cited

Gaines, Patricia. “FAQ – Natural African American Haircare.” Nappturality. Web.

          13 Apr 2010. .

McClain, Cassia. “The Truth About Hair Relaxers.” Skin Biology. Web. 13 Apr

          2010. .

Stay Natural. “Relaxed Vs. Natural Hair – Why Black Women Debate Over The

Two.” Associated Content. Web. 13 Apr 2010.

.com/article/466398/relaxed_vs_natural_hair_why_black_women.html?single

page=true&cat=69>.

Survey Analysis for Hair in the Black Community

The survey process for my topic of Hair in the Black Community was somewhat difficult.  After posting the link to the survey on Facebook and Twitter, it took a couple of days before people started filling it out.  In fact, it took for my aunt to also post the link for any responses to come in at all.  I thought that I would have responses pouring in since so many people have been talking about the issue of hair especially since Chris Rock’s film, Good Hair, came out last year.  Though the survey only contained ten questions (seven short answer and three multiple choice), it took for me to continuously post the link day after day to get my full amount of responses.  I was surprised by the fact that many of the people who took the survey were older black women, and not younger black women like I assumed.  I know this based off of some of the short answers.  For example, when I asked “What do you think of women wearing their hair in its natural state,” one of the responses was “I love it I have been natural for 16 years.”  If any younger black woman were to be natural for 16 years, then this would mean that they made the personal decision to go natural at around six years old.  I highly doubt that situation.  Another surprising thing that I noticed was that most of the respondents considered the “normal” thing for black women to wear were weaves.  They didn’t even predict the state of the hair under the weave.  Weaves are indeed a common preference among black women because of its convenience and protection of the hair.  However, a woman can wear a weave whether she is relaxed or natural.  I was super excited to see that the respondents did not judge women harshly based on their hair.  One of my questions asked what they thought when they saw a woman with her hair in its natural state.  Eighty-one percent of the respondents thought that if they saw this then they would think her hair looks nice compared to 18% who thought to each their own, but they wouldn’t do it.  Luckily not one of the respondents thought that a woman wearing her hair in its natural state needed a relaxer.  Overall I was happy with the results because this survey proved to me that women in the black community are changing their views.  These women seem to hold their own opinion pretty well, and don’t allow much control from the media over their opinions.  If I could change something about this survey, then I would have added other questions or changed the way that I worded them.  Some of my respondents thought that the survey was too black and white since it only catered to women with either relaxed or natural hair.  I forgot to suggest those women who only get their hair pressed with a hot comb so these women had to join the category of natural hair.  I don’t think that was such a bad thing because natural women can use heat as long as it isn’t an excess amount.  This goes to show that even the mere definition of natural hair can make the debate a tough one.  My own personal definition may not have fit that of my respondents.  Additionally, it may have helped to narrow down my respondents by having only those women who considered themselves relaxed or natural to take the survey.  I pretty much took the route of being broader just to get an opinion from any woman in the black community.  All in all, I think the results were very helpful to me.  These results changed my own way of looking at the issue, and will be extremely important to the overall product of my research paper.

Black Hair Interview with a Professional Stylist

In a world where appearance is everything, hair salons play a vital role in the lives of many women.  For my research topic on hair in the Black community, I decided to interview a close friend of mine, Brandi Booth.  Brandi has been interested in hair since the young age of eight years old as a result of her mother not being able to do her hair due to a heavy work schedule.  She began taking her Barbie dolls, and experimenting with their hair.  After becoming quite familiar with some styles, she began braiding her own hair and adding in hair weaves.  With some experience under her belt, she ended up doing her friends’ and cousins’ hair leading to her getting licensed at the Aveda Institute in New York City.

Since Brandi and I are close friends, I met her at her home in Dearborn Heights over Spring Break.  Due to the economy being the way it is, Brandi has been doing hair in her own home for the past three years.  Upon first entering the home, it looks like any normal family’s home.  It was decorated with pictures of her family, cloth furniture, a few toys on the floor, and dinner sitting ready on the stove; nothing too elaborate since her two year old cousin lives with her.  However once we entered the basement, it was like a totally different home.  There was a set up of hair sprays, oil sheens, hair scissors, flat irons, combs, and brushes on a counter.

To begin the interview, I first asked about Brandi’s thoughts on the debate on relaxed vs. natural hair in the Black community.  She was excited to talk about the debate because she feels that she sits on the fence about the issue.  For her, she likes the versatility of both types of hair so she really can’t say that she prefers one over the other.  However, she does argue that “If Black people don’t wear Black hair, then who else will wear it?”  She thinks that Black hair is unique in the sense that no one else has kinky, curly hair.  I then asked how she manages the curly and kinky nature of Black hair in her home salon.  She showed me more of her hair products.  These products included a bag of rollers of various sizes, and a box of conditioner called Bacoba Silk (her own personal line).  Black hair in its natural state tends to split easily, and can be dried out by shampoos that contain sulfate.  For this reason, “I don’t really apply a lot of heat to hair.  I use texturizers and rollers.  Never a lot of shampoo, but I do use a lot of conditioner.”

We then touched on the Black hair care industry.  We spoke about Chris Rock’s movie, Good Hair, and how important something as simple as hair can largely dominate a culture.  I asked why she thought weaves were so big in the Black community.  It’s important to note that the Black hair care industry is a billion dollar industry.  Brandi looked to me with a concerned face as though she had to think hard about that question.  “Interesting question,” she says.  She believes that celebrities gave way to the demand for weaves.  She also asserts that weave gives you more options.  “You can get curly weave if your hair isn’t naturally curly or straight weave if your hair isn’t naturally straight.”  Weaves also put less strain on hair than other styling options since there is less heat being applied to the hair every day. 

Finally at the end of the interview, I decided to delve into my own personal specialty, natural hair.  I asked about the whole “good hair” idea in which straighter, less kinky textures are considered good, and kinkier textures are considered bad.  “There’s no such thing as good hair!  I mean what’s the opposite of “good hair”…nappy hair?  There’s no such thing as nappy hair; it’s just extremely curly.”  So what’s her advice to a young Black female who comes to her wanting to wear their hair in a natural state?  She believes people shouldn’t be swayed one way or another.  Brandi doesn’t particularly specialize in natural hair so she doesn’t know about all the techniques.  However, her caring, bubbly nature won’t ever allow her to turn anyone away.  She suggests looking up styles that would best suit the natural state to wean the hair from relaxed to natural.  Well seeing that I was in a salon, how could I resist getting my hair done?  Brandi plugged up her flat irons, and we went into our normal routine of girl talk as we waited for the flat irons to heat up.

*Though Brandi is a professional stylist, she doesn’t provoke people to be relaxed because of what they see in the media.  However, she doesn’t speak for all stylists.*


Here is Brandi explaining how she styles hair, and how too much heat can be damaging to the hair.

Just a few of Brandi's personal collection of styling products including curlers, oil sheen, a blow dryer, and flat irons.

I asked Brandi to demonstrate how she works on her clientele, and here it is.  She uses her three-way mirror to better maneuver around her client's hair. 

Finally a picture to explain the difference between relaxed and natural hair.  On the left, a Black woman has her hair relaxed to alter the texture from extremely curly to straight.  On the right, a Black woman has her hair in its natural state with all of the curly texture clearly visible.  Photo taken from: http://cdn-write.demandstudios.com/upload//0000/700/80/4/30784.jpg

Reading Response #2

Ch. 5 “And Yet” Reading Response #2

Ex. 1

1.      Views of others

“Marx and Engels wrote…”

“His definition: if you earn thirty thousand dollars…”

“The average American will tell you…”

Author’s own views

“If only that were true...”

“Are we allowed to choose?”

“I always felt that…”

2.      Ex. 2 

       For this exercise, I studied my argumentative essay on whether zoos were cruel to animals.

a. How many perspectives do you engage?

I engaged two perspectives in my writing; one from PETA (they believed zoos were cruel to animals, and one from myself and WWF (we believed zoos helped animals).

b. What other perspectives might you include?

It might have been helpful if I sort of gave more of my own perspective.  It’s true that I agree with WWF, but I don’t think that I clearly showed my own thoughts from that of WWF.  I could also include perspectives from groups that agree and disagree to a certain extent on whether zoos are cruel to animals.

c. How do you distinguish your views from the other views you summarize?

I distinguished my views from the other views I summarized by explaining why the opposing side disagrees with me.  For example, “It is often times these so-called “roadside zoos” (establishments that take on the name of zoos and use private selling of animals (“Yahoo! Answers”)), which make organizations like PETA oppose to zoos and give off the vibe that all zoos participate in the cruel treatment of animals.”  Then I counteract that statement with my own opinion, “However, the evidence shows that AZA accredited zoos care more about these animals well-being, and don’t resort to private selling and cross-breeding.”  I also usually state that “opposing groups like PETA argue…” so that it is clear that their opinion is not my own.

d. Do you use clear voice-signaling phrases?

I used clear voice-signaling phrases more so with the opinions of others than I did for my own.  It sort of seems like if I didn’t say “PETA argues…” or “WWF believes…,” then it usually was my own opinion.

e. What options are available to you for clarifying who is saying what?

The options that are available to me for clarifying who is saying what are through voice markers, through always saying who is stating what, and by being a bit sarcastic by saying things like “it seems…” because no one would show their lack of confidence in their argument.

f. Which of these options are best suited for this particular text?

For this particular text, I think it’s best to use voice markers that always say “X argues this” or “I agree, as X may not realize, that…”  These voice markers distinguish one opinion from the next, and in some cases allows for slightly agreeing even when you disagree.

Reading Response #1

Ch. 1 They Say, I Say Exercises

#1

a.      a.  It has become common today to not fully disclose information about the toxic waste in the water even though it is necessary for the livelihood of our community.  Our experiments suggest that there are dangerous levels of Chemical X in the Ohio groundwater.

b.     b.   A number of reviews have recently suggested that this book is brilliant and persuasive.  My own view is that this novel has certain flaws.

c.      c.  You would think that football was a sport that was appreciated nationwide.  However, some people agree that football is so boring.

d.      d.  It has become common today to dismiss females’ outlook on class discussions since it is often thought that male students often dominate class discussions.

e.      e.  Many people assume that Sex and the City is only about long-lasting friendships.  In my view the film is really about the problems of romantic relationships.

f.       f.  In their recent investigations, college professors have offered harsh critiques of students for not using templates given to improve their writing.  I’m afraid that templates like the ones in this book will stifle my creativity.

#2

If ever there was an idea custom-made for a Jay Leno monologue, this was it:  Americans suggesting that football is so boring.  Isn’t that like saying kids hate candy?  Whatever happened to enjoying a classic pastime?

            I happen to sympathize with these football-bashing Americans, though, perhaps because I’ve never enjoyed football due to my lack of understanding for it.

OMG... You can see my screen!

When I first saw my screen as a photo, I was amazed.  I thought, "Wow.  How cool is that!"  It immediately reminded me of Skype since you can share your screen with someone you're chatting with, and allow them to see all the movements you make on your screen.  However, I had no idea that you could take a picture of your screen.  Boy has technology changed!

How does composing change shape in digital spaces?

Composing changes shape in digital spaces because everything is neatly typed, indented, and sized.  This gives a universal way of composing.  It makes it easier to read someone else's thoughts because you don't have to struggle to understand their handwriting.  Even if you like your handwriting, composing in digital spaces can be personalized.  There are certain fonts that one could use to make your composition look prissier, and there are font types to make your words bold to show emphasis.  Also, composing in digital spaces makes it easier to edit your work.  You don't have to worry about white-out, scratch outs, or misspelled words.  You can do all the same things that you do when writing on paper, but a thousand times better!

How can we better understand digital composing processes?

We can better understand digital composing processes by looking into the help function on your word processor, or you could Google it.  Everything you could ever possibly need to know about anything can be found on Google.  With technology continuing to progress, many schools and employers are requiring that people have a basic sense of digital composing.  There are classes to help with these things.  Since the world is becoming so digitally involved and focused on social networking, most people either already understand digital composing processes or are seeking to learn.