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>.