A topic that plays a major role in the lives of so many women, especially African American women - Our HAIR! We all have struggled on some level with our hair – what it represents in our lives and the role it plays in our sense of self and sense of beauty. In the next several posts, we would like to share our stories and experiences our ups and downs, and our successes and failures with our hair.
Everything Old is New Again
I feel fortunate to see the natural hair trend of today, being a child of the 50's and 60's, I've seen hair and other trends make a full cycle.
My earliest natural hair memory is of my mother. Her hair was loosely curled, black with grey at the center peak the swirled throughout her hair. My greying pattern began in my late 20's the same way. Other women around me had either hot comb straighten, "nappy" hair, or a combination of both.
As a girl, my hair was usually combed in five "plaits" - one on each side, two in the back, and a big one on the top of my head. They were fasten into place by barrettes or bobbie pins. My hair was thick and "loosely nappy." The only time I was subjected to the hot comb was on Easter or for a special school play. I hated it! Getting your hair hot combed meant you have to sit completely still so you wouldn't "sweat it back." This was torture.
Done at home in the kitchen, heating the comb and curling irons on the gas stove meant no regulated temperature. Too much hair grease, most often White Rose petroleum jelly, and the hair would sizzle like chicken frying in a skillet. You couldn't flinch when you were tagged and holding your ear down to get to the hair behind your ear also put your fingers in peril. After she successfully straighten every strand of hair, my mother would scrub my neck because the grease, sweat and body oil would collect. No black necks allowed.
With my hair straighten, I could wear the ponytails I begged for tied with ribbons. My straight tresses lasted only a few hours because I could never "stay on the porch" to keep from running and playing and sweating back my kinks. My infrequently pressed hair routine lasted throughout my early childhood of the 50's and early 60's.
After my mother passed, my father remarried to a woman who pressed my hair a little better than I was used to, but the home perm was her thing. Now in my teens, the perm was introduced in my household. This was a whole new level of torture because the perms were lye-based. Now we're talking about chemical burn - a packaged conk. It was the same concoction I watched my uncle mix in the kitchen as a child using potatoes and lye.
It brings to mind the scene from Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" where Denzel and Spike get their first "process." The longer you leave it in, the straighter the hair. With the goal being, as Denzel's Malcolm admires his transformation in the mirror, "Looks white don't it?"
After the torture of the perm application process, I had to roll it on hard plastic rollers held in place by boddie pins that heated up (burned again!) while I sat under the dryer to get a set curl. Again the sitting still annoyed me.
The whole process would leave chemical burn patches along my hairline and any tender spots on my scalp. My hair would be matted in these spot and if I was lucky if my hair didn't come out with the scab.
Then in the late 60's and early 70's came the Black Movement which introduced... the Afro! This time brought about more than self-awareness. It ushered in a healthy natural hair revolution.
As excited as I was about wearing hair chemical-free, now my problem was my hair would not kink or curl completely to get the look right. I had a lot straight strands of hair sticking out amongst the kinks. I tried washing my hair with beer and other home remedies, but I could never "rock a Fro!"
During the early 70's, I covered my hair with fashionable scarves and hairpieces while my hair grew out naturally. But by the mid-70's, I was back to the perm/relaxer. The ingredients of the product had somewhat improved but not much, so I only permed my hair every now and then until recently.
I was never comfortable with using any hair other than my own, except for a brief period when my daughter braided my hair with extensions. Once again my problem with braids was being able to sit still long enough to achieve the look.
My last perm/relaxer was December 2010. This wasn't an intentional move but other things in my life became higher on my priority than fooling with my hair. The last thing I had time for was my hair.
Another catalyst for my purposefully accidental transition to natural was witnessing Latifah's transformation with her beautiful natural kinky curls. She makes her own hair care products from all-natural, everyday ingredients, attending natural hair care workshops, and doing her usual due diligence and research to make sure she was able to pass it along to her family.
Finally, there is my granddaughter whose kinky-curly top is beautifully inspiring.
All these influences came at a good time. Aging, chemical processing, flat ironing, and stress were thinning out my hair.
My daughters would twist/bantu knot my hair to create curls to help me transition from relaxed to natural, but I was impatient with the hair that wouldn't curl. I would find myself in the mirror seeking out perm strains and cutting them off, until I just had a mini-fro. Latifah and Ilyasin would chime in, "Mama you're doing too much. You have to be patient. It's not gonna happen overnight."
This month marks one year of being chemical-free and I'm loving it. No more thin, straight, and weaken hair. It's thick, soft, and all mine! No more itchy chemical scalp and it has grown nearly the length of my pre-natural hair.
Natural fits my overall style and lifestyle - the "just roll wit it" me.
- Lois
