35 posts tagged “my hair”
I promised myself that I wasn't going to post about this topic. But after all of the other conversations that has gone on as well as Chris Rock's media appearances, I feel compelled to say something.
I'm not that interested in seeing Good Hair anymore. At first, I thought that it may be an interesting conversation starter but the more I hear about it, it sounds a showcase for Chris Rock to talk about how superficial and high maintenance black women are using hair as an example.
I've watched the conversations turn into straight vs nappy and I think that dichotomy is stupid. Your politics, self-image, and potential self-hatred are not solely dictated by the hair on your head. But I think that with any lifestyle choice, you owe it to yourself to be honest about why you made those choices.
I used to hate my natural hair. I thought it was unruly and impossible to deal with. I believed that it had to be beaten into submission with relaxers, pressing irons and curling irons. I resented that my hair didn't grow long and felt resigned to wear my hair short, thin, and flat or braided.
I didn't stop resenting my natural hair until I learned how to care for it. I didn't learn how care for my hair until I stopped expecting it to behave like straight hair.
And that is the core of the problem. We have to reprogram ourselves and society out of this idea that straight hair is the baseline and the norm. Yes, hairstyles are choices but your hair texture is not. And it is wrong to judge all hair textures as presentable against a single, arbitrary baseline.
Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel
African American hair has been all over the news lately. I don't know if it's because of Michelle Obama or Tyra, but people just can't stop talking about African American hair. Now, this is a blog devoted to care and keeping of MY African American hair, not the politics of hair, the science and structure of hair, or the sociocultural implications of being natural but since there is a national dialogue going on (and suddenly people feel the need to talk to me about my hair), I thought I might contribute to the conversation.
I need to work on the anniversary post with length comparisions, etc but first....
It has been blazing hot here so I have been looking for scarves and stepping up my hair protection. I am really looking forward to when my hair reaches a length where I can pull it up into a ponytail because having hair on my neck in this heat makes me want to reach for the scissors and take off a few inches.
I didn't realize that it had been so long since my last post.
I have been pretty lax with my hairwashing and maintenance practices lately due to a busy schedule. So I broke all of my rules and was rewarded with a ton of buildup and lint on the back of my head.
There should be a picture here, but I haven't gotten around to it. Things I have learned about my locs:
I really should be asleep, but it isn't happening. But my head is full of random loc thoughts and now is as good of a time for a brain dump as any.
My locs are just long enough that they are getting in my eyes, so I have abandoned the part and latched my hair straight back. After going two months without latching (just separating between washings), I had a lot of growth to tend to. I'm looking forward to being able to style my hair a bit - as much as I like the ease of short hair, I miss having the styling options that I had with my loose natural hair.