what happened to our hair?

[lovely_locks]

I'm by no means a history buff, but I watch a lot of documentaries. I've noticed (at least it seems like to me) that African Americans being known for shorr unhealthy hair is kind of a new thing. It seems like evem as recent as 60's many of us had long hair. Weather its straight or fro. In old black and whited from the 40's our hair looked long and healthy. What happened? I'm not trying to start a debate or anything it is just something I noticed.

 

[Tatilove]

Heat tools happened Relaxer happened.

 

[DoDo]

Heat tools happened Relaxer happened.

Yep! The flat iron often begins at 200 degrees ( which no one seems to use) and keeps going until 500. This is in spite of the fact that irreparable damage occurs to keratin in hair at 322 degrees and hair itself burns at 451 degrees.
The flat iron is also an at home instrument, meaning women are able to use it any time they want to do daily "touch ups". While the Marcel stove and the hot comb were no joke, women waited to style their hair every two weeks to one month at the salon which drastically reduces the use of heat tools. Conking, a form of relaxer was also used since the early 20th century however widespread at home relaxing became the norm beginning roughly around the late 70's early 80's.

This movement though, in spite of all it's different detours and curiosities ; will lead to black women taking their hair back.

I am seeing a lot more women with healthy luscious hair, in ten to twenty years I can easily see it becoming the norm.

 

[sparkle25]

You're correct. And it's weaves and perms. Women take better care of their weaves than their real hair.

 

[Theresamonet]

Relaxers and hot tools have been around forever. I'm going to blame weaves. Once we started to be able to completely hide our own hair and forget about it, it was a wrap.

 

[all_1_length]

Heat tools happened Relaxer happened.

Yup and my theory is that during the mid 80's early 90's relaxers were on the rise. Stylist favored relaxers over press n curls most likely to increase their profit margin so I guess more of their clients were steered towards relaxers. Then there were people who did DIY relaxing without proper knowledge or technique and started messing their hair up. I know there are more factors like constantly being in styles that stressed the scalp ie braids/weaves and not giving their hair a break.

I find it funny that 20 odd years ago relaxers were in(because of the seeming convenience)and natural hair was out (because it was hard to manage) but now we are coming full circle and accepting our hair and in doing this some salons are offering natural services again.

 

[DoDo]

Relaxers and hot tools have been around forever. I'm going to blame weaves. Once we started to be able to completely hide our own hair and forget about it, it was a wrap.

You know what I didn't think of that! I know I was on the highway to baldness when I stayed in braid extensions 24/7 ! My hair was natural underneath those, just natural and forgotten.

 

[IMFOCSD]

Not having proper hair care knowledge and patience... if we would have had this many many years ago then wearing perms, relaxers, weaves, etc would not be a huge (negative) issue.

 

[koolkittychick]

What everyone said. Once we developed easier/more convincing ways to not deal with our natural hair, we simply stopped dealing with it, even to take care of it. Now we have about two generations of women who are barely familiar with their hair, let alone know how to take care of it properly. Hence the balding, thin, breaking state of many women's hair today under their meticulously maintained wigs and weaves.

 

[genesislocks]

I'm going to go out on a limb and blame relaxers. Here's why:

I truly believe that post madame cj walker, the formula in relaxers began to change to make it suitable for mass production. The change IMO brought relaxer quality down from filet mignon to mcdonald's.

I hypothesize this because even many black people with relaxed hair in the 20s and 30s etc seemingly had enough hair to at least make a hearty bun.

That and hair grease i.e. petroleum i.e the debil's jelly. lol

 

[Subscribe]

1) Working 15-20 hours under the hot sun while wearing a cotton headscarf.

2) Not having access to water to clean your hair and scalp.

3) Not having nutritious food to eat.

4) Stress

5) Stress

6) Mothers not able to share hair care practices with their daughters.

7) Trying to implement European hair care practices on African hair.

 

[DoDo]

1) Working 15-20 hours under the hot sun while wearing a cotton headscarf.

2) Not having access to water to clean your hair and scalp.

3) Not having nutritious food to eat.

4) Stress

5) Stress

6) Mothers not able to share hair care practices with their daughters.

7) Trying to implement European hair care practices on African hair.

Those are the general reasons for why black hair suffered as a direct result of colonialism and the slave trade. While very valid, the poster was actually referring to the curious changed that occurred in black women's ability to retain length since the 60's and 70's. Afros in the seventies were a thing to behold! Yet, noooooow...black women routinely believe they can't even grow their hair to shoulder length...

 

[D.Lisha]

1) Working 15-20 hours under the hot sun while wearing a cotton headscarf. 2) Not having access to water to clean your hair and scalp. 3) Not having nutritious food to eat. 4) Stress 5) Stress 6) Mothers not able to share hair care practices with their daughters. 7) Trying to implement European hair care practices on African hair.

Now I totally agree with this! Unhealthy hair care practices had to have started wayyy before relaxers, hot tools, weaves etc were even around! Think back to the slavery era.... now think back to the first slaves that were brought here..how did the maintain their hair? When did they have time to even give their hair's health any considerable thought with all that they were put through?

 

[silverbuttons]

It wasn't weaves. It wasn't heat tools. It was just bad hair practices. I don't think we like admitting it.. but its the truth.

 

[PinkSunshine77]

Relaxers aren't to blame for every woman's inability to retain length. This is why you see people that thought going natural would magically help them retain length, and many still haven't mastered that. There are also lots of relaxed ladies with long hair. As long as I can remember, we always had a hot comb. I am 36. I was getting my hair hot combed as a child. There was no temp control or heat protectant used and my hair was longer than ever back then. No idea why, it just was. I think people using weaves as hair crutches, not giving a F how their natural hair is doing under that wig and weave. Being lazy (I'm a victim of this) and many do not want to admit that braids IMO are more detrimental to your ends and scalp than a relaxer.

 

[Subscribe]

Those are the general reasons for why black hair suffered as a direct result of colonialism and the slave trade. While very valid, the poster was actually referring to the curious changed that occurred in black women's ability to retain length since the 60's and 70's. Afros in the seventies were a thing to behold! Yet, noooooow...black women routinely believe they can't even grow their hair to shoulder length...

The OP presented a question to the forum and "I" answered the question with the answer " I " thought was best. You have the opportunity to hit " reply " and voice YOUR own opinion No need to " quote" me and then try to tell me how I should or should not answer.

The hair section is dying and nearly dead because people are tired of having their opinions dissected. Say what YOU want to say and READ and enjoy other peoples opinions or point of view.

I sometimes wish they would remove the quote button.

 

[kaykari]

Idk why people get so sensitive at people discussing or dissecting responses. Thats part of this forum...or any forum for that matter, even in real life. You dont only talk to the OP, you respond to the responses. Lots of people hate this type of response Im doing, without a quote and referring generally to "people" when Im kinda responding to one thing. IMO, as long as responses are respectful, why get sore over them?

 

[reeko43]

I can just go by what I have seen. I am a sixties baby and grew up in an era where perms/weaves were almost unheard of for children. Press and curl and braids were the norm. I would have my hair combed and styled and then wore a stocking cap to keep fresh. I went to the hairdresser for special occasional for a press and curl. Only then would I wear my hair out and for a couple of days.

During the eighties, perms became more popular for high school aged. It was also the era of the jherri curl and chronic use of curling irons. It was then that I really began to see some really poor hair practices from many teen age DIYers because parents were not taking care of our hair as much at that age. I remember starting to see the occasional weave.

The nineties seemed to bring more fake hair, commonly used for braiding, widespread use of flat irons/curling irons and home perms. It was during this time that I began to see young children with perms as the norm, often done at home and poorly executed. Weave was increasingly popular. Natural hair very unpopular.

Decade 2000 was defined by weaves and perms. The age of children getting perms was even younger. I saw more fake hair on children for braiding.

Overall, I think poor hair practices, badly executed home perms, perms in young hair and chronic weave misuse destroyed the hair of many. Damaged hair became the norm. However, the increasing resurgence of natural hair and easily accessible advice on proper hair care for natural, permed and weaved hair is helping to make a healthy hair comeback. But, there is a lot more work to be done.

Sent from my SAMSUNG Galaxy Note 2

 

[krissyhair]

I think this question is so highly subjective that we're going in the wrong direction. I made this picture just for the thread. I'll post it and explain it in the next post. Please do not quote. Some of these older photos are very important in genealogy and my Auntie would kill me if she knew I put them online.

 

[krissyhair]

Most of the people in the above photo are my ancestors. Their hair ranges from average to healthy to fabulous, short and long.

I believe that it is mostly based on individual knowledge and interest in hair care.

You can see that there are some hair trends. For example, all of the teenage boys during the pre-civil war photos wore the same type of style parted right down the middle.

My Grandmother and her sisters and cousins had all different kinds of hair. My Great Aunt and her descendents all have awesome fabulous hair that can grow down their backs in no time. My Grandmother on the other hand has never known much about hair. She only had one daughter. I never ask either of them to do my hair. With them, the comb sounds like snap, crackle pop. My Aunt still struggles with her hair as a grown woman.

My mother and I in the 1990s photos represent what I think of as good hair care practices. She always changed her style. After she passed away, my hair was left in the hands of my dad and that long haired little girl you see in the photos was not around any longer.

My older sister (not in any of the pictures) really knows how to take care of hair so I'm sure her daughters and descendents will have fabulous hair for the next few generations to come. I learned how to take care of my hair after being the bald headed step child for many years, so hopefully the cycle will continue.

 

[bellebebe]

I often wonder the same thing. They had such nice hair.

 

[KittyMeowMeow]

Was there ever a time before the present in America when good hair care practices were widely known and most BW could grow long hair?

Madame CJ Walker was the first self-made female American millionaire (of any race) by selling hair care products that promised growth starting in 1905. I'm not sure if this could have taken off like this if most BW had hair care practices that led to growth.

There were trends that helped (afros, hooded dryer/rollers era, jheri curl) and hurt (blow dryer, flat iron, relaxers (v. damaging w/o proper care & application)). But looking at photos, from, say, the 70s, it seems like most BW had small to medium afros. In the press n curl era, I think SL was considered long.

I don't think the kind of knowledge to get to lenghts like BSB and beyond it seems the average BW can get to today with the right techniques were ever known by most people. They definitely weren't in my family.

I think the internet has really changed the hair care game for the better.

 

[newgrowth15]

krissyhair, thanks for sharing your beautiful family photos. I love looking at old pictures of our people. If you ever want to share more, by all means, please do. I didn't mean to hijack this thread.

 

[cynd]

Well, way back in the day my mother used a pressing comb that she heated on the stove until it glowed and straightened the life out of my hair every two weeks. I still have a dent in my forehead from when she dropped the pressing comb on my forehead but my hair always reverted and was longer than it has ever been since then. I only lost length when I went to college and started wearing a huge afro and basically didn't take care of my hair. So, as far as I'm concerned, no two heads of hair are exactly alike and the only thing that really matters is whether or not you give your hair the care your hair needs.

 

[ronie]

krissyhair
Your family photos are beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Mahsiah]

Bad hair care practices. It's really simple.

 

[ckisland]

Was there ever a time before the present in America when good hair care practices were widely known and most BW could grow long hair?

Madame CJ Walker was the first self-made female American millionaire (of any race) by selling hair care products that promised growth starting in 1905. I'm not sure if this could have taken off like this if most BW had hair care practices that led to growth.

There were trends that helped (afros, hooded dryer/rollers era, jheri curl) and hurt (blow dryer, flat iron, relaxers (v. damaging w/o proper care & application)). But looking at photos, from, say, the 70s, it seems like most BW had small to medium afros. In the press n curl era, I think SL was considered long.

I don't think the kind of knowledge to get to lenghts like BSB and beyond it seems the average BW can get to today with the right techniques were ever known by most people. They definitely weren't in my family.

I think the internet has really changed the hair care game for the better.

ITA! I don't think there's ever been a running assumption that black women normally have long hair ever . Talking to my mom and hearing comments from my grandmother, SL seems like it's been considered long for black women for a minute. Most of the pictures I've seen from post slavery to 1940s tend to be women with short hair. The ones that I've seen the with long hair have been biracial women or obviously mixed women with type 2 hair .

I do think that things had gotten worse. Relaxing children 6 and up, constant use of heat tools (versus every 2 weeks which was common), and braids and weaves made the 90s and early 2000s horrible for hair. Like another poster mentioned, the widespread use of braids, weaves, and wigs have made women ignore their hair and be far more lazy than they could ever be. Also the edges, rather the lack there of, on a lot of chicks that I see . I will never trust a weave as a PS. The handful that it works for (even on here) is nowhere near the numbers that it doesn't.

Bad hair practices aren't at all new. There are ladies who grew up in the '60s and 70s on here and on other boards who have always had short and/or damaged hair because of those old school practices some are now claiming were actually "good". Many a black girl (myself included) have been burned, and have had their hair burned right off from pressing combs. Been there done that and I'll take serums and a flatiron to a pressing comb any day .

 

[faithVA]

I grew up in the 70s. The hair was healthy but there wasn't much long hair (beyond APL). I've looked through older year book photos and SL is typical. I doubt that more than 15% to 20% of girls or women had long hair, no matter what time period we look at our history in this country.

However hair started to go downhill with the introduction of each new product/technique without the associated education to go with it. There were very few relaxed heads in the early 70s, especially among children. They became more popular but there was very little education that went with it beyond application.

The same can be said about weaves, extensions and heated appliances. We are sold on the benefits but very little is given about how to incorporate them in a way to keep healthy hair. The past few decades have been focused on how to have "pretty hair".

And with all the newness that has come along in the past 40 years, no one mentioned that it might not be good for a particular persons head. Relaxers may be fine for Tonya but no one told Tracey that one day she could go completely bald This revelation has just started to come out in the past 15 years.

We ladies are fortunate that we have access to what others before us did not.

 

[lovely_locks]

Thank you for sharing your family photos! I can't stop looking at them!
I guess to rephrase my question: when did AA hair go from healthy (not necessarily long) to unhealthy?

 

[koolkittychick]

Thank you for sharing your family photos! I can't stop looking at them!
I guess to rephrase my question: when did AA hair go from healthy (not necessarily long) to unhealthy?

To answer that question, I think it happened when we shifted as a society from the standard of beauty that focused on making the best of what you had to begin with to a society that focused on getting the look that you want, at any cost.

Unfortunately, many Black women think, "why try to deal with hair that is designed to stay short [if you research the science, you'll find that our hair was designed to keep our heads cool in the sub-Saharan climate of our motherland, and part of that is the tendency to break at shorter lengths without extra care and handling] without a lot of extra work and time, if I can just easily tie someone else's hair that I like the look of onto my own and forget it exists?" In our gotta-have-it-now-for-no-work times, more women go for option two than they did in the past, and that's why you find so many more unhealthy heads of hair today than back then.