For blacks, hair to die for

[StarFish106]

This article appeared in yesterday's online version of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

For blacks, hair to die for*

 

[FindingMe]

I was trying to understand what she was saying was the "die for" part, but I re-read and understood her to mean we are largely overweight as a race and need to focus on more important issues like our health. interesting article.

OT: Have a GREAT time at Disney! We go every year for our annual family and my kids LOVE it and never get tired of it! Each year is new bc they are one year older and experiencing the parks in a different way. It's truly magical! Pack a lunch with snacks in a cooler/bag to help save $.

 

[Lucky's Mom]

Wow. 77% of women are over weight. That is shocking.

Well, I don't need straight hair that badly.

Thanks for sharing....

 

[robot.]

I think options would truly open up for women if they considered going natural. I've been hitting the gym ever since I've been natural and I love the freedom! I love the sweat on my scalp because I'm working so hard and I know my hair is getting a work out too!

And if they don't want to be natural, maybe consider braids. And even relaxed women exercise with no troubles! Save more elaborate 'dos for events, when you don't plan on going to the gym. They could also learn to become DIYers.

IMO, there is no excuse when you have so many options!

 

[StarFish106]

I was surprised to see the article but more surprised to see in the comments that more people are like embrace your natural ness or however you want to wear your hair. I don't know any other race of women that goes through what we endure in the corporate world when it comes to our hair.

 

[StarFish106]

OT: Have a GREAT time at Disney! We go every year for our annual family and my kids LOVE it and never get tired of it! Each year is new bc they are one year older and experiencing the parks in a different way. It's truly magical! Pack a lunch with snacks in a cooler/bag to help save $.

Thanks...we are on the free dining plan so this should be fun. I have been before but DH has never been. So we will be to kids in the kingdom!

 

[SunnyDelight]

Interesting article - however, unless I missed it - the author should have gone alittle more into the statistics of how many BW avoid working out becuase of hair issues.

I totally feel what she is saying but she would have had more impact by stating hard facts - not how the press 'n curl was a rite of passage on SATURDAYS - she knows we were in church on Sundays!!!

 

[JustKiya]

I was surprised to see the article but more surprised to see in the comments that more people are like embrace your natural ness or however you want to wear your hair. I don't know any other race of women that goes through what we endure in the corporate world when it comes to our hair.

What do we endure when it comes to the corporate world? Having been natural - and been in corporate - for most of my adult working life, it's always, always, always the other black people in corp. America who have the biggest issues with me & my hair. The white folks don't care.

I really believe that is a false fear perpetuated and sustained by black people - not by corporate America.

 

[ShantWhite]

I think options would truly open up for women if they considered going natural. I've been hitting the gym ever since I've been natural and I love the freedom! I love the sweat on my scalp because I'm working so hard and I know my hair is getting a work out too!

And if they don't want to be natural, maybe consider braids. And even relaxed women exercise with no troubles! Save more elaborate 'dos for events, when you don't plan on going to the gym. They could also learn to become DIYers.

IMO, there is no excuse when you have so many options!

Exactly! I texlax my hair every 3-5 months because I like a more natural look w/o the hassle of tangles and knots. However, I exercise every day without a problem because I break up my workouts. In the morning I burn as many calories as I can (before breaking a major sweat) on my elliptical and/or treadmill with a fan blowing directly at me. Then I repeat the process after work and sometimes before bed. This way I get in my full daily exercise and still keep the appearance of my hair looking good.

 

[StarFish106]

What do we endure when it comes to the corporate world? Having been natural - and been in corporate - for most of my adult working life, it's always, always, always the other black people in corp. America who have the biggest issues with me & my hair. The white folks don't care.

I really believe that is a false fear perpetuated and sustained by black people - not by corporate America.

I didn't elaborate on the 'who' in Corporate America. We still have someone (and I agree with your when you say it is us doing it to each other) who has a comment about what we do to our hair. I just don't hear of other races having to deal with the same issue about their hair whether it comes from one of their own or others. That is what I mean when I say we have to deal with issues.

 

[Fine 4s]

Because over-washing black hair can lead to breakage, and a sweaty scalp can leave an orderly "kitchen" in complete disarray, many black women have reservations about breaking a sweat.

What would be 'over-washing?' I wonder?

 

[1QTPie]

Can someone copy and paste the article or whatever (unless it's a video,) my job blocks that link. Thanks.

 

[Nice Lady]

I wonder if the person that wrote the article is hair obsessed or a member of LHCF.
That article is addresses the issues involving hair and I have heard several women tell me because they don't want their hair to be messed up. It is true about us being overweight more than 10+ lbs. But things are changing as we are rising in status.

 

[ladytee2]

Can someone copy and paste the article or whatever (unless it's a video,) my job blocks that link. Thanks.

For blacks, hair to die for

Straightening has become a way for many women to orient their lives.

By Maya Francis
For black women, straightened hair has been a sign of assimilation into American society, which maintains Eurocentric standards of beauty and normalcy. And this is where our troubles begin.
The hot comb is particular to the black-female experience. Its purpose is simple: to turn textured black hair straight. It can be found in homes, most often in bathroom drawers or closets, next to a million other hair products: sheens, pomades, curlers, silk scarfs. Hair maintenance is often a weekend routine for black women, who invest billions of dollars a year in the beauty industry.
To have a hot comb run through one's hair is a rite of passage. Many black girls can remember their first press and curl, and the fascination they felt the first time their hair lay on their shoulders instead of coiling toward their ears.
Why did we feel prettier then? Perhaps because straightened hair is often associated with special occasions - weddings, holidays, picture days. So straightened hair itself has become something special. Natural, kinky, coiled hair, by contrast, is ordinary, plain, and uneventful.
The smell of straightened hair is instantly recognizable. Kitchens become makeshift beauty parlors on Sundays, as the scents of hot metal, warmed follicles, and melting hair grease collide over a hot stove. Here, black women find fellowship, joking about one another's "kitchens" - where hair wraps itself into tight coils at the nape of the neck - or the perils of maintaining neat "edges" along the hairline. The comb's temperature is tested on an old hand towel, and tight kinks are laid flat, section by section, with a simple (and cautious) rake of the teeth, and then a smoothing over with the comb's spine.
The term good hair circulates carelessly in black communities, making hair part of a value system. (It's also the title of a new Chris Rock documentary about the black-hair business.) The notion has been ingrained, maintained, and reinforced in black consciousness.
In corporate settings, black women who want to keep their hair natural often face resistance. Though many companies are embracing a broader idea of professionalism to be sensitive to cultural differences (or avoid discrimination lawsuits), there is still debate over whether braids, twists, Afros, or locks are "appropriate" for the American office. A correlation between hair texture and success is made, directing black women to straighten their hair in order to achieve.
Almost unconsciously, hair-care routines dictate the way black women orient themselves. In our childhoods, we are discouraged from running around in the summer air or lingering in a steamy shower, for fear our hair will "turn back" and we'll lose the attractiveness that took hours to unearth. As adults, we protest when someone with "pretty" hair decides to abbreviate her length or go natural.
When I was a child, my great-aunt admonished my mother for putting my hair in "those African braids and things," because I had "such pretty hair." She stroked it as if trying to release it from the culture that constrained it. Though I dismissed my aunt's opinions as dated, I still felt a little less pretty when she told me to stay out of the sun lest I get "too dark."
We go to amazing lengths for length. We dance hot metal by our faces or shrug off the chemical burns inflicted on our scalps by misapplied hair relaxers. The fixation - what my mother calls the "hair complex" - can be damaging.
A 2008 study by Amy J. McMichael of Wake Forest University's School of Medicine found that a third of black women cite their hair as the main deterrent to regular exercise, because they cannot easily wash it afterward, style it, and go. Because over-washing black hair can lead to breakage, and a sweaty scalp can leave an orderly "kitchen" in complete disarray, many black women have reservations about breaking a sweat.
The study also noted that 77 percent of African American women are overweight, leaving them susceptible to health risks such as hypertension, diabetes, and more.
As someone who chemically relaxes her own shoulder-length hair, I am hardly issuing a call to arms against straightening or lengthening methods. But black women should reconsider the value of long, straight hair by any means necessary, and of well-behaved hair in lieu of well-controlled blood pressure.

Maya K. Francis, who recently received a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, is a member of The Inquirer's Off Campus board of contributors. She can be contacted at [email protected].

 

[lilanie]

Although the author has facts on her side, she is making some sweeping generalizations as to why we as a people have a high instance of diseases and disorders related to weight.

I would attribute more of it to
scheduling - alot of people I know (i live in la) work a distance from their homes
accessibility to facilities - alot of the reasonably priced neighborhoods don't have strip malls, least of all gyms; parks have terrible parking around;
reasonably priced healthy foods - farmers markets, not close; local chain grocery stores have bigger sales on convienience food, rather than fresh produce.

We're alot more savvy regarding hair care, than we were years ago. Imo, I have met more sistas with healthy hair, who did it themselves; recently than when I was in my early 20's. The internet as well as necessity due to economic conditions, has brought about these changes.

I'm also wondering who she knows that is that hung up on their hair that they forego their health? I've lived for a considerable amount of time in the Northeast, The deep South, West and never met anyone who was not in tune with the fact that health is more important than hair, and there is fundamental connection between the two...

 

[PatTodd]

77% overweight seems high to me. Maybe statistically overweight according to insurance charts that don't address the fact that some of us have heavier frames than non-black people.

 

[FluffyRed]

What do we endure when it comes to the corporate world? Having been natural - and been in corporate - for most of my adult working life, it's always, always, always the other black people in corp. America who have the biggest issues with me & my hair. The white folks don't care.

I really believe that is a false fear perpetuated and sustained by black people - not by corporate America.

I have said this IRL a hundred times. Some AA's don't want to hear this.
(this is not a veiled jab at any LHCFer. just smdh at some edumacated folks i know IRL who give nappturals a hard time!)

 

[lilanie]

77% overweight seems high to me. Maybe statistically overweight according to insurance charts that don't address the fact that some of us have heavier frames than non-black people.

I agree... A little too high

 

[JustKiya]

I didn't elaborate on the 'who' in Corporate America. We still have someone (and I agree with your when you say it is us doing it to each other) who has a comment about what we do to our hair. I just don't hear of other races having to deal with the same issue about their hair whether it comes from one of their own or others. That is what I mean when I say we have to deal with issues.

And I do hear you - but the fact that those issues are self-perpetuated, to me, makes it - different, somehow? erplexed I don't know. It really bothers me when my own hold me down/back for something that is inherent to me - moreso when those outside of the 'tribe' do it, ya know?

It seems, first and foremost, that if it's our issue - purely internal - it's also our fault for not correcting it. And a #1 way - in my mind - to start correcting the issue is to start saying - you know what? That's some old bullisht, and it's no longer going to be a factor in my calculations of how I choose to wear my hair.

 

[kweenameena]

What do we endure when it comes to the corporate world? Having been natural - and been in corporate - for most of my adult working life, it's always, always, always the other black people in corp. America who have the biggest issues with me & my hair. The white folks don't care.

I really believe that is a false fear perpetuated and sustained by black people - not by corporate America.

Unfortunately....this is not the case for me in my corporate environment. There are black people here that don't like my hair....but way more white people who constantly express their disapproval of my hair. I wear neat fros and puffs but my manager has even received a complaint about my hair (of course she put them in their place).

 

[Bluetopia]

Unfortunately....this is not the case for me in my corporate environment. There are black people here that don't like my hair....but way more white people who constantly express their disapproval of my hair. I wear neat fros and puffs but my manager has even received a complaint about my hair (of course she put them in their place).

what was the exact complaint? I cant even imagine how such a thing would be worded in a professional setting without sounding like bigotry.

 

[msdeevee]

What do we endure when it comes to the corporate world? Having been natural - and been in corporate - for most of my adult working life, it's always, always, always the other black people in corp. America who have the biggest issues with me & my hair. The white folks don't care.

I really believe that is a false fear perpetuated and sustained by black people - not by corporate America.

I wholeheartedly agree!!

My 18 yr old niece just started college going for her Medical degree.

Earlier this Summer she was fortunate enough to meet a Black female OB/GYN that called her and gave her a lot of great advice about how to be successful while going for her degree and getting into programs to help her all the info was fine until my niece tells me that she said do not go natural because that will hold her back and Dr's won't take her seriously. In my best Neffie voice I said "are you serious!!"

In the 5 years that I have been natural I have never heard or felt anything negative from whites about my hair. However, I cannot count the black folks that have asked me when I'm gonna relax my hair or comment on how pretty and long my hair would be if I straightened it .

I'm sure that some whites do consider our natural hair ugly and unruly but in reality they really don't know what our hair is supposed to be and most of them know to keep their negativity to themselves.

 

[Nice Lady]

77% overweight seems high to me. Maybe statistically overweight according to insurance charts that don't address the fact that some of us have heavier frames than non-black people.

That may be true. But look in black neighborhoods and what food chains are around. Even in the Being Black In America No. I, Solidad had a woman living in Harlem(Manhattan) and had to travel far to get fruits and vegetables. I have noticed a difference in quality of food and healthy choices since I moved from a predominantly white neighborhood to a black one.

Also, what do our diets consist of--white people count calories, etc. However, we embrace being overweight and it is to our detriment. I thought that being big was okay until I noticed with women over 350+ lbs who died in their 50s because they were embracing themselves. I lost 2 wonderful women that taught me how to be graceful. I myself need to get it together.

We need not make excuses--we need to incorporate more healthy practices and get outrage the next time--some heart-killing, hypertension restaurant opens up a chain in our neighborhoods.

 

[Nice Lady]

Unfortunately....this is not the case for me in my corporate environment. There are black people here that don't like my hair....but way more white people who constantly express their disapproval of my hair. I wear neat fros and puffs but my manager has even received a complaint about my hair (of course she put them in their place).

WTH. That's crazy

 

[aquajoyice]

Wow that's interesting. But i've noticed a change in the AA women around me that aren't so crazy over that bone straight hair. And if they do it it's only for a style. I thought gone were the days of assimilation and people just wanted to wear their hair a certain way. I mean no one talks about people that get tans or injections in their lips. Or booty implants. I just think the whole assimilation thing is old news and I see AA that are happy in their skin and just want to acheive a hair style. I dont think there is anything wrong with that. Considering every woman on the planet can relate to wanting the opposite of what they were born with. Hence hair dye, perms, relaxers, flat irons, weaves/extensions.. the list goes on and on. Oh yeah and there is this new thing out now where people can permanently change their eye color and going blind from it. I saw it on youtube New color iris so why don't they talk about that as well. And it's not just AA. Sorry for the rant but it's how I feel.

 

[aquajoyice]

Your right Nicelady.... if you go to a predominately white neighborhood you see the quality in food and service. You go to an area where there are majority minorities and the conditions are horrible. Not to mention the liquor stores and old food on the shelves. So they can't just blame it on hair. You have to look at the environment in which they live. I can't find a Whole Foods in a minority neighborhood. But if I go across town I can, I can also find a Famer's Market and a Trader Joes.

 

[SelfStyled]

I think options would truly open up for women if they considered going natural. I've been hitting the gym ever since I've been natural and I love the freedom! I love the sweat on my scalp because I'm working so hard and I know my hair is getting a work out too!

And if they don't want to be natural, maybe consider braids. And even relaxed women exercise with no troubles! Save more elaborate 'dos for events, when you don't plan on going to the gym. They could also learn to become DIYers.

IMO, there is no excuse when you have so many options!

Excellent post! You really are on to something about being DIY. Because I do my own hair I don't have to feel like I am not getting my money's worth out of a salon style.

I have to admit there was time I avoided excercising because of the hair "issue" . LHCF was and eye opener for me, imagine.....I could actually wash my hair more than 1x a week.

Now I plan my workouts around my washes. Wash days I go full out and in between do weights or less intensityw/o- works for me.

 

[AsianAfricanPrincess]

IMO, there is no excuse when you have so many options!

I agree, completely. I ran everyday in the military and spent two hours working out every morning WITH a relaxer. I managed. Having a relaxer didn't mean that we couldn't work out. It's doable.

 

[JenBenCal]

That was a very interesting article to read. However, I do agree with JustKiya. A lot of the perpetual stereotyping about our hair originates and festers within our OWN race, and we end up projecting those negatives towards one another for various reasons. I am not apart of corporate America, however most other races seem fascinated with our natural hair and enjoy seeing the different textures we have. I never really hear negatives coming from other races, just our own . Of course that doesn't mean that they aren't THINKING it or even saying it behind our backs, but I HEAR it coming from blacks a lot. Our most unique quality seems to have become our most fatal flaw--in more than just one way. From woman to woman, whether it's about hair, attitude or all that falls in between, we really have to start respecting one another more. If WE don't respect one another, it will give license to all others to treat us the same way we treat one another.

 

[BostonMaria]

Interesting article but I didn't really see the whole point. Maybe it was edited to death, but I just felt like it didn't have a point or conclusion at the end.

By the way, I used to go to the gym 5 days a week when my hair was relaxed. I have been natural 2 years and I've yet to hit the gym. Go figure!