Black Hair Care Project

[HighAspirations]

So I am doing a research project over African hair care and I would like a few real world opinions on just how big of a controversy it is becoming. So here are a few questions for me paper please answer them if you would like to pitch in. Please include your first name, my teacher is big on citing

Before you started your hair journey
1) what was good hair to you?

2) Did you have good hair according to your previous beliefs?

3) if not, how did you feel about your hair

3) how did you feel when you saw others with this "good hair"?
How did you feel when you saw women of other races with this hair?

4) do you feel black men chose women of other races using hair as a factor?

Now that you've started your journey
1 what is good hair?

2) do you have good hair? why or why not?

3) how do you see other women's hair?

4) what kind of attention have you been getting from other people...men? Women? All races

Feel free to add anything you would like
And any bible verses referring to hair would also be helpful. Anyone wanting to read the paper I will post it when its finished, but be warned it is a minimum of five pages lol
TIA HHG

 

[kinkycurlygurl]

I'm 4a/b I've got it all going on up on my head

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Khalil Gibran

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/k/khalil_gibran.html#ixzz1oOqGEGr4
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Before you started your hair journey

1) what was good hair to you?
Strong, healthy hair

2) Did you have good hair according to your previous beliefs?
I never subscribed to the good hair thing. My motto has always been having hair is good.

3) if not, how did you feel about your hair
I liked my hair

3) how did you feel when you saw others with this "good hair"?
I had no particular feelings about other people's hair

How did you feel when you saw women of other races with this hair?
This question presumes that I think women of other races have "good" hair. I don't I've seen a lot of chewed up over processed hair in all segments of the population.


4) do you feel black men chose women of other races using hair as a factor?
No, I think people fall in love with the whole person not just a head of hair.

Now that you've started your journey
1 what is good hair?
Strong, healthy hair.

2) do you have good hair? why or why not?
Everybody has good hair. It's just that many people don't know how to care for their hair.

3) how do you see other women's hair?
It depends, some people style and maintain their hair really well and some people not so much.

4) what kind of attention have you been getting from other people...men? Women? All races

I've been natural since 1993 reactions have changed over time. In the last few years People have been very complimentary about my hair. Except a few older black people who still think that straight hair is the holy grail.

About 10 years ago, An old lady I didn't know came up to me in the street one day and with a sad look on her face told me to go and "all that hair fixed."

I was flabbergasted, but the funny thing was that I could tell she didn't say it with any malice. She was treating me like I had no one to tell me that my hair looked crazy and she just wanted to set me on the right path.

I just said thanks and kept on walking.

It's sometimes just the opposite reaction with white people. I had to interview a Bosnian woman who didn't speak English at work one day. When we finished the business at hand she harassed her brother, who was translating for her, until he asked me her question.

He seemed really embarrassed, but he asked me how I got my hair like that because she really likes it. I was wearing my hair in medium-large two strand twists. With out a word I unraveled one twist and showed her how I separated the section of hair into two then twisted them around each other.

Black men always liked my hair, a couple have told me that wearing my hair natural made me seem confident and exotic (go figure). Black women have regarded it with every thing from fear to amazement.

 

[HighAspirations]

Bump and also include your starting hair length and how the journey has changed your. View of hair

 

[SummerSolstice]

I am a 4a natural and have never had a relaxer.

So I am doing a research project over African hair care and I would like a few real world opinions on just how big of a controversy it is becoming. So here are a few questions for me paper please answer them if you would like to pitch in. Please include your first name, my teacher is big on citing

Before you started your hair journey
1) what was good hair to you?
3b silky curls. I wanted them so bad.

2) Did you have good hair according to your previous beliefs?
I don't know... I have never had a relaxer, but I got picked on so bad that I hated my hair at school, but i loved it at home.

3) if not, how did you feel about your hair I wasn't allowed to wear my hair out as a child but I remember running around with it in a fro after i took my braids down... feeling like a star lol. When I got to highschool I would sit in the mirror flat ironing it until 3am trying to make it lay down for class the next day. It didn't revert too bad but it never looked relaxed. I did however have MBL hair in highschool which i felt gave me something over the other girls.

3) how did you feel when you saw others with this "good hair"?
How did you feel when you saw women of other races with this hair?
Of course I was hating on them lol

4) do you feel black men chose women of other races using hair as a factor?
Not I think their penis and lack of security is a factor. I don't excuse black men for that behavior.

Now that you've started your journey
1 what is good hair?
Mine.

2) do you have good hair? why or why not? I found out when I was a stylist that white, asian, indian, etc. women do not always have good hair. Don't let the commercials fool you. They do as much work as we do in the morning to get it flowing the way it does. I've shampooed white hair that scratched up my hands so bad and smelled disgusting...
So, yes... My hair is excellent because it is healthy and growing.

3) how do you see other women's hair? Well, I always see what I want to change. I hate bad hair cuts.

4) what kind of attention have you been getting from other people...men? Women? All races
I started wearing a fro regularly in college before natural hair became a fad. Yes, I do believe it is a fad, and yes I am still bitter from the childhood torment I endured.
Anyways, I get all kinds of attention. People have however stopped asking to touch my hair.

Feel free to add anything you would like
And any bible verses referring to hair would also be helpful. Anyone wanting to read the paper I will post it when its finished, but be warned it is a minimum of five pages lol
TIA HHG

 

[AltheaGarden]

1) What was good hair to you?
In MY opinion, "good hair" has always meant healthy hair, regardless of length, texture or color. But the wider, social definition of "good hair" can be restricted to specific cultural, racial, texture, etc., groups. The definition of the term, as with all terms, can vary based on any given group of people.

2) Did you have good hair according to your previous beliefs?
According to my definition, I didn't. Length didn't matter. It was chemically and heat damaged pretty bad, and I was pretty self-conscious about it.

3) If not, how did you feel about your hair?
I used it as a security blanket. I wanted to go natural in 2009, but I was afraid of my real texture. I've always thought natural women had beautiful hair, but I was afraid that others wouldn't find me attractive and that I would find myself unattractive as well.

4) How did you feel when you see others with this "good hair"?
How did you feel when you saw women of other races with this hair?
I assume that the first question is referring to black women. I was always happy to see black women with a healthy head of hair. I was indifferent to the hair care practices of other women (regardless of race) when I was younger but when I hit high school, I stepped the game up once I realized that I was in competition (for boys) with other black girls with relaxed lengthy hair. Due to the hardiness of my hair, it survived over-processing and flatirons to make it to MBL. Once I got to that length, in others eyes, I became the dark black girl with all that "good hair". It was a weird label that I wasn't comfortable with because I knew that the only reason I had gained their definition of "good hair" was because of a little "lye". For me, it felt fake.
I agree with kinkycurlygurl, the second half of this question seems a little ambiguous. I've never held negative feelings or adoration of the hair of women from other races. When I saw a non-black woman with "good hair", I was like, "Good for her!" but that's it. Not much thought went into it.

5) Do you feel black men choose women of other races using hair as a factor?
I do feel that there are a minority (how many, I don't know nor do I care) of black men that may use this as just ONE factor for their decision, but I believe that there are other superficial/stereotypical factors that play into their decision as well.
But generally speaking, people fall in love with whomever lies in their preferences. Some people have very few while others have many. I think a very small minority of people actually sit back and say, "Alright, I choose Rebecca over Kim because Rebecca's hair isn't kinky, therefore I won't have to worry about our babies being visited by the Negro Fairy."
Any man that says that they don't date black women only because of hair is full of crap. There are other reasons as well.

1)Now that you've started your journey, what is good hair?
Healthy hair that isn't significantly damaged.

2) Do you have good hair? Why or why not?
Yes because it is healthy and because I believe that it is "good hair".

3) How do you see other women's hair?
Could you be more specific regarding this question? I view it positively or neutrally, depends on the woman. I really don't give the hair of non-black women second thought. Of course, if I see a black women with big, gorgeous kinky hair, my heart may swoon a little.

4) What kind of attention have you been getting from other people...men? Women? All races.
I will say it has been positive. Since high school, I have gotten all types of sweet/strange/funny/annoying/rude/huh? questions from people, regardless of sex or race. Back when I was relaxed and longer than MBL, people asked me if I was mixed or if it was real... Yeah. That's where most of the questions were focused on: length. Nowadays, people ask to touch it. A lot. They ask me if I have a curly perm! Or how do I manage to make my hair look like this (this question makes me a little sad). People bug me more now than when I was relaxed. Of the curious (aka non-insulting) questions and compliments I have received, most of them have come from men of all races. Women have been hit and miss. I've gotten positive, neutral and negative responses from black women, with all of the positive/neutral comments coming from naturals or my mom. Non-black women have given compliments, neutral comments and rudeness (usually subtle) as well. White women have been the only people to literally put their hands in my hair without asking, regardless if I know them or not. But hands down, so far men have given the most positive attention.

Starting hair length and how the journey has changed your view of hair?
So my last relaxer was Feb. 2011 and I was beyond MLB at that point. I cut my hair to about ear length in April 2011. I transitioned for a year and just cut the remaining relaxed ends off a couple of weeks ago. When stretched, I'm neck length.
I have come to realize that I shouldn't hide behind my hair, which is what I did when my hair was long and straight. My hair should contribute to my personality, not define who I am. This is the first time my hair has been short since I was a little kid, so I've had to reinvent my beauty standards for myself. Also, I very much enjoy standing out in a crowd