Black Hair Shop.I was disguisted. INDUSTRY KILLLINR OUR HAIR

[brittanynic16]

Yeah I haven't visited a black hair store in so long. There is almost nothing of quality in there. Did you happen to check out the ingredients in relaxers? Yeah, that stuff can kill ya. Blind ya too if you aren't careful.

 

[Queenie]

If it wasn't for this site and a couple of good books, I'd be one of those confused souls.

I'm glad that I didn't give up on having healthly long hair. I definately never imagined that my hair could be so nice. Thanks ladies!!!

 

[pistachio]

I got the pjism today to try something new.. I want to my local Black hair shop its sells just about everything you can think of.

Anyway firstly let me tell you that this shop is run by Asian men, They must see the 'Money' that can be made from selling our products I mean ?10, ?15
($20, $25) for a shampoo. Go figure.... I was a little disappointed that it wasnt black owned of at least run my someone that has interest in hair. There were NO FEMALES workers in there period.
'One of them even had the cheek to try and recommend me a product'

Anyway I carried on walking around the shop and picked up products and read some labels. I realised that the Black Care industry that is supposed to be helping us is actually kILLING OUR HAIR...

I read one product that was for breaking & damaged hair. The instructions were to apply this product 3 times per day on dry hair.
It contained so much protein the person wouldnt have any hair left after a few weeks if they thought that all they had to do was apply this.

I saw pure oils with labels on that had so many other ingrediants on it (things I could not pronoune) and when they finally added the oils on the list they were a chemical subsitute.

I saw moisturisers with no WATER in them

I could rant on all day about the products I found and they were not just cheapies either.

It appeared as though the industry thinks JUST PUT PROTEIN IN IT to strength their hair. But have forgot to give us the MOISTURE

Surely they should know what our hair needs by now. I understand why Cathy Howse developed her own products out of frustrastion.

I actually was looking for a moistuser that contains no mineral, petrolum, and no protein. Could I find it. I have had to give in and just choose one that has only one of these and its on the very bottom of the ingrediants list. I may just order Cathy Howse's one

Why should I have to apply a sub-standard product to my hair just because the industry hasnt kept up WITH US

They need to do BETTER

Sorry for the long rant but had to get this off my chest

Kizzy x

I see what you're saying, and agree. But at the same time, I think that we as Black women should also take some personal responsibility such as worrying about what'll take care of our hair's health, and not only it's growth. Hey, I admit, at one point in time, if a product didn't have the word "growth" on it, they I wouldn't buy it. Face it, a lot of us still could care less about working hard to grow our hair, and taking the time to gently comb, deep-condition, oil every night, etc. But what do we do? We expect there to be that "magic bullet" that'll get us from neck to BSL in a fortnight, and I honestly believe that these companies realize that. I think that to beat them we must demand products that moisturze our hair, and not create superficial shine like petroleum, and mineral oil does, and if it's anything short of that, refuse to buy their products...

 

[Soul♥Flower]

Hi Pradalover

Where is Nubian Jack?

Kizzylonghair
ITA and to add insult to injury the men follow you around as if your going to steal something or they invade your personal space and call you darling. This happened today in a new shop opened in my area.

I was in the BSS store yesterday and a woman was trying on a wig. Then walk right out the store with it still on her head ....Triflin

 

[ShaniKeys]

If they made products geared toward us that actually help us then we wouldn't be as dependent on them.

right on sis!

 

[gimbap]

I think that from the time Plymouth Rock landed on us, we began at square one in terms of our hair care . The familiar things, like natural butters and oils were not available to us in this country, no, we were not privileged to have the basic hair care facilities, products or opportunities that Miss Anne took for granted...we brushed her hair but were not allowed the means and ways for our own. It has been a long hard road, that had huge signs that read: "This is not for you...you cannot have this...you should not do this...Your hair!" Now that the veil has been lifted, for those willing to learn, to believe, it is slowly changing, mainly within and by us, individually. Sadly, the hair product industry is taking advantage of our desire to maximize our hair potential, knowing that we will spend the money, but they too often are just throwing in a token herb or two that may add up to one drop of herb per 100 bottles, and some sweet smelling snake oils, churning out the cheapest products for the maximum dollar for us, but it is often not even BY US!!! 98 PERCENT OF THE COMPANIES that are making black hair products know that Miss Anne would not be caught dead with some of this stuff!!! White companies make this stuff and Asian and Indian vendors stock their shelves to sell it to you, and when you go in they cash in. I am very discriminatory about what products I will buy, but believe me, they are not going to pawn some mess off on me. As much as possible, I purchase natural organic products or old fashioned proven products, such as shea butter, black soap, Grandpa's Pine tar soap, honey, natural carrier oils, and some products that have an excellent track record based on product quality. The only people that are intended to have some of this stuff SLOPPED TO, is black women! We are the only ones with the power to make them give us what we want and it is not by perpetuating the stereotype that grease is all we need!!!! to keep our hair stiff, full of knots, sweating and odorous, weak and brittle, short and breaking. Yes, it is intentional. They have been stealing our crowns for years, but, People only continue TO STOCK WHAT SELLS!!!! Bonjour

I stopped reading the posts after this. Yall, its not that seriously. I hate to say this but-- it really is JUST HAIR!! We're not talking about human rights or something. If you know what is good for your hair and what isn't good, THEN DONT BUY THE BAD STUFF! Don't like buying from Koreans/Indians? Don't!! Instead of complaining, support your black-owned hair businesses. Can't find any? Open one up!! But forreal, wooosaaa, take a breath, its really not that big of a deal.

 

[karezone]

I did not read the entire thread just the first few and the last few.

I can say this, Elasta QP makes an oil moisturizer whose first ingredient is water.

 

[Eiano]

The black hair care business is just that.
As long as there's a demand for it, trust me... people will still buy it. For every one of us here on LHCF that hates Pink Oil, there are about 100x as many who swear by it and will buy it up at the price of 7.99 from the Asian stores.

I agree with whoever said that women need to educate themselves with what they are putting on their hair and bodies. It's all about supply and demand. Now if we start buying the products with the natural oils listed #1 in the ingredients list and not waaaaay down at the bottom, we can get some changes up in hea'!

 

[AngiGirl]

It's about time somebody called it out and told the truth. They in it for the money PERIOD! If you want it done right do it yourself.

 

[kbragg]

I wnet to a beauty supply store the other day and was shocked! Half the store was weave, another 1/4 was wigs, Then 1/8 was "ghetto" jewelry like refer leave fake patinum chains, do-rags, some barrets, and then the last 1/8? Products. It was such a waste of time I dent in there expecting to find the PJ Heaven and I had been looking forward to spending my husbands hard earned money (like I'm gonna spend my own...right) on more products to add to my every growing PJ collection, and honestly saw NOTHING worth buying.erplexed This store was run by Asian women and yes me and my daughter got followed around too! I had flash backs of living in Philly all over again! I haven't experienced that in a long time...kinda weirded me out So I ended up buying nothing! I think I'll stick to Sally's who has more products and appliances that fake hair (no offense to anyone who wears it).

But I just felt something in my gut in that store. "They" somehow KNOW we can't (pre LHCF and Cathy Howse) grow hair and expect us to buy the fake stuff. That's why I like forums like this and sistahs like Cathy Howse, Robin, Stacey, and others who empower blacck women that we CAN grow our OWN hair! It doesn't have to come in a bag that says "2b Kinky straight", but can gorw from our own scalps!

Oh, I disagree with the poster who said it's JUST hair. Read 1st Corinthians Chapter 11 (KJV) and also the "Song of Songs." It's more than JUSt hair, it's our feminine gift from God, that's been exploited and used for profit! It's time we take back our Crowns and show the world that BLACK WOMEN can have long hair too!

Ok, enough from me!

.

 

[Minx]

Okay, I agree with KBragg...it's not just hair.
It is our crown.
One that we should be proud of.

But this society does not embrace us as desirable women.
It does not uplift nor celebrate our natural beauty like it does other peoples.
It does not accept our crowns.
We have been hurt by this rejection and we don't even know it.

What is happening in the hair care industry is not by accident, it is deliberate.
Someone who posted in the first few posts mentioned us being "dependent" on them.
Yep, you hit the nail right on the head.

The cycle is predetermined to keep us causing damage to the very thing that "the powers that be" realize keeps us in a constant state of flux and anxiety: our hair.

Black women fret over their hair more than any other "race" of women.
Why? Beacuse we have been told that our hair is not right.
We spend beaucoup bucks trying to make it "do right". That means, behave in a way that is foreign to what it does naturally.
Most of us just don't know how to treat or care for it in it's natural state.

We are a group of women who are soooo ashamed of what our hair is naturally.
It's not our fault, it's due to programming.
I know we don't want to admit to that, it's insulting.
But the scars are psychological, they run deep, they and have been with us for hundreds of years.

Answer this question:
How many of us want to show off our kinky hair?
Some would say, "God forbid!"
But I say "It's OUR HAIR! It's not a monster!"

We as black women have not been celebrated for our hair, but rather our hair has been rejected by the masses.
We as black women have been shown that in terms of our hair, something is wrong with it and it must be fixed.
We have accepted this notion and so we comply: "yes, let me go get it fixed".

What is fixed?
Oh, okay, that translates into straight hair.
Only problem is for most of us, our hair doesn't grow straight down; it grows up and out.(There are not many women of African decent who grow perfectly straight hair. Our hair is usually kinky or coily, sometimes wavy.)

So in an effort to assimilate, aka "fit in" we relax, press, flat iron, whatever in an effort to make our hair like that of people of other races.
Got to have the "swang", right?

But once we do these things we create all kinds of problems for our hair.
We now have to maintain it and care for it in some kind of way to prevent it from breaking.

So we run around in circles trying this product or that in an effort to "do" our hair.
And we just can't seem to figure out why these products aren't working to make our hair do right.

We don't realize that the garbage that is being marketed to us is INTENDED to damage it!
Most products with a black faces on them are purposely full of degenerating ingredients.
They were never meant to truly care for our hair.

That way, we continue on the confusion wheel: spending more money trying to correct the problems that have been created.
We continue to buy these junk products that have been marketed to us.
Making "the other man" rich along with the asian man whose BSS store we frequent.
That money DOES NOT go back into our communities.

It says in the Word, " My people suffer from lack of knowledge"....

Yes, my peolple, we are suffering.

We do not know that we are beautiful just the way we are.
We do not know that our beauty is so unique that WE should be the ones holding our heads up high and strutting around like peacocks.
We do not know that with a little bit of care and attention our hair can and does thrive in it's natural state.

We refuse to accept our hair for what it is:
we just won't allow our hair TO BE.

We don't know that THEY know this about us.
We don't know that THEY sit back and laugh at our ignorance all the way to the bank.
We don't know that we are playing right in to THEIR hands......


dk

 

[JazzyDez]

I wnet to a beauty supply store the other day and was shocked! Half the store was weave, another 1/4 was wigs, Then 1/8 was "ghetto" jewelry like refer leave fake patinum chains, do-rags, some barrets, and then the last 1/8? Products. It was such a waste of time I dent in there expecting to find the PJ Heaven and I had been looking forward to spending my husbands hard earned money (like I'm gonna spend my own...right) on more products to add to my every growing PJ collection, and honestly saw NOTHING worth buying.erplexed This store was run by Asian women and yes me and my daughter got followed around too! I had flash backs of living in Philly all over again! I haven't experienced that in a long time...kinda weirded me out So I ended up buying nothing! I think I'll stick to Sally's who has more products and appliances that fake hair (no offense to anyone who wears it).

But I just felt something in my gut in that store. "They" somehow KNOW we can't (pre LHCF and Cathy Howse) grow hair and expect us to buy the fake stuff. That's why I like forums like this and sistahs like Cathy Howse, Robin, Stacey, and others who empower blacck women that we CAN grow our OWN hair! It doesn't have to come in a bag that says "2b Kinky straight", but can gorw from our own scalps!

Oh, I disagree with the poster who said it's JUST hair. Read 1st Corinthians Chapter 11 (KJV) and also the "Song of Songs." It's more than JUSt hair, it's our feminine gift from God, that's been exploited and used for profit! It's time we take back our Crowns and show the world that BLACK WOMEN can have long hair too!

Ok, enough from me!

.

That was funny....but true....and thats sad

"our" hair stores sell 98% triflin, damaging, useless, falsly advertised garbage. I wish there was an easier way to spread this knowledge that we share here. If it was common knowledge, so many more black women would have the beautiful long and healthy hair that they desire. It really upsets me that so many of us have been misinformed and marketed such garbage for so long.

 

[vaqtea]

Okay, I agree with KBragg...it's not just hair.
It is our crown.
One that we should be proud of.

But this society does not embrace us as desirable women.
It does not uplift nor celebrate our natural beauty like it does other peoples.
It does not accept our crowns.
We have been hurt by this rejection and we don't even know it.

What is happening in the hair care industry is not by accident, it is deliberate.
Someone who posted in the first few posts mentioned us being "dependent" on them.
Yep, you hit the nail right on the head.

The cycle is predetermined to keep us causing damage to the very thing that "the powers that be" realize keeps us in a constant state of flux and anxiety: our hair.

Black women fret over their hair more than any other "race" of women.
Why? Beacuse we have been told that our hair is not right.
We spend beaucoup bucks trying to make it "do right". That means, behave in a way that is foreign to what it does naturally.
Most of us just don't know how to treat or care for it in it's natural state.

We are a group of women who are soooo ashamed of what our hair is naturally.
It's not our fault, it's due to programming.
I know we don't want to admit to that, it's insulting.
But the scars are psychological, they run deep, they and have been with us for hundreds of years.

Answer this question:
How many of us want to show off our kinky hair?
Some would say, "God forbid!"
But I say "It's OUR HAIR! It's not a monster!"

We as black women have not been celebrated for our hair, but rather our hair has been rejected by the masses.
We as black women have been shown that in terms of our hair, something is wrong with it and it must be fixed.
We have accepted this notion and so we comply: "yes, let me go get it fixed".

What is fixed?
Oh, okay, that translates into straight hair.
Only problem is for most of us, our hair doesn't grow straight down; it grows up and out.(There are not many women of African decent who grow perfectly straight hair. Our hair is usually kinky or coily, sometimes wavy.)

So in an effort to assimilate, aka "fit in" we relax, press, flat iron, whatever in an effort to make our hair like that of people of other races.
Got to have the "swang", right?

But once we do these things we create all kinds of problems for our hair.
We now have to maintain it and care for it in some kind of way to prevent it from breaking.

So we run around in circles trying this product or that in an effort to "do" our hair.
And we just can't seem to figure out why these products aren't working to make our hair do right.

We don't realize that the garbage that is being marketed to us is INTENDED to damage it!
Most products with a black faces on them are purposely full of degenerating ingredients.
They were never meant to truly care for our hair.

That way, we continue on the confusion wheel: spending more money trying to correct the problems that have been created.
We continue to buy these junk products that have been marketed to us.
Making "the other man" rich along with the asian man whose BSS store we frequent.
That money DOES NOT go back into our communities.

It says in the Word, " My people suffer from lack of knowledge"....

Yes, my peolple, we are suffering.

We do not know that we are beautiful just the way we are.
We do not know that our beauty is so unique that WE should be the ones holding our heads up high and strutting around like peacocks.
We do not know that with a little bit of care and attention our hair can and does thrive in it's natural state.

We refuse to accept our hair for what it is:
we just won't allow our hair TO BE.

We don't know that THEY know this about us.
We don't know that THEY sit back and laugh at our ignorance all the way to the bank.
We don't know that we are playing right in to THEIR hands......


dk

Youre whole post was on point!

 

[scorpian]

Okay, I agree with KBragg...it's not just hair.
It is our crown.
One that we should be proud of.

But this society does not embrace us as desirable women.
It does not uplift nor celebrate our natural beauty like it does other peoples.
It does not accept our crowns.
We have been hurt by this rejection and we don't even know it.

What is happening in the hair care industry is not by accident, it is deliberate.
Someone who posted in the first few posts mentioned us being "dependent" on them.
Yep, you hit the nail right on the head.

The cycle is predetermined to keep us causing damage to the very thing that "the powers that be" realize keeps us in a constant state of flux and anxiety: our hair.

Black women fret over their hair more than any other "race" of women.
Why? Beacuse we have been told that our hair is not right.
We spend beaucoup bucks trying to make it "do right". That means, behave in a way that is foreign to what it does naturally.
Most of us just don't know how to treat or care for it in it's natural state.

We are a group of women who are soooo ashamed of what our hair is naturally.
It's not our fault, it's due to programming.
I know we don't want to admit to that, it's insulting.
But the scars are psychological, they run deep, they and have been with us for hundreds of years.

Answer this question:
How many of us want to show off our kinky hair?
Some would say, "God forbid!"
But I say "It's OUR HAIR! It's not a monster!"

We as black women have not been celebrated for our hair, but rather our hair has been rejected by the masses.
We as black women have been shown that in terms of our hair, something is wrong with it and it must be fixed.
We have accepted this notion and so we comply: "yes, let me go get it fixed".

What is fixed?
Oh, okay, that translates into straight hair.
Only problem is for most of us, our hair doesn't grow straight down; it grows up and out.(There are not many women of African decent who grow perfectly straight hair. Our hair is usually kinky or coily, sometimes wavy.)

So in an effort to assimilate, aka "fit in" we relax, press, flat iron, whatever in an effort to make our hair like that of people of other races.
Got to have the "swang", right?

But once we do these things we create all kinds of problems for our hair.
We now have to maintain it and care for it in some kind of way to prevent it from breaking.

So we run around in circles trying this product or that in an effort to "do" our hair.
And we just can't seem to figure out why these products aren't working to make our hair do right.

We don't realize that the garbage that is being marketed to us is INTENDED to damage it!
Most products with a black faces on them are purposely full of degenerating ingredients.
They were never meant to truly care for our hair.

That way, we continue on the confusion wheel: spending more money trying to correct the problems that have been created.
We continue to buy these junk products that have been marketed to us.
Making "the other man" rich along with the asian man whose BSS store we frequent.
That money DOES NOT go back into our communities.

It says in the Word, " My people suffer from lack of knowledge"....

Yes, my peolple, we are suffering.

We do not know that we are beautiful just the way we are.
We do not know that our beauty is so unique that WE should be the ones holding our heads up high and strutting around like peacocks.
We do not know that with a little bit of care and attention our hair can and does thrive in it's natural state.

We refuse to accept our hair for what it is:
we just won't allow our hair TO BE.

We don't know that THEY know this about us.
We don't know that THEY sit back and laugh at our ignorance all the way to the bank.
We don't know that we are playing right in to THEIR hands......


dk

This post is the the truth.

But nowadays they don't just sit back and laugh at us they laugh in our face.
My girlfriend called me cell one day from her cell she was at the Asian beauty supply store.
She said that there were two asian women in the wig section trying on different wigs and looking in the mirror speaking in Korean and making gestures that mimick us and they were laughing their butts offs.
The store was packed at that time with black women shopping but no one said anything.Customers just shook their heads and kept shopping. My girlfriend walked out.

 

[esoterica]

dkbeauti, your post is on point.

 

[JewelleNY]

So much of the stuff that we put on our hair is crap! I am looking at my cell phone right now at a stripe that was made when I relaxed and spilled some of the relaxer on iterplexed . The relaxer had been sitting on my phone as long as I had let the relaxer sit on my head and when I wiped it off it had permanently taken off the top color I am trying to transition right now but for all of this info that I do know, I know that I could still relax at any time because I am still trying to become comfortable with my natural hair

 

[Crissi]

UGHH BEAUTY QUEENS IS TERRIBLE, THEIR SO RUDE ASWELL, TRY AMIES UNDER THE PALLASADES RAMP, OR JULIETS, OR ANY HAIR STORE ON THE DUDELY ROAD, OR THE ONE BY CHINA TOWN NEAR THE CHINESE SUPERMARKET (THESE ARE ALL BLACK OWNED). AND HEYY YOUR IN BIRMINGHAM?!! ARE YOU COMING TO THE MEET UP? AND WHAT AREA DO YOU STAY IN??

CRISSI X

 

[MeccaMedinah]

Right on

Okay, I agree with KBragg...it's not just hair.
It is our crown.
One that we should be proud of.

But this society does not embrace us as desirable women.
It does not uplift nor celebrate our natural beauty like it does other peoples.
It does not accept our crowns.
We have been hurt by this rejection and we don't even know it.

What is happening in the hair care industry is not by accident, it is deliberate.
Someone who posted in the first few posts mentioned us being "dependent" on them.
Yep, you hit the nail right on the head.

The cycle is predetermined to keep us causing damage to the very thing that "the powers that be" realize keeps us in a constant state of flux and anxiety: our hair.

Black women fret over their hair more than any other "race" of women.
Why? Beacuse we have been told that our hair is not right.
We spend beaucoup bucks trying to make it "do right". That means, behave in a way that is foreign to what it does naturally.
Most of us just don't know how to treat or care for it in it's natural state.

We are a group of women who are soooo ashamed of what our hair is naturally.
It's not our fault, it's due to programming.
I know we don't want to admit to that, it's insulting.
But the scars are psychological, they run deep, they and have been with us for hundreds of years.

Answer this question:
How many of us want to show off our kinky hair?
Some would say, "God forbid!"
But I say "It's OUR HAIR! It's not a monster!"

We as black women have not been celebrated for our hair, but rather our hair has been rejected by the masses.
We as black women have been shown that in terms of our hair, something is wrong with it and it must be fixed.
We have accepted this notion and so we comply: "yes, let me go get it fixed".

What is fixed?
Oh, okay, that translates into straight hair.
Only problem is for most of us, our hair doesn't grow straight down; it grows up and out.(There are not many women of African decent who grow perfectly straight hair. Our hair is usually kinky or coily, sometimes wavy.)

So in an effort to assimilate, aka "fit in" we relax, press, flat iron, whatever in an effort to make our hair like that of people of other races.
Got to have the "swang", right?

But once we do these things we create all kinds of problems for our hair.
We now have to maintain it and care for it in some kind of way to prevent it from breaking.

So we run around in circles trying this product or that in an effort to "do" our hair.
And we just can't seem to figure out why these products aren't working to make our hair do right.

We don't realize that the garbage that is being marketed to us is INTENDED to damage it!
Most products with a black faces on them are purposely full of degenerating ingredients.
They were never meant to truly care for our hair.

That way, we continue on the confusion wheel: spending more money trying to correct the problems that have been created.
We continue to buy these junk products that have been marketed to us.
Making "the other man" rich along with the asian man whose BSS store we frequent.
That money DOES NOT go back into our communities.

It says in the Word, " My people suffer from lack of knowledge"....

Yes, my peolple, we are suffering.

We do not know that we are beautiful just the way we are.
We do not know that our beauty is so unique that WE should be the ones holding our heads up high and strutting around like peacocks.
We do not know that with a little bit of care and attention our hair can and does thrive in it's natural state.

We refuse to accept our hair for what it is:
we just won't allow our hair TO BE.

We don't know that THEY know this about us.
We don't know that THEY sit back and laugh at our ignorance all the way to the bank.
We don't know that we are playing right in to THEIR hands......


dk

 

[jenteel]

dk ur post was on point

only thing though is we don't even know
how to take care of our own natural hair
one of my best friends is nigerian and we were talking about this yesterday
she was saying that's why alot of africans
wear wigs, perm it 2 death or wear their hair short
its just easier and they fell like they look more kempt
me being haitian i know that women in the caribbean struggle also

why do you think the dominican hair industry is so big?
in the dominican republic they teach these str8ening techniques
b/c u can't be beautiful all nappy!
and here in the states we eat it up
they created a buzz that u can be beautiful w/ str8 and smooth hair
and not all their products are healthy but they will str8en those napps!
can you imagine the effect it would have if they encouraged women
not to blow dry their tresses 2 death and proper techniques?
black women all around the world follow our lead and look 2 our celebrities
they look @ who/what americans think is hot and follow accordingly

going natural is a choice and may not work 4 evry1
b/c they may damage their hair w/out proper knowledge
so i don't judge why some people relax their hair
i used to relax myself but i always questioned why - about everything
is it "just a look"/"2 make it easier" or "is it to be neat"?
i cringe when i hear comments like "i need a perm"
"i can't go like this" or "i could never walk around like that!"
b/c we are buying into the madness

so ladies we are indeed doing it 2 ourselves

also we don't always know that these things are bad for our health
i have always been very health concious so it just moved on to hair health
so if i know if something isn't good 4 my body
then it can't be good 4 my scalp/hair
but it takes alot of work and can be very overwhelming

i went 2 the beauty supply just last week and spent about an hour
just reading labels
products i used 2 use
products i heard about on this site
and was very content on my decision 2 create some of my own products
and purchase more natural hair products
the use of oils has been so beneficial 4 me
and now i have incorporated them into my routine
in the long run i will save so much money!!!

sites like this are a huge resource
i just do my part by spreading the word
maybe 1 day this will make a difference

 

[Mahalialee4]

I firmly believe that the FEAR of being seen in our natural state, by whites, each other and the public is one of the MOST POWERFUL, spiritual strongholds over BLACK WOMEN. !!!!!!!!It sits right up there close to the "Fear of Death!" Many view our hair as a "curse!" something that has to be "hidden and covered up".
I believe that this fear has been implanted, perpetuated, maintained and constantly promoted among blacks and whites on a personal, business, and economic level. The ones who have upheld the Strongholds have been black women, reinforced by black men. We are the only ones who can tear them down. Industry has only capitalized on our fear!
I believe that it has created a monster that has bled us dry financially for years even in the poorest of black neighbourhoods. Some have managed to deprogram themselves from believing that:
1. our own hair is not good enough, pretty enough or long enough and EVERY BLACK WOMAN if she is truly honest, has been knifed with that thought!
2. that some "they is going to save us from our natural hair!"
3. That many have risked blindness, disfiguring scarring, alopecia etc. from those old time relaxers that were creamed Draino that women and men put on their scalp without ANY KNOWLEDGE OF protecting their scalps, or preventing breakage, and were deceived into believing that if they put a little "grease" on it, (like they used to do burns), that they would be okay.
I am not putting down relaxers or people that use them: But we should not be ignorant to some facts:
Yes. There has been much money and advantage to those in the marketing, media and market arenas who have CAPITALIZED on our historical insecurity that has cumulated and amplified down to the present generation. This is not about "Just hair...and personal choices". What we have really lacked is "informed choices". Relaxing was taken for granted, perming was taking for granted, and so were weaves, wigs, and extensions, and doorags within the black community. BEING "NATURAL", even now, is not considered A "NATURAL THING TO DO". It has been viewed as "militant, a protest, and to some an "embarrassment", which has graduated to "cool", BRAVE, and making a strong statement or a new kind of hairstyle..as in "GOING NATURAL versus BEING NATURALOR STAYING NATURAL.
As we become DEPROGRAMMED, then truly informed about hair care and understand OUR hair and decide WHAT We prefer, we can choose or not to relax or remain natural without apology to anyone. I also believe that just as there is an abnormal ratio of bars, liquor stores, betting shops and *nudie bars in black versus white neighbourhoods, (*they are giving us a run for our money on the nudie bars and betting shops now?), AND beauty parlors where the focus is on straightening, relaxing, perming, weaving and bleach containing color treatments... there is also an obscene display of wigs, weaves, and greasy hair products for desperate black women sold by people who are really struggling with the English language...all they can rattle of in many cases is..."make hair grow...black girl luv this...make hair grow!" and all bearing practically the same dang snake oil ingredients for over 10 different products. I really believe that the marketers think that black women will shortchange the rent money, food and clothing budget to make sure they either get their hair did or can afford a weave or at least the latest grease! IN EITHER CASE, after all the years and money spent, black women still suffer universally from tore up, shredded out, breaking, damaged hair and poorer every month and their family suffers financially as a result of mom needing a regular 'hair FIX!" ....Perpetuating the stereotype of black women = hair=big bucks from even the poorest sections of town...come on, say amen ya'll! Yes, it is DELIBERATE!!!!Let's face it, if they gave us products that really worked and benefitted our hair...IMAGINE THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT WOULD "stop" flowing into their greedy little hands! Can black people really afford to keep supporting this calculated wholesale robbery?
We have been culturally "shaped" by a shaping process: We get smiles and nods of approval when we "present with the "right hair"..and looks of shock, disapproval, snickers, jokes and overfamiliar remarks" when we walk about in "what has been labelled "nappy" hair. And black people are the worst offenders!

 

[DDTexlaxed]

lol, Once again Im going to deviate from the pack, sigh. I dont think we should blame black hair companies. At the time that Luster Hot Pink oil and all the other products laden with mineral oil and petroleum were invented, that probably was the latest technology out there. Its kinda like when everyone thought eating tons of pasta and oil were the keys to long life. Now whole grains are the devil and everyone is told to eat meat and vegetables and organic food. So Im sure black companies werent conspiring to force feed us mineral oil and petroleum products to just turn a profit off black hair ( but of course, i could be wrong). Thats just what we thought was good for our hair back in the day.

Furthermore, a lot black owned companies have been bought by major hair companies anyways so its really the companies that have the research and technology to improve the product yet dont, that we should be mad at. Im not mad at the few black companies that are still black owned that may not have the resources to integrate some rare brazilian nut extract to go along with the botanical trend or may not have the resources to pay the most coveted scientists like revlon and loreal can. Instead, like I do with my clothing, art, music and skincare, i try to support black owned enterprises and hope to make changes one day from the inside out.

I have to agress w/ u and disagree. My hair loves and thrives on petroleum based products. I think it's the way people use the products that makes their thrive or not. I don't put my products on my scalp, that works for me. Some just can't do that, so the products don't work for them.

 

[londontresses]

Hi Pradalover

Where is Nubian Jack?

Kizzylonghair
ITA and to add insult to injury the men follow you around as if your going to steal something or they invade your personal space and call you darling. This happened today in a new shop opened in my area.

Hey all,

First post as I've been lurking for ages and only properly joined the other day - glad I did

But I highlight the bolded part becz I went to one near 7 sisters station the other day and saw one of the guys ask a woman if he could search her bag. He said she was stealing at a certain part of the store, she said she hadnt even been over there. Now I dont know - maybe she was a teef, but the man searched her bag, emptied out her business and didnt find a thing. At the same time the woman was making a purchase by card - she was as cool as anything...obviously knew he wouldnt find anything. So she said - now that you havent found anything apologise - you know the man said NO . So she said give me back my money I want a refund.

I cant stand going into those shops that are Asian owned. They always cuss you off in their language as you're shopping, try and give you advice you havent asked for and when you do ask for something they dont have a bloody clue if they stock it or not!

I NEED TO FIND A BLACK OWNED STORE! I have never been to Nubian Jack but could someone tell me if its one of those overpriced shops that sells hair products along with meat and nappies??? erplexed

Bless LT

 

[SpiritJunkie]

this is a great thread!

I have heard people complain about asian bss owners looking as if you will steal. they also have soo many cameras. kind of insulting.

i'm considering going natural with the hopes my hair will be alot stronger or at least texturize.

after reading this I checked my hair products and most are either dominican or white products that i would never have looked at in the past.

thanks for the knowledge ladies.

 

[deltagyrl]

Okay, I agree with KBragg...it's not just hair.
It is our crown.
One that we should be proud of.

But this society does not embrace us as desirable women.
It does not uplift nor celebrate our natural beauty like it does other peoples.
It does not accept our crowns.
We have been hurt by this rejection and we don't even know it.

What is happening in the hair care industry is not by accident, it is deliberate.
Someone who posted in the first few posts mentioned us being "dependent" on them.
Yep, you hit the nail right on the head.

The cycle is predetermined to keep us causing damage to the very thing that "the powers that be" realize keeps us in a constant state of flux and anxiety: our hair.

Black women fret over their hair more than any other "race" of women.
Why? Beacuse we have been told that our hair is not right.
We spend beaucoup bucks trying to make it "do right". That means, behave in a way that is foreign to what it does naturally.
Most of us just don't know how to treat or care for it in it's natural state.

We are a group of women who are soooo ashamed of what our hair is naturally.
It's not our fault, it's due to programming.
I know we don't want to admit to that, it's insulting.
But the scars are psychological, they run deep, they and have been with us for hundreds of years.

Answer this question:
How many of us want to show off our kinky hair?
Some would say, "God forbid!"
But I say "It's OUR HAIR! It's not a monster!"

We as black women have not been celebrated for our hair, but rather our hair has been rejected by the masses.
We as black women have been shown that in terms of our hair, something is wrong with it and it must be fixed.
We have accepted this notion and so we comply: "yes, let me go get it fixed".

What is fixed?
Oh, okay, that translates into straight hair.
Only problem is for most of us, our hair doesn't grow straight down; it grows up and out.(There are not many women of African decent who grow perfectly straight hair. Our hair is usually kinky or coily, sometimes wavy.)

So in an effort to assimilate, aka "fit in" we relax, press, flat iron, whatever in an effort to make our hair like that of people of other races.
Got to have the "swang", right?

But once we do these things we create all kinds of problems for our hair.
We now have to maintain it and care for it in some kind of way to prevent it from breaking.

So we run around in circles trying this product or that in an effort to "do" our hair.
And we just can't seem to figure out why these products aren't working to make our hair do right.

We don't realize that the garbage that is being marketed to us is INTENDED to damage it!
Most products with a black faces on them are purposely full of degenerating ingredients.
They were never meant to truly care for our hair.

That way, we continue on the confusion wheel: spending more money trying to correct the problems that have been created.
We continue to buy these junk products that have been marketed to us.
Making "the other man" rich along with the asian man whose BSS store we frequent.
That money DOES NOT go back into our communities.

It says in the Word, " My people suffer from lack of knowledge"....

Yes, my peolple, we are suffering.

We do not know that we are beautiful just the way we are.
We do not know that our beauty is so unique that WE should be the ones holding our heads up high and strutting around like peacocks.
We do not know that with a little bit of care and attention our hair can and does thrive in it's natural state.

We refuse to accept our hair for what it is:
we just won't allow our hair TO BE.

We don't know that THEY know this about us.
We don't know that THEY sit back and laugh at our ignorance all the way to the bank.
We don't know that we are playing right in to THEIR hands......


dk

Ok why did I start hearing drums while reading this? This post makes a lot of sense.

Kinda off topic: The only thing that's a little irritating on this board (and others) is the (subtle) innuendo (in some posts) that those who are natural are (somehow) more 'enlightened' than those who relax.

I LOVE what you've written though.

 

[tsiporah]

Mahalialee4,

Ahmein! and Ahmein!!!!!! My thoughts exactly.

 

[tsiporah]

Hey Delta Gyrl,

Well for me, I don't hit people upside the head becaus of being relaxed...lol. To each his own. But I think the point is: The more we express our natural beauty, the more we become accepting of our own beauty.

Back in the late 80's early 90's a lot of people began wearing braids and locs and those "African" colors. We began to love- self. Then the "others" began to copy our natural hairstyles-- and at times would spend HUNDRED'S of dollars to do so.

I can't speak for the other sisters..
So atleast from my perspective, the expression of naturalness is key.

TAKE BACK Our crowns!!! SNATCH IT!

 

[tsiporah]

Not to bring scripture into view....but this sounds SOOO familiar.

The scab of the head.
_________________________________________________

ISAIAH 3

3:16 Moreover saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:

3:17 Therefore will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and will discover their secret parts.

3:18 In that day will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,

3:19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,

3:20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,

3:21 The rings, and nose jewels,

3:22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,

3:23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.

3:24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.

______________________________________________

HMMMMmmmmmmm???!?!?!

One can check ALL the posts comments in this thread and find all of those characteristics among the sista's!

 

[tsiporah]

EXCELLENT POST DK!!!

This is wonderful!!

 

[tsiporah]

I firmly believe that the FEAR of being seen in our natural state, by whites, each other and the public is one of the MOST POWERFUL, spiritual strongholds over BLACK WOMEN. !!!!!!!!It sits right up there close to the "Fear of Death!" Many view our hair as a "curse!" something that has to be "hidden and covered up".
I believe that this fear has been implanted, perpetuated, maintained and constantly promoted among blacks and whites on a personal, business, and economic level. The ones who have upheld the Strongholds have been black women, reinforced by black men. We are the only ones who can tear them down. Industry has only capitalized on our fear!
I believe that it has created a monster that has bled us dry financially for years even in the poorest of black neighbourhoods. Some have managed to deprogram themselves from believing that:
1. our own hair is not good enough, pretty enough or long enough and EVERY BLACK WOMAN if she is truly honest, has been knifed with that thought!
2. that some "they is going to save us from our natural hair!"
3. That many have risked blindness, disfiguring scarring, alopecia etc. from those old time relaxers that were creamed Draino that women and men put on their scalp without ANY KNOWLEDGE OF protecting their scalps, or preventing breakage, and were deceived into believing that if they put a little "grease" on it, (like they used to do burns), that they would be okay.
I am not putting down relaxers or people that use them: But we should not be ignorant to some facts:
Yes. There has been much money and advantage to those in the marketing, media and market arenas who have CAPITALIZED on our historical insecurity that has cumulated and amplified down to the present generation. This is not about "Just hair...and personal choices". What we have really lacked is "informed choices". Relaxing was taken for granted, perming was taking for granted, and so were weaves, wigs, and extensions, and doorags within the black community. BEING "NATURAL", even now, is not considered A "NATURAL THING TO DO". It has been viewed as "militant, a protest, and to some an "embarrassment", which has graduated to "cool", BRAVE, and making a strong statement or a new kind of hairstyle..as in "GOING NATURAL versus BEING NATURAOR STAYING NATURAL.
As we become DEPROGRAMMED, then truly informed about hair care and understand OUR hair and decide WHAT We prefer, we can choose or not to relax or remain natural without apology to anyone. I also believe that just as there is an abnormal ratio of bars, liquor stores, betting shops and *nudie bars in black versus white neighbourhoods, (*they are giving us a run for our money on the nudie bars and betting shops now?), AND beauty parlors where the focus is on straightening, relaxing, perming, weaving and bleach containing color treatments... there is also an obscene display of wigs, weaves, and greasy hair products for desperate black women sold by people who are really struggling with the English language...all they can rattle of in many cases is..."make hair grow...black girl luv this...make hair grow!" and all bearing practically the same dang snake oil ingredients for over 10 different products. I really believe that the marketers think that black women will shortchange the rent money, food and clothing budget to make sure they either get their hair did or can afford a weave or at least the latest grease! IN EITHER CASE, after all the years and money spent, black women still suffer universally from tore up, shredded out, breaking, damaged hair and poorer every month and their family suffers financially as a result of mom needing a regular 'hair FIX!" ....Perpetuating the stereotype of black women = hair=big bucks from even the poorest sections of town...come on, say amen ya'll! Yes, it is DELIBERATE!!!!Let's face it, if they gave us products that really worked and benefitted our hair...IMAGINE THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT WOULD "stop" flowing into their greedy little hands! Can black people really afford to keep supporting this calculated wholesale robbery?
We have been culturally "shaped" by a shaping process: We get smiles and nods of approval when we "present with the "right hair"..and looks of shock, disapproval, snickers, jokes and overfamiliar remarks" when we walk about in "what has been labelled "nappy" hair. And black people are the worst offenders!

It is true we are our worse offenders. I will admit, I do become embarrassed when I go to class and sisters show up with busted hair. Thin hair (in an unhealthy sense). And wearing those scarves that you wear to bed to keep their wrap.

Tsiporah