Nappy hair has been a stigma tied to black folks for centuries. Culturally, black hair has been given varying degrees of goodness: good, okay or very bad. Don Imus, former CBS radio host, openly called Rutgers girl basketball players “a bunch of nappy-headed hos.” Unfortunately, African-Americans have been victims of such comments for quite some time.
In an effort to find an alternative, Madame C.J. Walker, first self-made millionaire, hair care entrepreneur, coined the idea of developing a product that would straighten black women’s hair. In 1928, she invented a product, later know as a relaxer, that black women and some men used to manage their “kinky” hair. This form of hair care continued for many years.
Over the past eight years, relaxer sales have declined 26 percent, according to a report by Mintel, a consumer spending and market research company, due to the fact that more black women are going natural. Hair care retailers are cashing in on this natural hair buzz. Product companies such as Dark and Lovely, Motions and Design Essentials are marketing to this class of women.
Relaxed hair means has been altered from its natural state, while natural hair is the hair that grew directly from your head without any chemical processing.
Danesha Herron, hair stylist, who wore bold blue lipstick and a fro that would remind you of a character in the 70s, is one of the many people grasping the new hair “trend.” Fros, coils, sisterlocks, braids and dreads, for example, are all styles that African-American women are now embracing, from the average college student to corporate professionals to celebrities such as music star Prince and Oscar nominee Viola Davis.
Not all of society is in compliance with this hair movement. Local Memphian Takeisha Berry-Burks, owner of the Natural Hair Affair salon, and her seven-year-old daughter Destini Berry had such an experience. Destini had dreams of performing in her first dance recital but was almost denied the opportunity. Dance director Karine Zissoff at Southwest Community College informed Destini’s mother that she could not wear her dreadlocks, and it would have to be restyled; which meant it would have to be cut off. After much protest, Berry was allowed to perform.
Today, Berry-Burks and many other black women have decided to go against the grain. Women are wearing wild afros, like Solange, colored curly dreadlocks and even close-cropped styles. All of the women I interviewed said they have decided to wear their hair in a natural state because it makes them free — free to express themselves. It gives them more versatility and manageability. They do not want to be tied to the way society deems they should look.
“Black women have always had to fight to prove themselves,” said LaParis Hawkins, who works as a freelance beauty and natural hair editor for Ebony Magazine, which is geared toward African-Americans.
University of Mississippi student Sierra Suggs started her natural hair journey after looking at pictures of her younger self; she realized her mother had made a mistake by relaxing her hair. She had an epiphany concerning her hair – she wanted to know her natural hair texture again.
As a college student you want to be on the edge of fashion but economics are always a concern. Getting a relaxer every six weeks, coupled with having to travel long distances to your trusted stylist is often a hassle for a busy college student. The natural hair offered Suggs flexibility and proved lighter on her pockets. She decided to transition in the natural hairstyle rather than going for the “big chop” and cutting all of her hair at once.
There are various reasons why a woman would decide to do the big chop: hair breakage, hormonal changes, had a bad day or symbolism to the past. Suggs felt her hair did not define her but it is definitely a part of her personality and a big deal in her life.
Growing up in Mississippi, I recall the first time I had my hair pressed. It was my first grade picture day. My mother used a pressing comb, which you placed on a stove eye to heat, used this primitive device to make my hair long and silky. The process of getting my hair straightened was torture, but it looked fabulous afterwards.
This is what most black women endured in order to manage unruly hair. Pressing hair was a part of African-American culture. Most black women have memories of sitting in the kitchen getting their hair done for their most important events.
Often I would get my hair braided because it was too much to manage. I remember going to school and my white friends being curious about my ever-changing hair.
As a black woman, my hair consumes me. Always worrying about what style I will wear, which almost always depends upon the weather – if it would be hot, cold or rainy. My hair speaks of my culture, the survival of women during the celebration of traditions back in Africa. I appreciate and love how as black women, we are able to be so versatile and set precedents in the evolution of hair. But let’s not forget our roots.
“Black women are tired of society telling them what is beautiful,” Hawkins said. “We are coming up with our own meaning of what is beautiful.”
