Tag Archives: Hair

What is “Good Hair?” (Movie Review)

Posted on October 22, 2009 | 11 comments

I can’t tell you how crazy my hair drives me on a weekly basis. I write about my hair frequently because I feel a lot of my friends can relate, and the ones who can’t at least want to understand.

I went to see Chris Rock’s documentary “Good Hair” last week with two girlfriends, one from Trinidad and one who is mixed, like me. [NOTE: “Good Hair” opens October 23 nationwide.] One uses a flat iron to wear her hair straight and the other wears hers natural. Me? I relax mine with chemical relaxer every two months and then spend the weeks in between visiting a Dominican salon to get a wash & set to keep it straight. Continue reading →

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Black Hair, Revisited. Part Dos.

Posted on March 15, 2009 | Leave a comment

Click here for Part 1 of Black Hair, Revisited.

During the first few weeks after my office moved from Midtown East to Times Square, I kept my eyes peeled for every new sight, and smelled every new smell. There was Bryant Park with its huge lawn to relax on, the bright lights late at night in the Square and all the tourists milling about at all times, making it difficult to grab a bit for lunch.

One day, when I was walking to Bryant Park to enjoy some time away from my desk, I looked over and saw what was surely a hole-in-the-wall Dominican salon. It had all the markers: a row of chairs with the stuffing falling out of the plastic seats, each supporting the ass of a woman who’s been waiting too long just to get her hair done. Some of those women were chatting away on Sidekicks, some were eating beans and rice from a Styrofoam container picked up at the bodega next store. Continue reading →

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Black Hair, Revisited.

Posted on January 8, 2009 | Leave a comment

For the original photos and stories on my ongoing hair saga, read my Black Hair Mommy blog posts.

So, I’ve lived here for two years now. Have had two years with my wonderful Black Hair Mommies, who go by Leona and Cynthia at Joseph Tyler Salon in Brooklyn. If you remember reading the blog posts I linked to above, you’ll know my efforts to grow out my hair have not been without humor or tribulation. Continue reading →

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Black Hair Mommy, Part 2 (+ Pics and shopping tips)

Posted on March 21, 2007 | 1 comment

For Black Hair Mommies, Part 1, click here.

For all my hair-related posts, click here.

This post is for all my black sisters, all my white sisters raising biracial babies and for my white girlfriends who are endlessly fascinated with my hair (as I am with theirs).

Caption: The Wrap. So Not Sexy.

I was forlorn at having to leave my hairdresser back home when I moved. She was one of only a couple of women in the state who specialized in ethnic hair and I’d been seeing her every two months for close to four years. She outlasted a couple of my romantic relationships, that’s for sure. Still, Cassandra and I couldn’t figure out why we couldn’t get my hair to grow.

I know most of my readers are either white or male, so I’ll take a quick moment to explain the whole point of writing this post. The reason why you don’t see a lot of black women walking around with long hair is because our hair is exceedingly dry and delicate. (Unprocessed) Caucasian, Asian and Latina hair is strong and flexible like fishing line while our hair breaks like a filament of spun sugar. Continue reading →

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Black Hair Mommy, Part One

Posted on March 20, 2007 | Leave a comment

When you’re a little black girl, you get put into one of two groups: those with “good” hair and those with, well, bad hair. As you grow up, the hair issue becomes more nefarious as those with “bad” hair learn to distinguish themselves as being the proud owners of Natural hair, nappy hair or dreadlocks. Some even make it seem like having anything other than Natural hair is a denial of one’s race. Others just get weaves. Occasionally, the good hair girls get castigated for trying to pass as white, while in reality many of them are of mixed heritage and have their genes, not conscious choice, to thank for their lustrous locks.

Being of mixed descent myself, I’ve watched the hair debate from the sidelines. I never needed to defend my choice of hairstyle to anyone as a teenager or young woman because there were no other black people around. And that there was the problem with my hair: There were NO black people around. Continue reading →

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