Good Hair (the movie)

[wendyg]

Just read this review of Chris Rock's documentary on African-American women and their troubled relationship with their hair and conformity.

http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/movies/09hair.html

Anyone seen it? It sounds fascinating.

wg

[PhillyGirl1978@]

It does look interesting. I watched the Oprah that featured it. AA women do have such complicated relationship with their hair. Speaking for myself, I think most people, ( I guess there are a few exceptions) but most people look best with the hair they were born with. My hair looks way better now since it's curly rather than when it was straight. Usually you are born with the perfect shade for your skin tone. People with straight hair should have straight hair....etc. It does looks like a good movie.

[bgarrison]

Can't wait to see this! I've see Chris Rock promoting the movie on several shows and love his balance of humor and cutting to the quick of a matter. The political/economic issues addressed look fascinating.

[GoddesJourney]

I'll keep an eye out for this.

[PhillyGirl1978@]

He was just on Tyra, promoting it too. They talked about how she is wearing her real hair now, and they showed the hugely dangerous chemicals in relaxer and what they do. They rest a soda can in a vat of it, it completely ate through it and disintegrated the can. Man...am I glad I got out when I did!!lol

[Shiva]

Are we talking about the Chris Rock comedian??

[terriej]

I would really like to see this movie.

I was somewhat irritated though when Chris Rock was on Oprah today and they kept making it out that white women didn't have a clue about black women's hair until now, and then they found what seemed to be the whitest lady in AZ to Skype in and confirm that we white women were so clueless about black hair. And how all white girls bleach their hair, what the hay, man?

I know a thing or two about black hair--because it's 2009...and I didn't grow up under a rock. And all white girls do not bleach their hair (some of them henna, haha. But seriously, they don't)

But still, I think the movie should be interesting.

[RedJen]

I'm fascinated by this documentary and can't wait to see it. Growing up, I had several adopted/surrogate families who were African American*, so I learned a lot about the care of black hair. A lot of my childhood friends who are mixed are excited, too, because most of them had white moms who didn't know about black hair care and black dads who kept their hair short for the military and didn't think much about their daughters' hair.

*I was raised by a single dad who was in the military, so when he had to go away, we stayed with friends of his.

[ademtce]

i can't wait to see this movie.
it looks really good.

[Sokudo Ningyou]

Though it may be wrong, I always think of "Coming To America" when it comes to such hair types: Soul Glo, man. The wettest jeri-curl spray around. :p

Honestly though, it's a strange and terrible relationship many have with their hair. The amount of damage they'll do to "fit in," to make it straight and smooth (or blonde), instead of just being happy with it....in some ways, they embrace being themselves and being "black," but yet, the hair gets relaxed and dyed and turned into something it isn't. It's an odd thing. And I may not be making any sense as it's late.

[blackice]

As you can see in my pic, I don't wear a weave or any kind of chemical in my hair. I prefer my hair in its natural state. I have seen the film and I didn't like it at all. It seemed to infer that all black women have this battle with our hair and with accepting ourselves "as is." Just like with any other race of women we have some that do and some that don't. Because of this stereotype (that he is perpetuating) I was asked constantly if my waist length hair was mine... constantly. Yes a lot of black women wear weaves and extensions but there are a lot of us that wear the hair we were born with proudly. There is a lot of misinformation in the media about black woman and our hair and this "Mockumentary" doesn't help.

[blackice]

Honestly though, it's a strange and terrible relationship many have with their hair. The amount of damage they'll do to "fit in," to make it straight and smooth (or blonde), instead of just being happy with it....in some ways, they embrace being themselves and being "black," but yet, the hair gets relaxed and dyed and turned into something it isn't. It's an odd thing. And I may not be making any sense as it's late.[/quote]

Same can be said for ALL women who change their bodies with plastic surgery, tan, bleach their hair, change their eye shape, perm, Japanese Hair straightening... just saying. All women are on that elusive quest for perfection or perceived perfection.

[HappyHair87]

Let me just say that i am an AA woman and i don't relax my hair to "fit-in". I relax my hair because it fits my busy lifestyle and i just like to have my hair straight...i don't even relax my hair bone strait anymore though...i'm texlaxing now.

But for the majority of white women...they have no clue about our hair...at least the white women i know. I don't get whats so fascinating about touching our hair tho?...Its hair!! Lol!! I went to a white stylist once when i was like 10 and from that day forward i never let another white woman do my hair....bc i just felt like they had no idea what they were doing! My hair requires LOTS of moisture and you can't just rake through it...you have to be very very gentle to it. And she complained about how thick it was and how long it took to completely dry under the dryer.....i was so uncomfortable.

I'm really not sure about this movie though...they make it like all AA's hate their hair...I LOVE my hair!! Always have!! I like the fact that its thick and hard for others to deal with and causes controversy and complaints...just shows that nobody should be doing my hair but me!!:)

[HappyHair87]

As you can see in my pic, I don't wear a weave or any kind of chemical in my hair. I prefer my hair in its natural state. I have seen the film and I didn't like it at all. It seemed to infer that all black women have this battle with our hair and with accepting ourselves "as is." Just like with any other race of women we have some that do and some that don't. Because of this stereotype (that he is perpetuating) I was asked constantly if my waist length hair was mine... constantly. Yes a lot of black women wear weaves and extensions but there are a lot of us that wear the hair we were born with proudly. There is a lot of misinformation in the media about black woman and our hair and this "Mockumentary" doesn't help.


Same here....my hair is ALL mine and i grew it all out my scalp! Why is it so wrong for a Black woman to have long hair? And then they try to make you a liar when you're telling the truth that its all yours!!! And then there's the embarassing weave check...ugh!:rolleyes:

If you wanna know what Black women think...don't listen to a Black Man...ask the Black woman.

[wendyg]

Actually, I believe it's true that a *lot* of white women have no idea about the different needs of black hair. It depends how mixed an area you grew up in and live in.

In fact, one of the reasons I was intrigued by the movie review was that I remembered years ago hearing Oprah say on one of her shows that (many, most) AA women had a very troubled relationship with their hair. At the time, I think my reaction was, "Just AA women? Is she kidding?" I was thinking of my mother, who slept in pincurls every night and fussed all the time about her hair looked. But since until coming here I didn't have conversations with other people about hair, and since here is mostly white, I've never had much opportunity to find out more about what she was talking about.

I'm sure you're right that the movie might have been better made by a woman than a man; but this is the movie we have. I'll still be curious to see it.

wg

[PhillyGirl1978@]

White women do know more about black hair now...as they do some of the same stuff to their hair. I watched Chris Rock on Tyra the other day promoting this movie again. I know that not all AA women do it, but I know that most of the ones I see do. I live in south Philly and work in Olde City, every single black women I see, with the exception of two I work with, has either straight hair or a weave or wig. I don't think I mind the "weave-check" thing though because they can easily see if they don't believe me that it is all mine.

But as far as getting disbelief from black women and asked if my hair is real, me being biracial, with curls, I get questions from black and white people. Last night I was actually petted, a women at the bar just kinda grabbed a curl, she was so enamored with it....she was drunk so I'll let that one slide!lol

[mbaker223]

I grew up in a neighborhood where white people were the minority. I didn't even realize there was such a vast difference in my hair texture and my friend's hair texture until I went to the beauty shop with my friend and her mother. I was so little and I remember being jealous of my AA friends because they didn't have to use an elastic to hold their braids in.:)

Enter my teenage years.... I can say at this point, I knew more about styling AA hair than I did my own. I cornrowed my hair a la Bo Derek... it wasn't a bad look for me, but when I left them in for weeks at a time because I didn't know that my hair needed to be washed moreso than my AA friends... my hair was STINKY! I then dyed, shaved, and even PERMED my hair. It was a disaster! TO THE POINT! I'm commonly mistaken for being white, and technically I am 1/2 white... but I am DEFINITELY an exception to the established hair rules :p

So I guess I'm thinking that I won't really like this movie, because the truth is that no matter WHAT color or even what gender you are, you battle with your hair. It's not just AA women, it's not even ALL AA women who have issues with their hair, I'm thinking the movie might be painting with a broad brush. But I'll withhold my final judgment til I see the movie.

[PhillyGirl1978@]

Ok, so I have a question, a legitimate question. So black women that do the weaves and wigs and relaxers don't do it because they want it long? They just want it easier to manage? I mean I know straight hair would be easier to manage but I thought the look was a major issue. Like I saw a talk show once about a girl who wanted the (white-girl-flow) when she swung her hair. I know when I relaxed my hair for years it was mostly cause I wanted the length and movement, the fact that it was easier to manage was a bonus but not the main reason. What about the shorter natural styles that some black women wear, they look so marvelously simple and so easy, are they hard to manage too?

While I do get tangle issues, in general now that I know how to take care of my hair it is a lot less time consuming then when I straightened. So someone enlighten me, please.

[fluffybunny]

I'll probably see this movie because I just think hair care is interesting, but I get tired of the constant implication that women's grooming habits are all hiding tragic low self-esteem and self-rejection. It makes us seem like victims. You don't hear anyone claiming that men shave their faces out of tragic self-rejection, do you? How about saying that shaving the face shows they're ashamed of their maleness and are trying to be more female? Nope, you don't hear that. It would be the same logic as saying AA women who straighten are trying to be more white.

[Fractalsofhair]

Well, most white women want a similar thing for their hair. Long, dead straight, shiny, bleached/colored(ok, slightly different than AA women), and not requiring much work.

I don't know a ton about AA haircare, but I do have a rough idea of how to style relaxed hair from friends. Not all white women have no idea about it. I can presume the natural hair would be very similar to the Jewfro quite a few white men(and women, but they're more likely to relax+flat iron), have, and well, a lot of white women would have experience dealing with that, along with TONs of men.

Interesting idea for a movie though.

[RedJen]

I definitely don't have white girl flow-- I only really get movement in my hair when it's longer than waist length. Also, I was jealous of my AA friends who didn't need hair bands to hold their braids!

That's all-- nothing too substantive to add!

[marikamt]

Well I can't speak for AA women, but my group of friends have always included people from many different hairtypes (AA, native american, latin, european, etc).... I think one of the biggest misnomers is that all AA hair is the same.... there are MANY different hairtypes and textures in AA hair, just like "white" hair........

[brokencrystal]

Let me just say that i am an AA woman and i don't relax my hair to "fit-in". I relax my hair because it fits my busy lifestyle and i just like to have my hair straight...

EXACTLY! My hair is really thick and tightly curled and if I didn't have a relaxer I couldn't even comb it. And it definitely doesn't really help me fit in- I can't tell you how many people have accused me of trying to be white or having fake hair, or saying "You MUST be mixed with Indian, Mexican, etc. . ." and my hair isn't even as long as the two other black women who posted! And the funny thing is at least 75% of the people who would say these things to or about me had weaves or microbraids themselves!

The funniest thing is when I'm somewhere and people are standing a few feet away from me, and debating whether or not my hair is real but if I look in their direction they get all defensive, sometimes even threatening.


So black women that do the weaves and wigs and relaxers don't do it because they want it long?

Some people only get weaves to make their hair look thicker, but I thought usually the weaves and wigs were to add length too. As for the relaxers, I'm not really sure how to answer that because they get such a bad rap for destroying your hair. Mine still grows but I've noticed it has gotten healthier and grown faster since I started doing it myself and just going in for my touch-ups. My grandmother used to make me get my hair done every 2 weeks, and I'd be sitting under the dryer for hours and it would damage my hair so much. When I do my hair now sometimes I'll wake up the next day and it won't be completely dry but I would rather deal with that than being under a hot dryer for about 3 hours and then STILL having to have it blow dried.

[loyaboya]

Ok, so I have a question, a legitimate question. So black women that do the weaves and wigs and relaxers don't do it because they want it long? They just want it easier to manage? I can't really speak to this because I've never had a weave (strangely enough I can also probably count on one hand the number of black women that I've ever personally known to wear weaves. Certainly no one in my family- immediate or extended)


I know when I relaxed my hair for years it was mostly cause I wanted the length and movement, the fact that it was easier to manage was a bonus but not the main reason. What about the shorter natural styles that some black women wear, they look so marvelously simple and so easy, are they hard to manage too?

While I do get tangle issues, in general now that I know how to take care of my hair it is a lot less time consuming then when I straightened. So someone enlighten me, please. Well I think any short hair is gonna be pretty easy. Especially if it's under an inch or two long, which I think is what you're referring to. But it cna be tough once it gets longer. I've been natural for years and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to detangle :p. I'm finally getting the hang of it, but when I think of how much hair I've ripped out...:rolleyes:

From reading this board I really think the issues we face are the similar to what any fine-haired person faces. Fine hair breaks easily. It can be hard to handle. And then add extremely curly hair on top of that... it can test your patience. I've heard many people try to argue that relaxed hair is definitively, across the board, NOT easier to handle than natural hair. And I really don't agree with that. Until you try to comb someone else's hair you have no idea what it's like to be in their shoes... :D

[PhillyGirl1978@]

I can't really speak to this because I've never had a weave (strangely enough I can also probably count on one hand the number of black women that I've ever personally known to wear weaves. Certainly no one in my family- immediate or extended)

Well I think any short hair is gonna be pretty easy. Especially if it's under an inch or two long, which I think is what you're referring to. But it cna be tough once it gets longer. I've been natural for years and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to detangle :p. I'm finally getting the hang of it, but when I think of how much hair I've ripped out...:rolleyes:

From reading this board I really think the issues we face are the similar to what any fine-haired person faces. Fine hair breaks easily. It can be hard to handle. And then add extremely curly hair on top of that... it can test your patience. I've heard many people try to argue that relaxed hair is definitively, across the board, NOT easier to handle than natural hair. And I really don't agree with that. Until you try to comb someone else's hair you have no idea what it's like to be in their shoes... :D

I had a weave before...just wanted to see what it was like and I wanted it long NOW!! Anyway...it was the most awful experience I ever had. It tangled and matted, it was uncomfortable and itchy, ot felt like a hat. I only made it a week before I begged someone to take it out...it was awful. Now granted I didn't get the best and pay lots of money, so I'm sure it could have been better....but man it was awful.

[honeybrown1976]

As you can see in my pic, I don't wear a weave or any kind of chemical in my hair. I prefer my hair in its natural state. I have seen the film and I didn't like it at all. It seemed to infer that all black women have this battle with our hair and with accepting ourselves "as is." Just like with any other race of women we have some that do and some that don't. Because of this stereotype (that he is perpetuating) I was asked constantly if my waist length hair was mine... constantly. Yes a lot of black women wear weaves and extensions but there are a lot of us that wear the hair we were born with proudly. There is a lot of misinformation in the media about black woman and our hair and this "Mockumentary" doesn't help.

Precisely!

[brooksie]

No, not all AA women w/ weaves to it for length. Some do it to give their hair a rest (ie protective styling) and allow it to grow out or for a different style. A friend of mine got a chin length bob for both reasons...her own hair was about that length, so it was like 6 of one for her.

[brooksie]

I'll probably see this movie because I just think hair care is interesting, but I get tired of the constant implication that women's grooming habits are all hiding tragic low self-esteem and self-rejection. It makes us seem like victims. You don't hear anyone claiming that men shave their faces out of tragic self-rejection, do you? How about saying that shaving the face shows they're ashamed of their maleness and are trying to be more female? Nope, you don't hear that. It would be the same logic as saying AA women who straighten are trying to be more white.

These are all VERY good points. Women are constantly being questioned/remarked upon on how they choose to groom themselves w/ tons of underlying implications attached. Perhaps they're trying to find hang ups where there are none OR give folks hang up they don't have. Women's insecurities makes $$$$$ for many people...gotta keep the money train rolling.:p

[Buddaphlyy]

I think being on hair boards really warps some people's view. While it is true that not ALL AA women (I haven't seen the movie but I will be sure to be listening to see if Chris Rock says "all") "constantly" struggle with their hair, a very good majority do. IMHO, the "average" black woman (not a hair board member) IS getting a relaxer and a weave and spending lots of time and money to do so. I'd even venture to say that some of the AA members of this board have done so themselves (I know I have). So while it's true that there are AA women with long, real, natural hair, they are in the minority.

I don't think that most white women know a lot about AA hair care for the same reason most AA don't know that much about white hair care: they really don't care. I know I am way too busy worrying about my own hair to be be wrapped up in the intricacies of someone else's routine.

Matter of fact, I need to be deep conditioning right now...

[Roseate]

I'll probably see this movie because I just think hair care is interesting, but I get tired of the constant implication that women's grooming habits are all hiding tragic low self-esteem and self-rejection. It makes us seem like victims. You don't hear anyone claiming that men shave their faces out of tragic self-rejection, do you? How about saying that shaving the face shows they're ashamed of their maleness and are trying to be more female? Nope, you don't hear that. ...

This is an excellent point. Excellent enough to just go ahead and randomly quote, since I haven't seen the movie yet I've nothing to add. :)

[above_rubies]

As you can see in my pic, I don't wear a weave or any kind of chemical in my hair. I prefer my hair in its natural state. I have seen the film and I didn't like it at all. It seemed to infer that all black women have this battle with our hair and with accepting ourselves "as is." Just like with any other race of women we have some that do and some that don't. Because of this stereotype (that he is perpetuating) I was asked constantly if my waist length hair was mine... constantly. Yes a lot of black women wear weaves and extensions but there are a lot of us that wear the hair we were born with proudly. There is a lot of misinformation in the media about black woman and our hair and this "Mockumentary" doesn't help.

I really like you hair blackice! I think more AA women should wear their hair long and natural like yours. It looks nice. I am one of those women who has no idea at all about AA hair. I didn't grow up in; nor do I now live in, a mixed area. So I am clueless. Is it hard for you to detangle like a PP mentioned? How do you take care of your hair? Does it grow slowly or quickly? Just wanted to let you know I like your choice to go natural.:)

[laurachiplock]

I think being on hair boards really warps some people's view. While it is true that not ALL AA women (I haven't seen the movie but I will be sure to be listening to see if Chris Rock says "all") "constantly" struggle with their hair, a very good majority do. IMHO, the "average" black woman (not a hair board member) IS getting a relaxer and a weave and spending lots of time and money to do so. I'd even venture to say that some of the AA members of this board have done so themselves (I know I have). So while it's true that there are AA women with long, real, natural hair, they are in the minority.

I don't think that most white women know a lot about AA hair care for the same reason most AA don't know that much about white hair care: they really don't care. I know I am way too busy worrying about my own hair to be be wrapped up in the intricacies of someone else's routine.

Matter of fact, I need to be deep conditioning right now...

This is exactley what I was thinking. Well said

[AprilElf]

If this movie ever makes it Down Under, I'd be very keen to see it. I know next to nothing about African-American hair care.

I think you have to take any documentary with a grain of salt (you can't take everything they say at face value), but even so, they always expand a person's horizons, and I think that's very worthwhile. :)

[jivete]

I think being on hair boards really warps some people's view. While it is true that not ALL AA women (I haven't seen the movie but I will be sure to be listening to see if Chris Rock says "all") "constantly" struggle with their hair, a very good majority do. IMHO, the "average" black woman (not a hair board member) IS getting a relaxer and a weave and spending lots of time and money to do so. I'd even venture to say that some of the AA members of this board have done so themselves (I know I have). So while it's true that there are AA women with long, real, natural hair, they are in the minority.

I don't think that most white women know a lot about AA hair care for the same reason most AA don't know that much about white hair care: they really don't care. I know I am way too busy worrying about my own hair to be be wrapped up in the intricacies of someone else's routine.

Matter of fact, I need to be deep conditioning right now...

Well said.

I know I rarely see natural hair on AA women in my area. One of the ladies I work with did the "big chop" last year to let her hair grow in natural. She loved it but I guess her husband complained about it and she went ahead and relaxed it. It was sad because it was growing so fast and looking great. But I do think a lot of people at worked were weirded out by it as sad as that is.

[blackice]

I guess I could be warped but not because of the hair boards. I live in Berkeley CA and we have many natural AA women here. I think its the culture here where black women and women in general can freely be themselves with less judgment. Heck there are tons of white men & women here that wear dreads. Berkeley is known for its free spirits so its a wonderful place for a natural girl like me to live. Ive also traveled to New York and there a loads of naturals there also. So I think geography plays a major part in how people view our hair, and how our hair is accepted by ourselves and others.

[blackice]

I really like you hair blackice! I think more AA women should wear their hair long and natural like yours. It looks nice. I am one of those women who has no idea at all about AA hair. I didn't grow up in; nor do I now live in, a mixed area. So I am clueless. Is it hard for you to detangle like a PP mentioned? How do you take care of your hair? Does it grow slowly or quickly? Just wanted to let you know I like your choice to go natural.:)

Thanks for the complement:). My hair was hard to detangle until I learned the proper technique for our hair. Its kinda like detangling cotton candy lol, which can be tricky. I don't used shampoo to wash, I use the conditioner only method and I wash my hair about 3 times a week. My hair grows the average of .5 inches a month so I would say I have typical hair growth. Hope this helps.

[above_rubies]

Thanks for the complement:). My hair was hard to detangle until I learned the proper technique for our hair. Its kinda like detangling cotton candy lol, which can be tricky. I don't used shampoo to wash, I use the conditioner only method and I wash my hair about 3 times a week. My hair grows the average of .5 inches a month so I would say I have typical hair growth. Hope this helps.

Sorry I didn't get to this sooner. Yes that helps, thank you.:)

[nowxisxforever]

Same can be said for ALL women who change their bodies with plastic surgery, tan, bleach their hair, change their eye shape, perm, Japanese Hair straightening... just saying. All women are on that elusive quest for perfection or perceived perfection.

I don't think all women are on that elusive quest. I know I don't do any of the above. About the most I do to change my appearance is henna my hair once every several months, and that's more for conditioning than anything. No makeup, tan, bleach, perms, heat-styling, plastic surgery-- none!

[angelthadiva]

Interesting thread.

This very topic came up on a FB status. A cousin of mine who is AA and also an attorney has naturally long hair that she relaxes. She has often thought about going natural but fears that she would be perceived as being unprofessional. My thought was since when was a flat wrap the only professional look an AA woman can carry? I was encouraging her to embrace her natural hair.

OTOH, I think for *some* women, regardless of their ethnicity, their hair is a struggle. I know for me, I used to beat my hair into submission with flat irons and blow outs. :shrug: A lot/most of the AA women I know wear wigs, weaves and extensions and all for very different reasons. Two that wear wigs have really thin hair IRL and thin hair to them does not fit their personality.

Another wears wigs and switches her "do" everyday to fit her outfit. She makes no bones about wearing wigs either, but she has a bad @$$ attitude that goes with it and she's also a very sharp/flashy Gucci kinda lady who carries herself well.

I agree with the poster who commented about if you have a ??? about a AA woman's hair ask her and not a man! :thumbsup: I seriously doubt that many AA men (or men in general, no inclusively AA) know much about women's hair unless they happen to be a hair dresser. ;)

[liseling]

I saw the movie tonight! I actually really liked it. I didnt think that Chris Rock was trying to perpetuate a stereotype, since he spent the majority of the time asking questions rather than talking. I think there were only a few topics on which he (indirectly) put forward his opinion.

One of these was when he was asking about the practice of putting sodium hydroxide relaxers on the heads of children as young as 3 years old. I can totally understand if he made a big deal about objecting to this (which he didnt, even) since he has very young daughters himself so would be bound to have a strong opinion.

Another topic that seemed to make him get a bit serious was whenever people started implying that leaving AA hair in it's natural state was somehow less good than having it relaxed or in a weave or whatever. It was heartbreaking when he was talking to a mother and her 4 year old little girl. Chris had just told them that he had two little daughters around the age of that little girl who hadnt had their hair relaxed ("yet", he said - he always was careful whenever he spoke of his daughters to talk about them as if they had a choice in the future as to whether someday they would get weaves or relax their hair etc) and the mom asked her daughter if she thought Chris's girls should have their hair relaxed and she said "yes, because that's what everyone's supposed to do"!!

Another instance was when he interviewed a few recent female college graduates, one with her hair in a fro (a very well maintained one) and the other women were saying as politely as they could that they think that in order to get a job black women (these women themselves were all African Americans) needed to have a weave or relaxed hair, and that if someone came to THEM to apply for a job with a fro then even if they were a good candidate they'd think twice before hiring them because they werent "well put together".

This, of course, is a very serious problem and I've read stories in the news from time to time of discrimination like this actually occurring. And if Chris had a strong opinion on this then, well, GOOD. I think everyone should have a strong opinion on this type of thing.

Anyway, from my perspective of the movie Chris Rock was not "anti" weave or relaxer or anything necessarily. From what I saw, he was just exploring the lengths that women go to in order to get their hair straight/long/other than their natural hair and WHY (everyone gave him different personal reasons) they would go through the pain (sometimes, as in chemical burn), effort, time, and expense (many weaves costing $1000 or more) in order to do so. Also he went to India to see where the weave hair comes from (that was very interesting).

What he did seem concerned about was whenever the people he was talking to said things that seemed to prove that there is an underlying prevailing attitude that it is not OK to have natural hair and that natural hair is somehow unacceptable to the point where you cant get a job or you have to put harsh chemicals on the head of your baby to make their hair straight. But in general the film was light hearted and not preachy or judgmental.

Has anyone else seen it and what were your impressions?

[camirra555]

He was just on Tyra, promoting it too. They talked about how she is wearing her real hair now, and they showed the hugely dangerous chemicals in relaxer and what they do. They rest a soda can in a vat of it, it completely ate through it and disintegrated the can. Man...am I glad I got out when I did!!lol

I saw the movie yesterday and I came away thinking it was sad. I think it's sad that many black women don't think they are beautiful without a relaxer or a weave. It goes to show that the prevalence of Eureocentric ideals of beauty are not going anywhere anytime soon in the black community. I wore my hair relaxed for ten years. My (white)mom started relaxing it when I was 6 because she didn't know how to care for my natural texture. I went natural at 17 and never looked back. I just wish I would have done it sooner.