Good Hair

Nappy and coily, curly and bouncy, or straight and thick; what is the definition of good hair? Black women constantly struggle with their hair. Deciding whether to perm it, go natural, press it, add some weave to it, or shave it all off! It is a never ending struggle to try to determine what works for them, and what will make them look like they have good hair.

The question is what are the determining factors of good hair? There are a plethora of hair textures: straight, wavy, curly, coily, and everything in between. But is one better than another? Well if one takes a journey through black woman hair history, one will see that the hair struggle today started decades ago.

Hair History

Unknown too many, Madame C.J. Walker was not the one who invented the chemical relaxer. Garret Morgan (yes the man known for inventing the automated traffic light) is also the man behind the chemical hair straightener. In 1909 Morgan discovered that the liquid polish used to reduce friction in sewing, also allowed for sewing to be done at a faster pace and straightened the hair on the cleaning cloth made of pony fur. With further experimentation he came up with a product that straightened hair. However, Walker did help with the hair revolution and she invented the hot comb. The hot comb is a steel comb that was heated in a coal fire and used to press out the roots of black women’s hair. These two products were and still are a popular part of the black women’s hair routine. Throughout the 1920s and 1960s just about every black person straightened their natural coarse roots. Men had waves in their hair commonly known as the S-curl, and women had straight silky hair.

Then things took a turn come the 1970s. Around this time everyone was for the black movement, and did not want to feel oppressed by the white man. Following the Civil Rights Movement it was all about the afro. Embracing the coil, black people put down the hot comb and stopped using the chemical relaxer. The only thing that was put in the hair was the Jerry Curl, which was a chemical that made the coarse and coily hair, curly.

Come the 90s black women started to experiment with weave. Weave was always used in hair styles such as braids to add length, but women were experimenting with different kinds of weave. Now, in the present day black women seem to be at a standstill, trying to figure out what hairstyle works for them. Some women wear weave faithfully, some believe in the creamy crack and relax, while some chop it all off and began on the natural journey. Yet, no matter what black women do to their hair they seem to not be able to figure out what good hair is. Yvonne Branom, a licensed hairstylist for over 30 years, says a route to good hair is going natural.

“Some people look at their hair and say, ‘Un Unh! Look at all these naps let me put some chemicals in it!’” says Branom. “It’s just like food, when you put additives into your food it’s no longer good for you.”

The media use to portray good black hair as straight hair. Many women would relax their hair every 6-8 weeks to maintain the straight look. Then, women began to find interest into their natural curls, doing acts such as the big chop and cutting off all of their hair to regrow it in its natural state. Even the media began to take heed to this trend by using women with curly hair to portray the black role. Simone Mayes, founder of Just Kinkin It, a hair organization that helps black women understand and manage their hair, says it is society that causes women to form an opinion on what good hair is.

“Society forms people opinion of good hair by the media they put out, commercial, print ads and things of that sort, depicting one specific type of hair consistently,” says Mayes. “And people associate that with beauty.”

What is Good Hair?

However, black women soon realized that not every women of color has coily hair. Andre Walker, Oprah’s hairstylist broke down black women’s hair into categories: 1, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, and 4c. This hair chart well known and allows for women to figure out what type of hair they have based off of the different categories, and how to manage their hair.

But even with the chart the question still remained, what is good hair? Mayes says there is no answer.

“I think good hair is undefinable,” says Mayes. “It can’t really be put into one particular place because everybody has different textures, different lengths, different things that are appealing to them personally.

When a woman does the big chop, and cuts off all her hair, she is given a chance to find out what her hair is, and what works for her hair. Every woman has a different hair remedy, hair is like a fingerprint, and there are no two alike. One will usually discover once they find out the proper remedy for her hair, it grows and becomes easier to manage. So if ones, hair is growing, not breaking, and is not damaged; is that good hair? Gladys Murray, a naturalist would answer yes.

“I think good hair is healthy hair,” says Murray. “As long as your hair is taken care of, you know washing and conditioning regularly, making sure the using the proper oils, and stuff like that.”

Healthy hair is healthy hair. What does that mean? Well, healthy hair is state of hair not the way hair looks. One could have the kinkiest of coils, nappy as some would say, and her hair may be extremely healthy. Therefore, it is safe to say that good hair cannot be based off of what some hair solely looks like.

“Good hair is when it’s in good condition,” says Branom

If a person maintains and takes care of her hair, then she has good hair. Whether she wears her hair out, relaxes it, or wears it in a style such as weave. If the hair on the head is moisturized, clean, and not split, it is good.

For more information:

http://www.naturallycurly.com/hair-types

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Just-Kinkin-It/518071514877959