The Issue Of Good Hair And Our Black Women

I know for sure that my dear mother would demand an immediate apology from me if she ever gets to read this article. Also, I am very much aware that my hard won popularity amongst our Black ladies on Ghana-web would deteriorate after this. But, anyway, a man has got to do what a man needs to do. So, I would go ahead and take my chances. I would be more than willing to sacrifice popularity for education if its serves the right purpose. Let me start off by saying that I have never seen my mother's real hair ever since I was born. I have pictures of my mother with different hair styles. In fact, I thought that my mother was a Black European, when I was a child. Of course, I know that there is no such a thing as a Black European. However, the different hairdos in these pictures couldn't convince me otherwise. One particular picture had my mother sporting a huge curly afro. The other had my mother sporting an European type of hair, which I would later come to know as weave. In my naiveté, I thought that my mother was quite extraordinary.

After all, here is a woman, who had the ability to transform her hair anyway she liked, anyhow she liked and whenever she liked. I have to mention that these particular pictures were taken back in the early seventies. Surprisingly, I discovered my mother's hair secret, when I matured into manhood. I made the startling discovery that none of these hairdos were my mother's own. In other words; all these hairdos were fake. All of a sudden, the questions came pouring down. Did my mother have her own hair or not? If so; why was she hiding her real hair then? What exactly was she trying to accomplish with this? To tell you all the truth; I have never asked my mother why she wore a wig. Also, I have never mustered the courage to ask her why she continues to wear a wig. Well, actually, it's no longer called wearing a wig. It's called wearing an extension, isn't it? I am very sure that my mother isn't bald or anything. I am most certainly convinced that her own natural hair must be beautiful. However, I cannot for the life in me understand why she keeps weaving her hair. My eldest sister has also been perming her natural hair ever since I could remember.

Quite recently, the American actor and comedian by the name of Chris Rock made a documentary called Good Hair. It was this particular documentary, which actually inspired me to write this article. This documentary is a must see for everybody. What I gathered from Chris Rock's documentary is that hair is such a big issue amongst our Black women. Black women, especially in the United States spend thousands of dollars on their hair. These monies are spent on perming their hair, weaving it, extending it and all the way to curling it. The documentary also exposed the excruciating ordeal of processing the hair with relaxers. Now, as we all know; relaxers are very poisonous. The chemical components, which are present in these hair relaxers are deadly to say the least. In fact, it's not even advisable to keep these relaxers near children because of the toxicity of these chemical components.

Shockingly enough, I saw in the documentary beautiful Black little girls, whose beautiful natural hairs were being processed with this toxic substance. And my question was; why? Some of our Black brothers were asked; do they ever get the chance to run their fingers through their women's hair the way that white folks do with their own hair or not? Some of them answered with a big NO. Others replied that they wouldn't even dare in fear of what might ensue. Of course, it's most understandable why our Black women wouldn't allow their husbands, or boy friends to touch their weaves. After all, a weave is very expensive to weave on if you ask them. See, I know that our women want to look beautiful to us and for themselves. However, who told them that their natural nappy hair isn't beautiful enough? And fellows; how do we want to see our ladies? Do we want to see them sporting their natural hair, or do we want to see them in weaves? Let's hear what you fellows and ladies have to say about this.