Why Black Women Straighten Their Hair.

Photo Source: MoptopMaven

I recently googled "Why Black Women Straighten Their Hair". The results of my search were somewhat expected and shocking. Many said because of self hatred, they want to look like white women, to make their hair more manageable, etc. Although, these maybe reasons behind why some black women straighten their hair, I wanted to get to the root cause of the issue at hand.

I found this study called "Why African American Women Try to Obtain "Good Hair"" conducted by Whitney Bellinger of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Although, this is a small study of 15 African American women, I think it provides great insight into the reasoning of why African American women straighten their hair.

I will provide you with a brief history into the psyche of why hair is a deep rooted issue among our race. In early African nations hair was considered a symbol of status, ancestry and identity. Nothing has changed from hundreds of years ago....today the most followed and celebrated natural hair vloggers and bloggers are those with big and long hair. Am I right? Or am I right? In the celebrity world, the most popular celebrities set hair-fashion trends and some women even follow their every move...Rihanna for example. Let's face it, in our culture hair is a BIG DEAL. This is not something that we picked up over the years. It has been ingrained in our DNA.

When slaves were sold and packed on the ships to sail to America. The slave owners shaved the heads of the slaves for sanitary purposes. They looked at the texture of black hair as being like wool and unsanitary. The shaving of the head in the mind of the slaves, stripped them of their identity and status. To further complicate matters, slave masters referred to the hair of their slaves as wool and would encourage slaves to groom their hair. Out of this formed the tradition of constant grooming. Sunday's were the days when slaves were free from work and would have time to groom their hair. Women that were adept at braiding would be encouraged in the trade and were praised in the community.  (Does this sound familiar to you? Was Saturday's/Sunday's the day you would spend all day at the hair salon with your mom? Did everyone fight to get an appointment with the best hairstylist in town?) As the saying goes, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." As technology and education advanced and we become more creative, the relaxer was invented. The relaxer allowed women with kinky curly hair to straighten their locs and become more like Europeans.

Fast forward to the future, one hundred years later, we see that most women do not know why they have a relaxer at all. In the study, most of the women interviewed admitted that they never knew their hair texture because it was relaxed at such a young age and they continued to get relaxer because that's what their mother did. Like mother, like daughter? For generations, we have been relaxing our hair and had no idea why were doing it in the first place. Crazy right?

The great thing about the Natural Hair Movement is the fact that tons of women are embracing their natural beauty in turn changing the image of African beauty. This is seen through many mediums, for instance, Oprah sporting her semi-natural hair on the cover of O Magazine, Viola Davis wearing her TWA (tweeny weena afro) at the Oscars and Vogue Italia featuring natural hair models in their campaigns. Although, natural hair is being embraced in the media there are still many women struggling to tame their hair into a looser or less coarse texture. Self acceptance is the first step on the road to happiness. If you idolize a natural hair blogger or vlogger, please keep in mind that your hair will never look like theirs. In fact, your hair may not achieve the longer length that you want but be thankful that you have hair and try to make the most of your texture. My hair is not perfect and has a mind of it's own but it is my hair and I love it! It may not reach down the middle of my back but I love every inch of it.

Embrace your natural beauty and do not let anyone tell you that the way God created you is unacceptable! 

History of Black Hair: Misconceptions, Styles & Myths

Since it is Black History month and all, I thought it would be worth exploring the history of black hair. Including misconceptions, styles, and myths that have been passed on from generation to generation in the black community.

Hot combs or straightening combs---the process by which hair is temporarily straightened with the use of a metal hot comb. The hot comb was invented in France and used by women with ultra curly hair to obtain straight locks. In the 1900's, Madame C.J. Walker altered the hot comb by widening the teeth. Today the hot comb has been revolutionized into the flat iron.

Greasing the scalp---if you're black I'm sure you grew up with several jars of grease in your home. As black people we love us some grease ha. I remember slabbing on tons of blue grease to give my hair that added shine and asking my mom to grease my scalp. Greasing the scalp is one of the biggest misconceptions in the black community because many believe that greasing the scalp helps the hair grow or reduces dandruff.

Jheri Curls-----I am LMBO thinking about the Jheri Curl couple in 'Coming to America'. This was a classic look in the black community during the 1970's and 1980's. Invented by Jheri Redding, the hairstyle gave the wearer a glossy, loosely curled look (Wash-n-go's can be seen as the modern day jheri curls).

Mirco Braids & Box Braids---When I think of Mirco Braids I think of old school Brandy....Box Braids 'Poetic Justice' Janet Jackson. Both hairstyles can last for months and include braiding hair extensions to separated sections of the hair. Micro braids and box braids are responsible for imitation alopecia in many black women today. This style was very popular in the 90's. 

Conrows---- I would like to nominate Snoop dogg as the King of Cornrows. He is the only thug I know that can pull this look off without questioning his masculinity. Cornrows is another african american hairstyle that was popular in the 90's among Rappers, Hip Hop and R&B singers.

Hi -Top Fade-----Two words "House Party"! Kid had a serious hi-top fade in the movie House Party but for real tho...that fade did not do anything for him. The hi-top fade was popular during the late 80's and early 90's and symbolizes the golden era of Hip Hop. 

Relaxers--the first relaxer was created in 1877 by Garret A. Morgan....and the rest is history. Relaxers permanently change the structure of curly, kinky hair to straight hair. Today relaxers are referred to in the natural hair community as 'creamy crack'.


Natural Hair-----Mid to late 2000's is when the explosion happened. A lot of black women had worn their hair natural but not in the increasing numbers that we are seeing today. Sales of relaxer kits declined by 36% last year, further validating the increasing trend of black women going natural. I believe that this is not a trend at all but is here to stay. As we become more health conscious and environmentally friendly more and more women will refrain from using harsh chemicals. 

Last but not least, is the infamous Little girl 1,001 Barrettes, we all have a picture in our Easter or Christmas dress smiling with a thousand little colored barrettes in our hair. I pledge that whenever I have a little girl I will not overload her hair with barrettes.....

I hope you enjoyed the post!