Good Hair by Chris Rock.
I requested this movie from the library several months ago. The way the library in Indianapolis works is that there are several branches. A lot of times they won't have what you want on the shelves. You go into your account on the computer, request what you want, and they send it from another library. The central library is downtown, and while I have never been there, I am guessing that is where the main quantity of books are stored.
Anyway, I have had Good Hair on request for several months. I was somewhere around number 60 to get it. It finally was available to me yesterday. My husband and I sat down to dinner in front of the television and watched it.
For those of you that do not know, Good Hair is a documentary that Chris Rock made. The idea was spawned by his little 3 (at the time) year old daughter. She came in the house and asked her father "Daddy, why don't I have good hair?" He was baffled at this statement.
He then proceeded to make a documentary. He talks about relaxers, weaves, natural hair, and the African American hair industry as a whole
A lot of the information I knew already. For example, a lot of the African American hair product industry is ran by large primarily White companies. The beauty supply shops are primarily Asian owned. I knew a lot of the hair came by India. What I did not know however, is that Indian women get their hair cut off in a religious ceremony. That hair goes to the highest bidder within the hair merchants. Another fact I did not know. Some people (beauticians) dealing in weaves make as much as doctors!
What kind of impacted me the most was the high school seniors talking. They were saying how natural hair as far as afros go, do not seem professional to them. They said that if you walk into a law firm, looking for a job with a huge afro on your head, you won't be taken seriously.
That statement gave me pause.
I consider myelf an IT professional. Since I have big chopped though, I have not had a job, I have not had an occasion to test this issue. I know for a fact though, smaller afros are considered professional, and even matronly. I have had interviews though, and some of them have gone really well. Could it be that my hair is the cause for me not getting a job?
Another thing that struck a chord in me was the little girls getting relaxers. One little girl, she was about 6 years old..maybe, talking about she's had relaxers for a long time.. and her mom gave her a texturizer once and it burnt off all her hair and so after that she started getting her relaxers professionally done.
A dermatologist was on there talking about how she gets phone calls and visits from moms who do not know how to deal with their childs hair, and so at age 1 1/2-2 they want to give them a relaxer. Your childs hair follicles are still growing and changing. Giving them a relaxer at that age can perminately damage their hair, their follicles, everything!
I am glad that I have had relaxers. I am glad that I am now natural. I feel like that when I have kids, and if I have a girl, I know what needs to be done to give her a healthy head of hair. I know what needs to be said to give her the confidence she will need to have in her hair.
All in all this was an interesting documentary. It was also hilarious because Chris Rock is just silly at times. It kind of opened my husbands eyes a bit as well.
I’ve never won blogging awards before :-)
How awesome is this?! Emily over at Family and Life in Las Vegas has awarded me with some awards 🙂
How vonderbar!You are to tell 7 things about yourself, but much like Emily, I hate odd numbers (ocd thing possibly?) So you get 6.
1. I love my dogs. If something happened to them, I may not make it through.
2. I am currently studying for my A+ computer certification. I try and make it through at least 3 chapters a day on the book I am using. I wanted to take it before I started school back up, but they didn't have any openings the Friday before. So I am taking it the week school starts on a Tuesday.
3. I discovered yesterday as I was conditioning my hair, that I am officially out of the TWA (teenie weenie afro) stage and into the medium afro stage. YAY ME!
4. COMPLETE. PRODUCT. JUNKIE.
5. I love clothes, makeup, and fashion...but I love a bargain even more.
6. I have lost 14 lbs in the past couple of weeks. I AM WELL ON MY WAY!! YAY!!!
Now, I must pass these awards to a couple of other people:
1. Black Girl with Long Hair - I enjoy her informative interviews with people as well as her thought provoking "what do you think?" articles
2. Fab Finds Under $50 - She is an Indiana girl like me, she has impeccible taste in fashion, and she loves a bargain as well
3. Beauty and the Bitch - They are just good clean snarky fun!
4. Mommy Loves Stilettos - She is honest, in your face, and unapologetic about it. I like her.. a lot.
Take your mama out all night and show her what it’s all about…
I am in a Scissor Sisters type mood as I type this my natural lovelies. Tonight I am going to a bachelorette party. I guess we are going to a drag show. It has been forever since I have been to one and I am totally looking forward to it. I looked up some different things to do with my TWA (teeny weeny afro) so that I could have something special. Some things would take me hours to master, and I should have probably before the day of the event. Oh well.
Something in the natural community has sparked my eye recently and I want to try it soon. It is called 'banding' It is kind of like stretching out your hair. I found a lovely tutorial of it on You Tube and I wanted to share it with you. Watch and learn.
Please make sure you watch it to the end and notice her incredible hair! Loving it! If I end up doing this, is this something you guys would want a video on? Let me know!
I am off to become beautiful! Ta Ta!
Espionage Cosmetics
