Last night I was
watching Chris Rock’s documentary, “Good Hair.” For those of you who haven’t
seen it, the movie centers around the derogatory term “good hair” amongst the
black community and asks, what is considered good hair? Rock explores the
topics of weaves and relaxers and the billion dollar industry behind these
products. Naturally, (no pun intended) this got me thinking, are we slaves to
our hair?
One of the actresses interviewed
in the documentary, Tracie Thoms, goes so far as to say that “natural hair is
freedom.” Could such a bold statement be true?
I’m sitting here
watching this movie feeling so empowered to wear my natural hair and love myself
the way I am when suddenly I get halfway through the movie and Chris Rock says,
“If and when my daughters ever decide to buy hair.”
Immediately I thought
IF? What does he mean if? After this whole documentary, wouldn’t he absolutely
protest against his young daughters ever modifying their hair and forever being
enslaved to a weave?
It took me a while to
come to my senses and realize that people shouldn’t be judged for whether they
want straight hair, curly hair, hair that comes from someone else, or whatever!
I myself don’t wear a
weave but I do straighten my hair. In fact I don’t even want to be seen with my
naturally, wavy, poofy hair. People are shocked when they find out my hair is
naturally curly. Does that make me a slave toward my hair?
I soon realized that
when it comes to beauty, women should have the freedom to look however they
want in order for them to feel beautiful and they should have the ability to do
so without judgment. Whether its hair, makeup, plastic surgery, etc. These
beauty products should not be used to hide or change one’s beauty but enhance
it.
Most girls would agree
that beauty is defined by what truly what lies within a person but at the end
of the day beauty products are there to enhance what you naturally have not cover it. Want
to show off your gorgeous eyes, those false lashes will definitely draw
attention. Feel like wearing your hair in sleek fashion? Go for it!
There isn’t one right
way or wrong way to express yourself. So long as you are not hiding behind your
hair and makeup, then do as you please. I feel as if the point of this movie
was not to have every woman throw out their weaves and dump their relaxers but
rather open our eyes to the fact that we shouldn’t use our hair to fit into a
mold of what society deems as beautiful. We have the choice of how we want to
look.
So are we slaves to our
hair? The truth is I don’t know but that’s not the bigger picture. What I’m
trying to say is that if you want to go to extreme lengths to get your hair a
certain way then do it, you certainly have the right, but just know that your
hair doesn’t define you. Don’t let your hair control you. If you want if shiny
and free flowing locks, 365 days a year that’s fine just as long as you know
that if there comes a day that your straightening iron breaks and the salon is
closed you can walk down the street knowing you look fabulous, natural hair and
all.
image courtesy of ( http://ko-te.com/en/beauty/do-you-think-about-keratin-hair-repair-try-firstly-good-hair-masks)
