“Good Hair” Receives Some Criticism

by Alynda Wheat

Chris Rock’s documentary, Good Hair, opened Friday to mixed, but frequently positive, reviews. I’m going to take the painful stance of suggesting that’s because there aren’t a lot of black women in the film reviewing community. Good Hair is often funny, fascinating, and raises a few key ideas. What it doesn’t do is offer a cogent, relevant analysis of why black women relax their hair or wear hair extensions — which was supposed to have been the point.

Some background: Rock says he did the film because his daughter came to him one day, upset, that she didn’t have “good hair.” This apparently prompted the comedian to begin an odyssey that took him from the hair salons of New York City to a hair show in Atlanta, from Indian hair-shaving ceremonies, to the Beverly Hills salons that buy the Indian hair. But in all that conversation what you never hear are opposing viewpoints. Nearly everyone in Chris Rock’s movie seems to agree on a few critical ideas (that can happen when you limit your sample). Frankly, as a black woman, I sat through Good Hair with one dominant thought: Who are these people? Their opinions rarely represented my own, or those of anyone I know. I am but one voice in this vast, complicated community, but I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t say something. Here, a few of the ways Good Hair gets it entirely wrong.

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Boycott Non-Black Haircare Products!

Atlanta, GA October 5, 2009 - Professor Devin Robinson, an economics professor at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA and best-selling author of Taking it Back: How to Become a Successful Black Beauty Supply Store Owner, will lead a one week long boycott against Non- Black Owned Beauty Supply stores.

Robinson stated, "Blacks make up 96% of the consumers of these stores, yet represent less than 5% of the retail ownership." As a previous owner of 3 locations, Robinson understands the industry inside out and offers comprehensive solutions for Blacks to recapture this industry. "The problem is with the distributors. Distributors are mainly Non-Blacks and they handpick who they will distribute products to. This oftentimes leaves aspiring black owners disenfranchised", said Robinson.

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Does Michele Obama’s Hair Matter?

When the First Lady attended a country-music event in July without a single strand of hair falling below her jawline, the blogosphere exploded with outbursts ranging from adoration to vitriol. Things settled down only when her deputy press secretary clarified that there had been no First Haircut. In the aftermath, a didactic post on MichelleObamaWatch.com proclaimed that anyone "familiar with the amazing versatility of black hair" would have known that the new summer look was simply "pinned up." (See pictures of Michelle Obama's hairstyles.)

Many Americans have dismissed this hair hubbub as simply more media-driven noise - like the chatter about Michelle Obama's sleeveless dresses, J. Crew cardigans, stocking-free legs or, for that matter, recent (shocking!) decision to wear shorts in the Arizona heat. But for African-American women like me, hair is something else altogether - singular in its capacity to command interest and carry cultural baggage. The obsession with Michelle's hair took hold long before Inaugural Ball gowns were imagined, private-school choices scrutinized or organic gardens harvested. It's not that she's done anything outrageous. The new updo wasn't really all that dramatic a departure from variations we've seen on her before (the "flip-out," the "flip-under," the long-ago abandoned "helmet"). Still, her hair is the catalyst for a conversation that begins with style but quickly transcends outward appearance and ultimately transcends Michelle herself - a symbol for African-American women's status in terms of beauty, acceptance and power. (See pictures of Michelle Obama's style evolution.)

The hair buzz heated up right after the Democratic National Convention. Websites dedicated to black hair posted and reposted a Philadelphia Inquirer article addressing what was presented as an urgent question: Were the silky strands that moved so gracefully with each tip of her head during her Denver speech straightened with chemicals or with heat alone? How exactly did she metamorphose what we know was once tightly coiled hair?

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Hot Hair or a Hot Mess?

The Bald & the Beautiful

When Solange first shaved off her hair there were a lot of haters talking ISH, but I liked it from the jump. She didn’t just shave off her sides (which is the new trend in Hollywood) she took it a step further and shaved her entire head, and she wasn’t copying Amber Rose because she shaved her hair a few years back when no one knew who Amber was.

The newest celeb to shave off her locks, at least some of them, is Keyshia Cole. Keyshia switched her hair-do up a little by adding colorful stars to her sides, and I must say I am loving the look.

Trailer for Chris Rock’s Good Hair

Earlier I posted an article about the right way for us to take care of our children’s hair so I found it only fit to show the trailer for Chris Rock’s new documentary called Good Hair.  Click the image below to watch the trailer, and it definitely seems like a must go see.

The Right Way to Take Care of Your Child’s Hair

Your little girl is an angel most of the time... until you sit her down between your knees to comb her hair. Then it's tears and squeals and tantrum time.

I don't have kids myself, but trust me, I know. I was once that little girl. And I can tell you from experience, there's a right way and a wrong way to care for your child's hair.

I first learned about this story via The Root, in Teresa Wiltz's essay Beauty, the Brush, and Black Girl Pain. I can barely stand to watch this now-infamous YouTube video (click the picture of the little girl to watch), which raises more questions than it answers.

For example, does this mother think she's actually making an efficient and effective attempt at combing her little girl's hair? Because she isn't. In fact, she's doing just the opposite.

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Solange Takes it All Off

Seems that Solange is the newest celeb to shave off her locks, except she took an extra step and shaved it all off.  I am definitely loving this new “natural” fad and I think it is better than a head full of weave.

Michelle Obama’s New Look

The First Lady Michelle Obama was rocking a new hair-do last night at the White House’s Country Music Concert.  Now I really don’t know if she actually chopped off some of her locks or if her hair is just pinned up in the back, but I do know I am liking the new look.  So what do you think, is this hair-do a “do” or “don’t”???

Told Ya So... Weave's Save Lives!

A lady who was attacked by her ex-boyfriend claims her weave saved her life! Check it out above!