Chris Rock talks good hair but so do some good books

 

Rock is not the first to tackle the issue of African-American women and their feelings about their hair and the use of the term "good hair" to mean hair more like European hair.

October 2009

Chris Rock appeared on the Oprah Show last week promoting his new documentary Good Hair, which examines the lengths black women go to to keep their hair looking more like the hair of Europeans.

He's said he decided to do the documentary, which opens October 9, after a conversation with his little girl who appeared to have some hang-ups about not having long, straight hair.

On the same Oprah show, Beyonce Knowles's sister Solange also appeared, saying that their mother, a beautician, taught her daughters to not use the term "good hair." That all healthy hair is good hair.

Oprah also revealed some of her hair issues. She said that sometimes her hair needs a rest, and so she's done weaves, braids, and chemical relaxers which involves lots of blow drying.

Rock is not the first to tackle the issue of African-American women and their feelings about their hair and the use of the term "good hair" to mean hair more like European hair. How to care for African-American hair and attitudes toward black women choosing to wear their hair in natural styles such as Afros, braids, twist, or dreads is a topic addressed on many blogs, and in magazine articles. There's even a website, Nappturality.com, that talks natural hair for black women.

Here's YouTube video from Rock's documentary.

 

In addition, the African-American section of many bookstores carries multiple books on black hair care and perceptions about hair. Here's a list of five.

Good Hair: For Colored Girls Who've Considered Weaves When the Chemicals Became Too Ruff by by Lonnice Brittenum Bonner (Three Rivers Press, 1994, paperback, 112 pgs, $9.95)

Bonner is also the author of Nice Dreads. Her book, Good Hair, while sharing the same title as Rock's documentary, is a classic still in print since its initial release 15 years ago.

The extended title, "For Colored Girls Who've Considered Weaves When the Chemicals Became Too Ruff" is a spoof of the title of Ntoke Shange's famous play, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf."

Booklist's review:

In this funny, funky, and eminently practical guide to hair care for African American women, Bonner shares many of her own Bad Hair Days (and weeks and months) and her experiments with weaves and wigs and braids and Jheri curls; what's more, she illustrates her text with several dozen photos of the results of those experiments--and the healthier alternatives she now recommends.

Bonner's basic advice to readers is to understand the structure and composition of African hair and find styles that take advantage of its natural curliness instead of injuring it with strong chemicals and heat in an effort to change its nature.

Good Hair covers grooming tools, shampooing, conditioning, and daily maintenance; suggests substituting light texturizing for perming; describes newer wet-set styling approaches; and offers pragmatic "lifestyle" advice about coping with humidity, wind, and hot and cold weather. A useful contribution to readers' self-esteem--and to libraries' fashion and beauty collections. (Mary Carroll for Booklist)

Going-Natural: How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair by Mireille Liong-a-kong (Sabi Wiri Inc, 2004, illustrated paperback, 110 pgs, $12.00)

Clutch (Magazine): Tell Clutch readers about your choice to go natural?

Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong: The short answer is my hair’s health I didn’t want to become bald. When my hair started breaking I thought it was my fault because hairdressers would always say something different. In fact I didn’t know much about hair or how you should care for it.

All I knew was that at a certain age we had to relax our hair to keep it manageable and although I wasn’t against the look I never liked the process. I hated going to get my hair done. It took too much time and I couldn’t stand the burning. (From Clutch Magazine interview w/author)

Thank God I'm Natural--The Ultimate Guide to Caring for and Maintaining Natural Hair by Chris-Tia Donaldson (TgiNesis Press, 2009, paperback, 296 pgs, $19.95)

... a must-read for any black woman who has suffered hair loss or breakage caused by relaxers -- or has grown tired of spending thousands of dollars and their entire Saturday afternoons frying their kinky tresses into submission.

Full of personal tales -- of hair disasters and ultimate successes, (this book) offers thorough and extremely modern and up to date information -- and a plethora of tips to help women go natural the right way. Featuring the advice of celebrity stylists for Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu (among others), readers will get all the information they ve always needed -- to look good on the outside and most importantly, feel good on the inside.

You won't want to do your hair again until you've read this lifesaving, reference book and heartfelt narrative from cover to cover. (publisher's description)

Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America by Ayana Byrd (St. Martin's Griffin, 2002, paperback, 208 pgs, $14.95)

Whether it's hip-hop diva Lil' Kim's "weave of the week" or activist Angela Davis's Afro, black hair evinces the power to set trends and define icons. In this entertaining and concise survey, Byrd (a research chief for Vibe) and Tharps (a reporter for Entertainment Weekly) revel in the social, cultural and economic significance of African-American hair from 1400 to the present.

The opening chapter chronicles the rise of the slave trade, revealing intriguing facts about the significance of hair in African cultureAsuch as that only royalty donned hats or hairpieces, and recently widowed Wolof women stopped maintaining their hair as a sign of their mourning.

The authors contextualize issues familiar to African-Americans while explaining black hair culture to the uninformed, so readers who don't already know what "the kitchen" refers to (hair at the nape of the neck, usually the "nappiest") will soon find out. Photos and illustrations are put to effective use, though amusing charts such as "Five Famous Men with Equally Famous Hair" and the "Black Hair Glossary" are out of sync with the text.

Meanwhile, significant figures, like Madame C.J. Walker and Nathaniel "The Bush Doctor" Mathis, are revisited in detail in various chapters, resulting in unnecessary repetition.

But these are small quibbles with a book that successfully balances popular appeal with historical accuracy, adeptly exploring the roots of pervasive intraracial discrimination while explaining, for example, how the much-maligned Jheri Curl ever became a fad. Agent, Marie Brown. (Feb.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. (Publishers Weekly)

Hair Raising: Beauty, Culture, and African American Women by Noliwe M. Rooks (Rutgers University Press, 1996, paperback, 176 pgs, $18.95) A more academic look:

Rooks takes an interesting look at the social and political implications that hair has held for African American women.

The six chapters discuss hair and its connection to black pride, race, advertising, gender, and women's magazines. She has used advertisements from different periods to trace representations of hair, which she then analyzes to show the political implications for women.

She notes that discussions of hair in a political context have taken place in the mainstream press; however, the similarities and differences between the hair of women from the dominant culture and the hair of women of African American descent have never been fully explored.

Rooks digs deep to describe how beauty and culture have politicized African American women and demonstrates that Western definitions of beauty are often not endorsed by African American women.

Although Rooks' work is written in an academic style, the content is so compelling, readers will be intrigued by the quotes and footnotes rather than overwhelmed. (Lillian Lewis for Booklist)

African-American female bloggers are talking about Rock's take on hair. One is Tami at What Tami Said: "Be Very Afraid," and another is Afrobella, who is talking about Rock's appearance on Oprah, "Oprah and Good Hair."

This Black Sista also writes about owning her hair at her blog, and at Diary of an Anxious Black Woman, the word is "So, It's All About Hair Again, Is it?"

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