Good Hair

Recently we watched this documentary produced & narrated by comedian Chris Rock. We learned so much, even my brother, Joel, learned something even though he knew way more than Jai & I. It was funny & scary at the same time.

Really I am totally ignorant about black hair ... because I have "good" hair. I feel fortunate, but also disappointed at what seems unethical & criminal. It's outrageous what is happening in the hair industry, for black people in particular. Unbelievable how much it costs to maintain hair - either to get relaxer &/or perm or to have a weave. I had no idea!

It's a huge business, most not owned by black people unfortunately. We all make choices about how to spend our time & money, but I wish we didn't think our kinky, frizzy, curly hair was bad & went to such monetary & chemically dangerous means to change it to a perceived idea of goodness. Black hair is beautiful in whatever form it is.

Julia's hair is a combination of both of our hair. Some parts is more smooth, others have more curl. We've ignored it for the most part which is what I usually do with my hair & Jai, too, since he keeps his short. We're both very low maintenance with hair. However, not sure if that's the best approach with Julia's hair since it's different.

We bought some detangler product by Kiss My Face (like their stuff) & Julia liked it, but it really wasn't the right stuff. I asked some black female friends for suggestions & got some ideas, but didn't do anything. So last week after trying to brush the "hot mess" that ignoring created, I bought a "curl moisturizing styling" product by Tiny Twirls (part of Kinky Kurls), with a photo of a little brown skinned girl on the front. I also bought a new brush as we think that was part of the problem. It seems to work, Julia is more agreeable to us brushing her hair - she likes to hold the bottle. Her hair is softer & now we usually pull it back in an afro puff which she enjoys saying.

"Puff." : )