Bonner - Good Hair: For Colored Girls Whove Considered Weaves When the Chemicals Became Too Ruff

Copyright 1990, 1991 by Lonnice Brittenum Bonner

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Crown Publishers, Inc., 201 East 50th Street, New York, New York 10022. Member of the Crown Publishing Group.

Random House, Inc. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland

Originally published by Sapphire Publications in 1992.

CROWN TRADE PAPERBACKS and colophon are trademarks of Crown Publishers, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bonner, Lonnice Brittenum

Good hair: for colored girls whove considered weaves when the chemicals became too ruff/by Lonnice Brittenum Bonner.

p. cm.

Reprint. Originally published: Oakland, CA: Sapphire Publications, 1991.

Includes bibliographical references.

1. Hairdressing of African-Americans. I. Title.

TT972.B65 1994 93-42027

646.72408996073dc20

eISBN: 978-0-307-83007-4

v3.1

The author wishes to thank the following people for their support.

My parents, Lonnie and Dorothy Brittenum

my brother, Demoine C. Brittenum

Martha R. Blanding

Mary R. Blanding

Robert O. Blanding

Fred and Nellie Bonner

Capril Bonner-Thomas

Angel Braestrup

Lawrence Braxton

Milicent Chamble

Edward and Bernice Daniels

Gerald and Patricia Davis

Luella Davis

William Drummond and Faith Fancher

Tammerlin Drummond

Mary Mach

Doris G. Worsham

Thelma Simmons

Peggy Dillard Toone

DeKar Lawson, Lee Priestly, Jennifer Ashby

PHOTO CREDITS : Victor Hall, Auintard Henderson

COVER GRAPHICS : Cassandra Chavez

COVER DESIGN : Lonnice Brittenum Bonner

LAYOUT : Canterbury Press, Berkeley, California

FOR
MY PARENTS

and

DEREK
who would not
let me quit

E very Black woman wants good hair. We already have it, but most of us claim it is too much trouble to care for unless the texture is radically or chemically altered. Many women would prefer to have chronically damaged, unflattering hair, styled in what they believe is an acceptable manner. This is unfortunate.

What does good hair mean? It means hair that is the best it can be, hair thats healthy looking, a natural adornment.

Notice that I didnt refer to hair of a certain texture or grade as if our hair should be graded like a piece of USDA choice meat. If you can manage and enjoy your hair without going though major changes, then Id say its pretty good.

I used to think only Black women with so-called good hair were the luckiest women in the world. You know what I mean. Hair thats naturally straight, loosely curled or waved. Those of us with the springy African hair were banished to bad hair purgatory, doomed to spend eternity trying to make it look good. Then, theres the faction that has deemed anything less than straight hair, to be political hair. Let me translate: political equals militant and we dont want to offend the wrong people, do we? Men dont like women whose hair looks like that!

For those of us blessed with African hair, this program can really get on your nerves. Hey, I just want to look good. Why does looking good mean Ive gotta look like someone else? All rationalizing aside, isnt imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Youd think that the last thing wed want to do is spend lots of time and hard earned cash doing bad hair imitations. I mean, whats a sista ta do?

First off, knowledge is power and what you dont know about your own hair can hurt you, or at least your pocketbook. Consider this: Black hair care is a billion dollar business. Also consider the fact that white people are very aware of our desire for so called good hair. Because Blacks tend to spend more on hair care than whites, white owned companies have already begun to target the Black hair care market, which now grosses more than $1 billion a year and there are no signs of decline.

But even though Black women spend a lot of money on hair care it seems that money cant buy miracles. So many ladies have ruined their hair with improperly applied chemical straighteners, curly perms and dyes that someone figured theyd buy glue-on bangs if made available.

Were not talking about Black women with medical or dermatological problems that affect hair growth. Were talking about healthy, intelligent women who believe that there is basically one way to wear their hairstraightenedand are overwhelmed by all the chemical services that purportedly work miracles and have a hard time finding professionals who take time to do the job right.

Just try counting the ads for hair growth aids or quick fix weaves and wigs in any magazine or media oriented toward Black women. How many ladies do you know whove suddenly switched hairdressers midstream because someone whispered those magic wordsGirlfriend, my hair has really grown since Ive been going to Tyrell. And he gets you out quick!

But for all the time and considerable cash we spend on our hair, you can see millions of sisters with, well, let us say serious hair problems. Let me give you a few highlights from my own experiences:

When I let a hair stylist convince me that cutting one side of my hair radically shorter than the other would make it grow in faster and thicker than the uncut side. I am ashamed to say I was a working journalist at the time, because bogus was written all over this one. And no, it didnt work.

When I wore braids for one and a half years and grew a shoulder-length head of hair I literally thanked God for, only to screw it right up with a chemical straightener on top of a home curly perm. Go ahead and snicker, but you know women whove done this if you havent already done it yourself

The times Ive gone to work with big, dark burn marks on my forehead and neck, where my curling iron slipped. If my hair had been long enough to hide my forehead and neck, it would have been bearable. The shame of this was that I got the ultra short relaxed style so I wouldnt have to fool with curling irons and rollers in the first place.

How about the time I went into a salon for a mild relaxer and wedge cut and came out with the tightest, greasiest curly permI cant bear to go on, it was so awful. My hair just kind of sat up on the back of my head like it was disgusted. My husband, a very tolerant man, refused to touch it. My hair was so parched, it drank quarts of curl activator. I couldnt wait until I got a couple inches of growth so I could cut the greasy mess off. Another complete head of hair bit the dust.