As an ex employee at a financial services firm (that will remain unnamed due to the general population's hatred) this is often true. I hate the use the word conform, but sometimes you gotta pay to play and WIN.
Slightly off topic, but is anyone else looking forward to Chris Rock's documentary, Good Hair?
Wow. There's an interesting correlation here - I work for a software company that deals with FINANCIAL SERVICES.
And Beaka, I totally agree with you, people of color (men AND women) are often the most judgmental when it comes to hair. There is a lady I work with who was also addicted to weaves. Just before Christmas, she took her weave out, and similar to me, the weave had done some damage to her hairline, and she hadn't permed her hair in a little while. Some of the other black people I worked with talked about her badly ALL DAY LONG - both men and women. I felt really bad for her, because I totally understand what she's going through. I tried to defend her, but they thought it was hilarious that she came to work with her hair looking "a hot a** mess".
I'd like to see Chris Rock's documentary, as well.
Last edited by grneyedmustang; 04-16-2009 at 08:48 PM.
This is hilarious! It is amazing how women (of all colors) bond over the subject of hair. I have been wondering for awhile what I should do with my relaxed hair that falls a few inches below my shoulders. My stylist told me to get braids but I just can't deal with that. From what I've heard, it takes SO long and is SO uncomfortable for the first couple of days. I'm kind of lazy about the hair. I wrap it at night and comb it down in the morning...period.
Also, it makes total sense that ethnic women would shy away from exercising because of their hair. When I got pregnant I PRAYED for a boy so I wouldn't have to deal with hot combing and what not.
But yeah, I used to put off working out in my perm (relaxer) days. I had a glued in weave and I would sweat my tracks out dancing to 50 Cent. So for a couple of years, I probably got to my highest weight because of that. Now I'm braided. I chopped all my hair off in a 'Waiting to Exhale' moment back in 2006 and been natural every since. Haven't quite gotten the nerve to wear my real hair...though my new natural pic is kind of on the cute side. It's growing out to a point where I can wear it, but my hair is NAPPY. No way way around that. Though I got this massively good detangler that may make it possible for me to rock my Angela Davis fro.
But yeah, wearing braids makes working out with my hair easier...though since I don't get perms, all that sweating makes my braids get fuzzy super quick. I get my hair braided every 6 to 8 weeks...and yeah, there are times when I have to put off paying my car insurance to get it done. For shame!
I haven't heard of it. What is it about and when is it coming out??
From a review site:
"When Chris Rock’s daughter, Lola, came up to him crying and asked, “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?” the bewildered comic committed himself to search the ends of the earth and the depths of black culture to find out who had put that question into his little girl's head! Director Jeff Stilson’s camera followed the funnyman, and the result is Good Hair, a wonderfully insightful and entertaining, yet remarkably serious, documentary about African American hair culture.An exposé of comic proportions that only Chris Rock could pull off, Good Hair visits hair salons and styling battles, scientific laboratories, and Indian temples to explore the way black hairstyles impact the activities, pocketbooks, sexual relationships, and self-esteem of black people. Celebrities such as Ice-T, Kerry Washington, Nia Long, Paul Mooney, Raven Symoné, Maya Angelou, and Reverend Al Sharpton all candidly offer their stories and observations to Rock while he struggles with the task of figuring out how to respond to his daughter’s question. What he discovers is that black hair is a big business that doesn’t always benefit the black community and little Lola’s question might well be bigger than his ability to convince her that the stuff on top of her head is nowhere near as important as what is inside."
No release date is set yet, it premiered @ Sundance.
I see that we all have the same problem with the gym and keeping our hair nice and "tight". It's hard. I went natural twice and loved it but because my hair cut was a curly bob that was tapered in the back, it was alot maintenance. Also, I hate the in between moments. My natural hair gets frizzy when it dries so I have to put a pomade or light gel on it. Do you know how icky that feels after working out. So I went back to using a mild relaxer because my hair is a tapered bob cut (again) and I am exercising alot. I really I don't have time to mess with my hair. Unfortunately the mild relaxer does not completely straighten my hair so I can still go curly in the summer time. I used a texturizer in the past which was a waste of time because my hair is already curly and it didn't make it any better. So I left it alone. I love braids (micros) but don't always have the money to keep it up.
I don't subscribe to that good hair/bad hair nonsense. I hate that-drives me nutz! I don't judge any woman based on anything, that's jealousy to me or a lack of confidence that I can't get with. I cheer women on because we spend too much time hating on each other and being shallow. But make no mistake about it, if they will check your credit for a job, then they will check your style for a job as well. I say rock your style, be you! Whatever works for you, thats great do that. But as for me and my hair I can't do braids anymore, I just can't. So, I'm gonna keep wrapping my hair, washing and conditioning it like always...
ya know it's interesting differences between cultures and races and sexes that other ppl perhaps don't know about.
i remember when i first discovered the importance of a hairline to black ppl. i was fascinated. i remember a friend telling me that when he was in grade school they used to pick on the other boys that didn't have perfect hairlines. apparently it was a very big deal. i had no idea.
Ladies, I am not a woman of color but I have hair issues and always have had. My hair is course in texture and has lots of natural curls and waves that are of no predictable pattern. I also cannot wash my hair daily because my scalp and hair are just to dry. I have to straighten it with a Chi after blowdrying it which is also time consuming. One of the things that work very well in my hair is oil. Typically, I saturate my hair in coconut oil and leave it on overnight, then wash the next morning. It's just a lot of work. I have been seeing a spray olive oil in the hair section. Is this worth me buying in your opinion? What result should I expect?
Last edited by Thighs Be Gone; 04-17-2009 at 03:00 PM.
TBG - it depends on what your hair issues are. If it's dryness you are concerned about, spray olive oil could be really helpful. Dry hair is why ethnic women tend not to wash our hair daily. A) Alot of us use relaxers in our hair every six to eight weeks and our hair can't take the processing AND daily heat from a blow dryer and curling iron -- we can't use a circular brush while we dry in order to curl our ends. B) Our hair is naturally much dryer than other types of hair. So, I wash my hair only once per week. I also use a spray-in oil periodically because, after a few days, my hair looks really dry and brittle. The olive oil might work really well to moisturize your hair after a quick wash after a workout.
gaarmy, I wash every 5th day...I am so tempted to do a relaxer as I have never done it before and wonder if it would help my hair at all..some women are getting these Japanese thermal conditioning treatments put on their hair but a local woman's hair fell out afterwards...plus, it's a very expensive procedure..once when I was a teen a hairdresser talked me into PERMING it..OMG!....it was awful on me..the dryness is an issue which is why I do the overnight coconut soaks..I am also hoping to find something to make my hair look shiny and healthy..thanks for the advice...I think I am going to go and get a bottle
TBH -- Save your money. I got that Japanese hair straightener with a friend (she's got very curly, fine red hair) and for me, it was gone in 6 weeks. Hers lasted six months, but her hair grows very slow. Mine doesn't and they warn that if you don't touch-up, it will cause breakage where the hair texture differs. Not something I had to worry about since it didn't stay in. Disappointing, but not surprising for me since there has never been a relaxer made by man that could tame my hair for any period of time. They just don't take. My latest hairdresser (and BFF) Mike is Hawaiian and we have similar texture (granted mine is much heavier, thicker, and coarser than his) so I just do what he does. I haven't relaxed since I cut all my hair off a few years ago, but using oil on my hair is the only thing that keeps it in check and it's all I need.
In conjuction with the soaks, you should rub some of the coconut oil through your soaking wet hair before you get out of the shower and use it as a leave-in. That's what I do, and I haven't had a split end in years. It's especially impressive considering I haven't had the ends trimmed in three years (since i've been growing it out from a 1" pixie cut, it's now waist length) and use a 400 degree F flat iron.
Cool thread ! Has anyone used the mixed chicks products, if so do they work? Does anyone take hair vitamins? I've heard about using coconut oil for cooking but never thought about putting it on my hair before! I'm going to have to try that sometime...
Cake, idk if you still watch this thread, but your mom suggested I check it out because I got micro braids just 3 days ago. Thank you for starting such an informative thread. And thanks to all the ladies here for sharing!
I personally prefer micro braids for their easy maintenance (I'm lazy & don't like to comb my hair in the morning for work), but since deciding to workout I was faced with the dilemma of what I was going to do with my hair. Since I get micros once a year it was about time for them, but after the 2-3 months of having them are over, I don't know what I'm gonna do.
! Has anyone used the mixed chicks products, if so do they work? Does anyone take hair vitamins? I've heard about using coconut oil for cooking but never thought about putting it on my hair before! I'm going to have to try that sometime...
