To the ROOT

“but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering.” - 1 Corinthians 11:15

Ah, hair. I remember my mother having to hold me down when I was small to violently yank a comb through my twelve inch-long dark brown locks. There were areas on my scalp I'm sure a bird could have easily laid eggs on, the rat's nest evidence of my childhood play. The pain. The misery. The tangles! So many tears...all in the name of good hair. I'm shocked I made it to the pre-teen years without a razor brought to my scalp from a mother's desperation! If ever in the same situation, I won't hesitate to execute a good militant style shave to my children's heads; they'll thank me for it someday, I'm sure.

There are a lot of politics surrounding hair – the business of hair, in particular. The supply barely reaches the demand, and women, especially, can see the hurt on their wallets. Apparently, the “hair” industry is a six billion dollar business, but can you really put a price on your head? Spending money on my hair is something I never really thought about before in terms of annual expenses. Looking into my cabinet, I counted all of the “hair” products I own: I have the general hair spray, hair styling gel and mousse. But then I also noticed some blow-drying heat protection spray, “piecing” cream and “shine” glaze. Easily, each of these probably cost between ten and fifteen dollars a piece. So rounding up, that's close to $100.00 just in styling products. Not to mention I own a blow dryer, three different curling irons, a straightening iron and a wave rod.

Then there is all the maintenance: hair cuts, hair wash, etc. For me, a hair cut usually runs around $30.00, if I'm lucky. My shampoo and conditioner are about ten dollars each for a family-sized bottle, which will last me about a month. Since my hair is extra long – I go through much more than the average person. Additionally, I hate to even mention the $35.00 bottle of designer “volume” conditioner I bought because I heard Kourtney Kardashian used it. And did it make my hair any more voluminous? I've yet to notice the distinction. Sigh...impulse buy. Still, now we're talking annual hair costs upwards of $400.00. That sounds hefty, right?

Apparently, it's NOTHING compared to the annual cost of a black woman's hair.

When I watched the previews for Chris Rock's Good Hair, I was thrilled to see someone finally doing an expose on the black hair industry – and who else better than Chris Rock to bust the commercial enterprise wide open? As many interviewees explained in the film, white people are just curious. There is so much I don't know about black hair maintenance, how could I be anything but?

Good Hair is a documentary film by comedian Chris Rock that shows a behind-the-scenes look at black hair and the industry surrounding it. Rock visits beauty salons, barbershops, conventions, scientific laboratories and Indian temples to explore the way hairstyles impact the activities, pocketbooks, sexual relationships and self-esteem of the black community. He also interviews celebrities such as Nia Long, Lauren London and Raven Symone for the inside dish on weave-ology. We learn from these charming celebrities that they rely mostly on weaves, which range in price from $1,000 to $5,000, not including installation and regular maintenance. Ice-T, Nia Long, Paul Mooney, Raven-Symone, Maya Angelou, Salt-n-Pepa, Eve and Reverend Al Sharpton also talk about their experiences with black hair in the movie prompted by Rock's little girl asking him, “Daddy, why don't I have good hair?”

$5,000 is a shocking price tag for good hair. Ice-T justifies the expense, “might as well do what makes the woman happy. If the woman ain't happy, she'll be bringin' pain to every-f***in'-body around her.”

I watched barbers talk about weaves, women and the infamous “creamy crack,” what some call the hair “relaxer” that has been relaxing black hair for decades. Unknown to many, this “creamy crack” has a main ingredient of sodium hydroxide (aka lye), a harmful chemical found in many industrial solvents and cleaners, including flooring stripping products, brick cleaners, cements. If left on the scalp too long, the relaxer actually burns the skin and causes all the hair to fall out. According to Rock, it's an experience most of the black community is all too familiar with.

Why would anyone want such a thing near their hair? Rock offers the excuse of a pressure to conform, to look “more white.” It is also mentioned in the film, "if your hair is relaxed, white people are relaxed. If your hair is nappy, white people aren't happy."

So how does Rock answer his impressionable young daughter's question about “good hair”? He told her, “...the stuff on top of your head is nowhere near as important as the stuff inside your head.”

Can I get an “amen”,

Bridget Marie