What's Good Hair?

Hair. The controversial topic in which many are not enlightened about. I know what you are thinking. "Is this some kind of joke? It is just HAIR"! Regarding the African American community and a lot of other cultures, it is a heated and touchy subject. When black women talk about what classifies as "good hair", the terms smooth, straight, silky, bouncy, non-kinky, not course and my personal favorite: NOT NAPPY(combination of curly and course hair), creep into mind. Noticeably, all of the terms I listed are the common depiction of their natural hair. I am sure a lot of those who are not familiar with African American hair will find it shocking to know that we do not wash our hair everyday. Instead, we tend to wash it once or  maybe even twice a week. I know, it sounds extremely repulsive, but there is a good reasoning behind it! Actually, it is not healthy for anyone to wash their hair every single day. It depletes the scalp from moisture, especially for women of color, because their hair is naturally dryer. Their perspective of beautiful locks generally favors a Caucasian, an Indian, or a Puerto Rican girl's hair. Seriously, every time an Indian girl walks by, I cannot help but contemplate scalping her head and making it my new weave! Of course I am joking... sorta...Overtime, women have spent hours and days getting relaxers (the process of chemically straightening course hair, lasting up to two months if treated properly) which causes major damage overtime, and going through intense pain getting weaves sowed in/extensions. The average middle class African American woman spends nearly twenty thousand dollars per year on hair and hair products. It is a known fact that African American women contribute eighty percent on all hair products. Although it is financially reasonable to pull the natural look, many forbid it. Why are women, such as myself are so eager to make tremendous sacrifices? The answer is really simple. We have made ourselves despite the texture of our hair. We fed ourselves lies that our course, nappy hair is not acceptable in our modern society. To style our natural hair is very brutal and strategic task. I think it is fair to say that it is easier to conform to something that is not natural. My mother always told me everyone strives to be someone that they are not. That statement applies to hair in so many ways.Those who have curly hair want straight hair, and those who have straight hair desire curly hair. People fail to realize that the term "good hair" is not a beauty term, it was a survival term. Let's take a not so nice trip down memory lane to a time period I like to call slavery, shall we? Both male and female slaves who had hair that was smooth and silky were more connected to their master. Kinda like a daughter or son figure. That meant they were more likely to access to liberation in academics, clothes, food etc. They (slaves) were not walking around saying " Oh my gosh, I'm so freaking cute now because I have this type of hair"! It just meant their likely hood of survival was at a higher state. This ideology has carried over time. Most believe people who have weaves or manageable looking hair are exposed to more opportunity. The problem is that most do not comprehend the history of African American hair. I firmly believe and encourage others to do what makes them happy about their physical appearance. It does not make someone less attractive or wiser if they choose to wear weaves or rock the natural look. Do not let someone else define what makes YOU beautiful and successful.You do you, boo boo. You. do. you.