Early last year I wrote an article about the culture of hair. I wrote about what the effect short hair, long hair and baldness have on our perceptions of others. A few months ago the media campaign started for Chris Rock’s comedy documentary, Good Hair. It finally hit a theatre near me this weekend.

I’ve been looking forward to seeing this movie ever since I first heard about it. Chris Rock is a big reason why I wanted to see this movie but I also wanted to get his take on the subject matter. It is interesting to get a black man’s perspective on the lengths black women go to have a presentable and attractive head of hair. Hair is a major issue for all of us. Men and women both worry about how to keep their hair and how to keep it youthful.

In the movie, Rock explains that it was his young daughter’s lament over not having “good hair” that triggered his exploration into the concept. I can remember from a very early age being exposed to the concept of “good hair” and “bad hair”. Good hair is long, healthy, straight and easy to manage. In other words, good hair was Caucasian hair or Indian hair. Growing up in New Jersey until the age of nine, I definitely remember admiring the long flowing hair of my Caucasian, Puerto Rican and Indian classmates. Thanks to my mother’s natural talent and the use of a good relaxer, I had long, thick hair.

Like most documentaries, Rock takes his research on the road to North Carolina, Georgia, New York, California and India, to explore the black hair care industry.

From the Bronner Brothers Hair Convention in Atlanta to the Dudley Hair Manufacturing estate in North Carolina, Rock shows us the big business of hair. From weaves to the sodium hydroxide that makes up hair relaxers, Rock not only investigates what we do to our hair as black women but how that practice impacts the men in our lives and our pocketbooks. It was very entertaining to watch Rock go to the people in black beauty salons and barber shops to get the perspective on black women’s hair from everyday black people.

One of the most telling moments in the documentary was when Rock sat down with five young black women who were about to graduate from high school. All but one girl had relaxed hair or a weave. The remaining girl wore her hair in a natural afro. Rock asked them if they felt the need to keep up the weaves and relaxers to obtain favorable employment. All the girls except the one with the natural hair felt that someone with natural hair wouldn’t be taken seriously and would have a harder time finding work. They all agreed that the natural hair of the remaining girl was attractive but they didn’t think it was professional or would be accepted in the work environment. The idea that the natural state of our hair is unprofessional and not acceptable is a direct result of what black girls have been indoctrinated with since the time they were very little girls.

There were so many themes covered in this movie. Rock touches on how the majority of black hair care lines are owned and operated by white conglomerates and Asian entrepreneurs. The black hair care industry generates billions. We may be less than 25% of the U.S. population, but we account for 80% or more of the hair care products and services being bought and sold. In fact, one of the largest exports for India is real human hair weave. Rock travels to India to show us where the Indian hair extensions American women pay upward of $1000 for come from. In India, the people often sacrifice their hair in a religious ceremony. Hair is very valuable and that’s why they sacrifice it to God. It is that hair that is cut, cleaned, and sown on strands to be converted to tracks of hair to be sold and exported to the U.S.

I was only able to touch on a few of the themes Rock covered in his documentary Good Hair.  With interviews Rock had with the head of Dudley, Bronner Brothers, and actresses and actors like Ice T, Rev. Al Sharpton, Nia Long, Raven Symoné, Maya Angelou, and the lead singers from the ’80s girl rap group Salt and Pepa among others, it was amazing to see a cultural perspective that permeates throughout an entire ethnic race and it isn’t regional in terms of one side of North America to the other.  Whether you are a black woman in California or a black woman in New York City, the perspective on hair is the same.

Some reviewers mentioned that Rock offered no solutions. Personally, I think that as long as flowing long straight hair is considered the benchmark for attractiveness, many black women will continue to pay to achieve it. The perception isn’t restricted to women of the black community. These days, extensions are also seen among our white sisters. I think another factor deals with women’s (regardless of race) obsession to look like the stars they admire in Hollywood. Instead of being the best they can be, they often strive to be someone else. I think we forget that actors and actresses are performers regardless of whether they are on or off the set. So they are expected to look a certain way no matter what. Everyday women want Julia Roberts’ smile or Jennifer Aniston’s haircut. Once we embrace the characteristics that make us different and beautiful, many women will no longer see the need to spend, on an annual basis, the money equivalent to the price of a compact car on hair extensions and other services.

There were also jokes during the movie about being addicted to creamy crack, or hair relaxer. As a woman who has been relaxing my hair longer than I can remember, I would love to be able to kick the relaxer habit. But having used relaxer every two months for nearly 30 years, I’ve definitely seen my hair become less thick. It use to be a lion’s mane when I was growing up. It would be interesting to see what the result would be.

Chris Rock’s documentary Good Hair, may seem frivolous to some considering the challenging economic times we are in. But our perceptions of ourselves both on the inside and on the outside carry a lot of weight in other areas of our lives. So this exploration is a valid one in the hope that we can adopt more healthy perceptions about ourselves and what’s really important.

Related Posts:

• The Power of Hair