This Is Not My Black Hair

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Meyoung by Lawrence A. Robinson
Like a lot of Black folk back in the early 80's, I got a Jheri Curl. It was the thing to do with Black hair for both men and women. The Jheri Curl was a very popular hairstyle among us because it gave us the appearance of what a lot of us considered to be "Good Hair." Celebrities like Eddie Murphy, Rick James, Michael Jackson, James Brown, and many others wore the 'doo' which our culture embraced whole heartily.

But even before that, us Black folk were getting our hair 'hot ironed, or straighten." My mom owned a beauty salon for many years when I was young and it was a large part of my environment while growing up.

My sister became the youngest licensed Master Beautician in the State of Florida at the tender age of 16 years old. She and my mom worked late into the night on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays 'doo-ing' hair.

There were plenty male customers visiting beauty salons. This was before the Jheri Curl, California Curl and other highly advertised chemical hair 'curl' processes became popular. I got my hair 'straighten' more than a few times by my sister and mom but only enough to get the 'kinks' out which made it easy to comb and manage.

Years later, with the advent of the chemical curls an entire generation of us moved into that genre. Yeah, I did the silk 'doo' rag, dealt with the constant dripping, continuos moisture spraying, stained pillow slips and the wet headrest which I had installed in my Datsun car. Like everyone else, I dealt with it.

I started using a spray relaxer, which I used most everyday LawrenceGoatee and my hair would relax just enough to remove the tight kinks. My Black hair did not appear straighten or 'processed.' I liked that look. I had 'good hair.'

It became apparent that I did not have to use the spray relaxer every day and eventually I only needed to purchase a bottle once or twice a year. Currently, I haven't used that spray for about 10 years but my Black hair is still relaxed.

My wife likes my hair short, so that is how I wear it. Between cuts, I have noticed that my hair is still relaxed just as if I used the relaxer spray daily. Did this spray change my Black hair DNA? Is my Black hair reacting to my early years of hot iron treatment? Did the chemical curl treatment change my hair growth for life. Was it the daily use of spray relaxer that damaged the hair growth cycle? Will my hair ever return to its natural state?

I don't know the answer to these questions! All I know is that the stuff growing out of my head is 'Not 'My Black Hair.'