“My first experience with a relaxer was probably one of the best days of my life,” she remembers. Reporter and producer Danielle Long adds that with the help of her mom, she gained confidence in her taking care of hair.
“For a year, my mom would apply the boxed relaxer to my hair once every three months to make the process of doing my hair every morning easier because I have a very sensitive scalp.” Like most Black women, writer Emerald Elitou’s first relaxer came at the hands of her mother. This chemical process “relaxes” your natural curls by making them looser, ultimately making straightening your hair a little easier without the frizz or reversion of a silk press. Long is an award-winning journalist based out of NYC Courtesyīefore silk presses became widely popular, many Black girls' foray into straight hair was relaxers. Still, there was no greater feeling than your hair freely flowing in the wind with a gorgeous luster and fresh-out-the-salon aroma, courtesy of a Soft Sheen Carson finishing spray. The memory will always be fresh: The intense odor of something that smelled suspiciously like rotten eggs, the tingling sensation of the concoction left on the scalp for too long, and the impending sore spots. RelaxersĪ mere mention of a chemical relaxer, or "creamy crack," evokes pretty vivid memories, aided by a distinct aroma. I spoke with a few writers (with fabulous hair) to reminisce on the ultimate Black girl products and experiences that we can all relate to. Our respective routines are as different as our hair types, but one thing we all have in common is the process of learning to love and care for our kinky, curly, and coily hair.
#Miro braids full#
For me, this meant tugging through knots with combs to perfect the two-stand twist, burning scalps due to chemical relaxers, shielding ears from any hot tools, and spending the equivalent of a full work shift in a salon chair for treatments and haircuts that sometimes produced less than desired results. Societal pressures aside, a part of that journey often included a years-long quest for hairstyles that work for you while rarely seeing you and your hair represented in mainstream media.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/cdn.cliqueinc.com__cache__posts__258014__types-of-braids-258014-1526666381080-image.700x0c-830727b6c75a432fa977a83f80dfeb00.jpg "miro braids")
But for many Black girls like myself, the hair care battle was far from an easy feat growing up. Black girls' hair is distinctive and exceptional because no two heads of texture and curls are alike- and so much of a Black girl's experience centers around her hair. Read all of The State of Black Beauty here.īlack hair is innovative, historical, and magical.
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