Here are a few quotes from some of my favorite hair books.
More to follow...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"'Natural hair? You must be kidding,' I would say. 'Why in the WORLD would I wear my hair looking like THAT?'...I knew nothing about my natural hair. It was that mess that grew out of my head...It was that unprofessional, bad, embarrassing stuff that if I were to wear in public, would doom me to everlasting singledom and job failure because, surely, no employer would employ me nor would a suitable life partner love me with hair like 'THAT.'"
-Patricia Gaines a.k.a. "Deecoily", founder of Nappturality.com, in the Forward to the book by Mireille Liong-A-Kong entitled 'Going Natural'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We have the same spiral in our hair as electricity, tornadoes, whirlwinds, DNA, galaxies!"
-Nekhena Evans, Hairlocking: Everything You Need to Know-African, Dread & Nubian Locks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The misconception that Afrikan hair is hard to manage is based on the custom of daily combing and daily styling one's hair.
"Natural Afrikan hair does not need combing or styling everyday because hairstyles stay unimpaired for at least one week on average...most combs are unsuitable for natural Afrikan hair...to be able to comb through the hair on a daily basis cannot be used as a standard to define our hair as 'hard to manage'.
"Defining nappy hair as unmanageable based on the above standard would be like, defining straight hair as unmanageable because it...can hardly keep a braid, a cornrow or a curl. It doesn't make sense does it?"
-Mireille Liong-A-Kong, Going Natural
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I believe many Black women experience a visual oxymoron when they see long locked hair. It can't be real because everyone knows that nappy hair doesn't grow long enough to hang, it only grows out, as in an afro. Plus, the long hair fantasy...is all about long, straight hair or braid extensions tricked up to look like straight hair. Not locs. So when women see waist-length locs they see a comb and a dream: if they can comb it out and make it straight, they can get to the promised land."
-Lonnice Brittenum Bonner, Nice Dreads: Hair Care Basics and Inspiration for Colored Girls Who've Considered Locking Their Hair
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I am always relieved and joyful when I influence a woman's decision to stop putting chemicals on her scalp...The more I see grown women who are struggling with this "hair thing," I understand that some women will constantly feel guilty about it...I expect women to get weak and relapse. It's a part of the transition and fight with addiction to hair abuse; to keep repeating the same compulsive behavior, a behavior that is temporarily fulfilling...don't give up on yourself...you may feel like you are taking one step forward and two steps backward...[at least you are] aware of your behavior...the turning point is when you discover why you keep doing it...I hope this will help you resist..."
-Pamela Ferrell, Cornrows & Company, Let's Talk Hair
2 comments:
I really enjoyed this post. I love those quotes and can tell that you carefully chose them. I particularly like Mireille's quote, and ahe's an awesome person. What a way she as of saying things. I noticed that most people on your poll that have straight hair choose "easier to manage". It does beg the question "Easier to manage by whose standards?"
I also love these quotes. Thanks for posting them! We need to hear them.
Post a Comment