What is "good" hair?

What’s good hair? I think the meaning differs across various cultures. Amongst certain ethnicities where straight hair is genetically dominant, ones with curly hair seem to find themselves rushing to Wal-Mart to buy a hair straightener to flatten those ‘undesirable’ curls. As a young black woman, ‘good hair’ has a very interesting cultural meaning. Growing up, my mom always put my hair in braids. That’s all I knew. I mean, I saw other black girls in my class with relaxed hair but it seemed foreign to me and to ‘exotic’ to try out. It wasn’t until my junior year, that I finally convinced myself, and then my mom, to relax my hair. Now many have asked for the reason for relaxing my hair after so many years of being ‘natural’. Quite frankly, there is no answer. It was just something new I wanted to try. Now what the hairdresser and encouraging friends failed to inform me was that relaxed hair takes effort and maintenance. Indeed, it was not long before I felt like I had stepped into a completely new world. Take my first night with my ‘new hair’ for example. After multiple failed attempts at wrapping my hair, I succumbed to my failure and went to bed with my hair unwrapped and prepared myself for a bad hair day the next morning. I barely slept as my cosmetic doomsday crept closer.

Now after two years of relaxed hair, I have thought a lot about the term ‘good hair’. Chris Rock’s recent documentary, “Good Hair”, which premiered at the Sundance Festival in January, highlighted interesting points about the topic. To those who are not familiar with black hairstyles, textures, etc. it was informative to learn about the different methods black females use to match the definition of “good hair”, such as weaves, relaxers, and wigs. To me, ’good hair’ can be defined as the following: straight, long, thick, and bouncy. But you know what? I say forget that. My hair is curly, short, thin, and never quite bounces the way Michelle Obama does. So whether you rock an afro, dreads, a relaxer, or braids, I say do you, be you. Only you can define ‘good hair’. Don’t let the stereotypes or social norms be the boundaries to your self-expression. So what is ‘good hair’? I don’t know, you tell me…

- Elizabeth Uduehi