Michelle Obama's Hair Is Chemical Free!!!!

[hopeful]

Her hair is beautiful. Thanks to the OP for sharing this info.

 

[PaperClip]

"Almost all" is by no means a stretch....if they didn't straighten it, they covered it. If this weren't the case, why was the Afro such a big deal in the 1960s? Black hair in it's natural UNSTRAIGHTENED state was hardly seen until the 1970s, the proper combs didn't even exist before then that were available to most people. Considering that most people started straightening the hair of children, I say it crossed almost all social and economic strata.

Yes to point #2....and her hair is STRAIGHT, doesn't matter the means. This story is about HOW it's straightened, the means....but it's straight no matter. It conforms to the social norms. She simply used an different means to achieve it. The HOW here is the only unusual thing.

The Afro was part of the social and political response to the changing times brought upon by the Civil Rights Movement of the '60s-70s. Afros weren't considered mainstream by any means. Afros were worn FIRST by those thinkers and scholars and rebels and protestors and eventually picked up by a portion of Black America as a show of solidarity. For others, the Afro was just the trendy style of the moment.

Also, because the winners write and control the history, the few images of Black women throughout history are so few and biased, we unfortunately don't have the privilege to see the range of hair options that our Black female ancestors had, unless some of us have the additional privilege to have photos from the turn of the century.

And how do we know if the hair was covered to HIDE unstraightened hair or to PROTECT the hair from the sun from working outdoors, before, during, and after the American slave trade?

And what's a "proper" straightening comb? I partly understand your point: as technology has emerged, inventions can be improved so my plug-in ceramic hot comb is probably better for my hair than my mother's old-school comb which she heats on the stove.

 

[Southernbella.]

The Afro was part of the social and political response to the changing times brought upon by the Civil Rights Movement of the '60s-70s. Afros weren't considered mainstream by any means. Afros were worn FIRST by those thinkers and scholars and rebels and protestors and eventually picked up by a portion of Black America as a show of solidarity. For others, the Afro was just the trendy style of the moment.

Also, because the winners write and control the history, the few images of Black women throughout history are so few and biased, we unfortunately don't have the privilege to see the range of hair options that our female sisters had, unless some of us have the additional privilege to have photos from the turn of the century.

And how do we know if the hair was covered to HIDE unstraightened hair or to PROTECT the hair from the sun from working outdoors, before, during, and after the American slave trade?

And what's a "proper" straightening comb? I partly understand your point: as technology has emerged, inventions can be improved so my plug-in ceramic hot comb is probably better for my hair than my mother's old-school comb which she heats on the stove.

It wasn't until our contact with Europeans that we "discovered" how "bad" our hair was, so I think we can assume that before the slave trade, our hair was covered for protection.

 

[FemmeCreole]

ok now all black women gonna wanna go natural....... that will be a good craze IMO

 

[BostonMaria]

Oh wow! Her hair is so beautiful. I would love to throw a bucket of water on her so it can turn into an afro right before America's eyes Just kidding... please don't arrest me

 

[DreadlockedLady0171]

Oh wow! Her hair is so beautiful. I would love to throw a bucket of water on her so it can turn into an afro right before America's eyes Just kidding... please don't arrest me

 

[hopeful]

Oh wow! Her hair is so beautiful. I would love to throw a bucket of water on her so it can turn into an afro right before America's eyes Just kidding... please don't arrest me

Wow I didn't expect this post, made me kinda like , and yet I still .

 

[BostonMaria]

Wow I didn't expect this post, made me kinda like , and yet I still .

LMAO! Thanks! I didn't mean to offend. I'm always kidding around.
Altho I would still love to see her hair in an afro. That would FREAK people OUT, which would be awesome

 

[jamaraa]

The Afro was part of the social and political response to the changing times brought upon by the Civil Rights Movement of the '60s-70s. Afros weren't considered mainstream by any means. Afros were worn FIRST by those thinkers and scholars and rebels and protestors and eventually picked up by a portion of Black America as a show of solidarity. For others, the Afro was just the trendy style of the moment.

Also, because the winners write and control the history, the few images of Black women throughout history are so few and biased, we unfortunately don't have the privilege to see the range of hair options that our Black female ancestors had, unless some of us have the additional privilege to have photos from the turn of the century.

And how do we know if the hair was covered to HIDE unstraightened hair or to PROTECT the hair from the sun from working outdoors, before, during, and after the American slave trade?

And what's a "proper" straightening comb? I partly understand your point: as technology has emerged, inventions can be improved so my plug-in ceramic hot comb is probably better for my hair than my mother's old-school comb which she heats on the stove.

We know they covered their hair in the context of the US because White people didn't want to see it in it's natural unstraightened state. House slaves are always depicted w/ covered hair...in extant pictures and almost every other portrayal, this is consistent. I hardly think this was accidental. Colonial Louisiana passed a law literally making it illegal for women of African descent to display their hair in public. it was called the tignon law. There it was done by law, everyplace else "by tradition", but the result was the same.

IF the Afro was associated w/ CHANGE in thought and wasn't mainstream, that simply makes my point. What WAS the "mainstream" it was acting against? What DID the average person do? Why the need for "change" and why using the hair as the instrument of it?

Let's be honest, most of the thinkers you're referring to are MEN...men started wearing 'the natural' hair 1st after the "conk" years", not women. Long after men put down the potatoes and lye, most of us were still in the beauty shop weekly getting a wash and press. To a large extent, I believe this is why 'natural" hair is sometimes regarded as a "masculine" thing regarding people of African descent. IOW if natural unstraightened African hair were such a common sight on women, why is Angela Davis mostly known for her 'fro among people of all races?

Ironically the conk was quite close to a modern lye relaxer, so after men put it down, we picked it up.

 

[JustKiya]

In this day and age, I think black people would have a bigger problem with Michelle rocking a fro than white people would.

 

[jamaraa]

It wasn't until our contact with Europeans that we "discovered" how "bad" our hair was, so I think we can assume that before the slave trade, our hair was covered for protection.

Or to conform to local religious or cultural norms, but certainly not because the ideal in a PRE colonial Africa was straightness.

 

[BostonMaria]

In this day and age, I think black people would have a bigger problem with Michelle rocking a fro than white people would.

Hmmm good point

 

[jamaraa]

In this day and age, I think black people would have a bigger problem with Michelle rocking a fro than white people would.

Truth...agreed! I think she's threatening to White people as is, but I think unstraightened hair would upset Blacks more.

 

[PinkSkates]

Woohoo...she's natural and straightens her hair like I do! It is cause for celebration! She will be sending a positive message to millions of black girls, letting them see that our hair can be pretty and healthy and STRAIGHT without the aid of chemicals. And who knows, maybe year 2 in the WhiteHouse she will toss a bucket of water on her hair, and do some afro puffs!
So rock on MichelleO! And I told my sister Michelle, while we were watching her give her speech,that her hair looked like a fresh press n' curl. The shine and body was ridiculous.

 

[Stella B.]

Yes, Michelle's hair was gorgeous! Does the fact that her hair is chemical free mean that she did not have a few tracks put in? I'm curious for 2 reasons: there was no definitive part in the front, and her hair ends were thicker than the roots, with a lot more shine. Maybe it was the lighting, but she still looked awesome. I loved her overall classic look!

 

[PaperClip]

We know they covered their hair in the context of the US because White people didn't want to see it in it's natural unstraightened state. House slaves are always depicted w/ covered hair...in extant pictures and almost every other portrayal, this is consistent. I hardly think this was accidental. Colonial Louisiana passed a law literally making it illegal for women of African descent to display their hair in public. it was called the tignon law. There it was done by law, everyplace else "by tradition", but the result was the same.

I speculate that the passage of any law with regard to the attire of an oppressed people was designed to carry out said oppression. I do not think it was because White people didn't want to see the hair of their slaves in its natural state, as if the hair of their slaves would cause more disturbance than say, LITERACY and/or ACQUISITION OF WEAPONRY to rebel.

According to this website: http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Tignon

The tignon law was passed because the White women in Louisiana were ANGERED and THREATENED by the creole/women of color and apparently, the men were responding to pretty faces, regardless of their race/ethnicity.

Also, this law was passed in the 1700s, well into the African (not American! what I said upthread) slave trade. From the website: "At this time in Louisiana history, women of color vied with white women in beauty, dress and manners. Many of them had become the placées (placees being "common-law marriages) of white French and Spanish Creole men, and this threatened and angered their wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and fiancées. One complaint that found currency with the authorities was that white men, in pursuing flirtations or liaisons, sometimes mistook and accosted women of the elite for the light-skinned, long-haired, but mixed-race women." As a result, Governor Miró decreed that women of color and black women, slave or free, should cover their hair and heads with a knotted headdress and refrain from "excessive attention to dress" themselves in jewels or feathers to maintain class distinctions."


IF the Afro was associated w/ CHANGE in thought and wasn't mainstream, that simply makes my point. What WAS the "mainstream" it was acting against? What DID the average person do? Why the need for "change" and why using the hair as the instrument of it?

Well, the afro was PART OF an overall movement to serve as a point of distinction.... Hair is not going to be the most pivotal aspect of this movement, and it shouldn't because an afro isn't going to change the economy or racist/discriminatory practices against Black folk.

Let's be honest, most of the thinkers you're referring to are MEN...men started wearing 'the natural' hair 1st after the "conk" years", not women. Long after men put down the potatoes and lye, most of us were still in the beauty shop weekly getting a wash and press. To a large extent, I believe this is why 'natural" hair is sometimes regarded as a "masculine" thing regarding people of African descent. IOW if natural unstraightened African hair were such a common sight on women, why is Angela Davis mostly known for her 'fro among people of all races?

Ironically the conk was quite close to a modern lye relaxer, so after men put it down, we picked it up.

With regard to the conk, again, we don't have the luxury to readily know the history of hair and Black women. It's a worthy research endeavor.

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

I'm closing this before it gets out of hand.