Tell Em' How You Really Feel DT: Black Women and Their Hair

For some reason this came to me as I was mopping the floor but I've been thinking about this for years. What's the biggest market for hair care? Black Women. Go to your local beauty supply store, walmart, and any place that sells hair products and you will notice that they are targeted towards Black women. I am a frequent visitor to Carroll County, the mostly white county about 10 miles north of Randallstown, and I hear there's only one beauty supply store in a 30 mile radius. But in Randallstown, there is a beauty supply store in every shopping center, and there are at least 10 shopping centers between the beltway and Deer Park Road. They are all targeted towards Black Women. I am a Black Women, obviously, and my hair has been an issue since I was little. I have thick hair that will grow past my shoulders but I have permed it for the past 11 years. When I first relaxed it, my hair immediately went from very long to a little above my shoulders. Is that a coincidence? Considering that relaxers are designed to breakdown the natural bonds of our hair so that they can be manually restructered to be straight, I think it's intentional. How many products are made for hair growth and moisture but leave the hair dry? I have spent at least $500 dollars on hair products that don't work and I won't count the amount of money on hair dressers that didn't do my hair how I liked. A few weeks ago I went to the Dominican salon in New Jersey and I was so mad when I left. I am growing my relaxer out and there were two people trying to straighten my hair. I was too through. Mind you, I can straighten my hair when I am at home and I'm not a professional, but these people can't. I paid and left. I couldn't do it anymore. My head was sore, my edges burnt and it took two weeks for my hair to stop breaking. It was from that point on, that I knew I would be very selective about who puts their hands in my hair. The first thing people do is try to put a relaxer in my hair. Why would I want to do that? I don't want an afro but I want healthy hair that will grow and not be damaged. We need to stop trying to make our hair do what it's not meant to do. It's not meant to lay down like women's of other races.