SabreeThinks Good Hair Is Relative

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful

Your's Truly


What is “good hair?”

Growing up in an African-American community, “good hair” has always been identified to me as straight, wavy or curly hair, actually any texture of hair except naturally kinky hair, also known as nappy hair. This strange notion that almost everyone appeared to share has never seemed to make any sense to me.

What makes kinky hair bad?

Did some committee gather a long time ago and develop a handbook that outlined what constitutes “good hair?”

Many believe that any African physical feature is an ugly nuisance; everything from dark skin to wide noses, and of course “kinky hair.”

The late Michael Jackson got rid of all three; I am still dumbfounded by the drastic complexion change.

We have been programmed to believe “kinky hair” is ugly so African-Americans complain about the coarse and “unmanageable” hair that we are born with. It was manageable long before methods of straightening came about, so how is it all of a sudden unmanageable? The only reason it is unmanageable is because you do not care to manage it.

Mothers-to-be do not pray for healthy, law-abiding children. Instead all they pray for is that their newborn be blessed with “good hair.”

Good hair is not going to help your child do anything beneficial for anyone. Do people with naturally straight or curly hair have conversations about wanting a child with “good hair?”

It is not important if a man has a job, morals, and goals; all he has to have is “good hair” to be an appropriate father.

Then it becomes a wonder why a good man cannot be found. You may find him if you seek out men with good qualities instead of ones with “good hair.”

Go around and ask African-Americans to define bad hair, and see if anyone gives you an intelligent answer.

“Good hair” is whatever hair you were designed to have. If God gave it to you, how can it be bad? God does not issue out bad hair, only you can determine if your hair becomes bad.

When an individual alters the state of their natural hair then there is the potential for that hair to become “bad.”

I have seen some bad hair in my days; I saw some jacked up hair-dos today on both sides of the railroad tracks.

When chemicals start to thin a person’s hair causing it to fall out, that is bad hair.

I do not want to offend anyone who spent 12 hours getting their hair done so I am not going to describe what bad hair is, but if you look like you are wearing a dead animal on your head, you have bad hair!

If the only good thing your girlfriend/boyfriend has going for them is “good hair,” do yourself a favor and dump them as soon as possible.

We are quick to claim we are part Hispanic or Native-American, thinking this will explain our unnaturally wavy, straight or curly hair.

Give it a break!

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One response to “SabreeThinks Good Hair Is Relative

  1. Excellent points Sabree!

    The very notion of so-called “good” hair (i.e. hair that is identified as being close to that of White folks) is a part of the internal, mental colonization process from which many Black people continue to be victims. Necessarily then, if “good” hair is that of White folks then everything else is bad hair, which is of course absurd but deeply ingrained into so many Black people, not only in the U.S. but around the world.

    For a pleasant and informative reality check, I suggest listening very closely to the lyrics to the song ‘Be Real Black For Me’ as sung by the incomparable Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway.

    We can only love others when we love, respect, and cherish what we ourselves are both individually and collectively.

    In struggle,
    Larry Pinkney
    Editorial Board Member & Columnist
    The Black Commentator

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