Tired of Hair Damage From Braids, Wigs & Costly Weaves, Black Women Are Going Back To Their Roots - Are Men Cool With The Au Natural Do'?

Black Men Are Going Retro With The 80's Hairstyles!

Rico London is a stylist at Levels Unisex in East Harlem. More Photos »

By Guy Trebay (NY Times)

IN the evolution of black barbering according to Kamal Nuru, the list of begats begins with the Fade (which some folks refer to as the Jersey).

The era would have been around 1982. The Fade was a popular haircut dating to the golden age of hip-hop, one in which the sides were cropped close and the puffy hair on top was kept low, an effect achieved using clippers fitted with No. 1 and No. 2 blades.

“A No. 1 is pretty close, so you can still see the scalp,” Mr. Nuru said last week from behind the Dutch doors to an office that also serves as the coat closet at Levels Unisex, his bustling barbershop on Lexington Avenue in East Harlem.

“A zero,” Mr. Nuru added, referring to clipper gauge, “would be bald.”

Stepped up and set back from the street, Levels is an oasis of calm and tonsorial focus in a part of the city where an awful lot of agitated people can be seen bustling around. There is a homeless shelter across Lexington Avenue. There is a drug treatment facility around the corner. A more-or-less permanent cluster of transvestite prostitutes plies the corners of nearby 125th Street, clad in summery ensembles of Daisy Dukes and tube tops, accessorized with clutch purses that seem awfully tiny until one considers the modest dimensions of the tools of their trade.

The Fade cut eventually begat the Hi-Top Fade, as popularized by rappers like Doug E. Fresh and Schoolly D. When an angled cut was worked into the longer hair at the top of the head, the Flat-Top (a k a the Box) became the Slope (a k a the Gumby), and then the Slope or the Gumby, or whatever you called it, eventually begat another ridged haircut named for a math geek character played by the actor Kadeem Hardison in the “Cosby” spinoff, “A Different World.”

The Dwayne Wayne, Mr. Nuru explained, “had a little swoop-up like a ramp” and was immensely popular at about the time that Mr. Nuru got into the barbering game in 1987. By lucky chance, that happened to be at the precise moment when many African-Americans fastened onto the idea of having their coiffures shaved into complex patterns and topiary designs.

“The late ’80s and early ’90s were a really great time” for African-American hairstyling, said Mr. Nuru, who is 39. Gazing around at the 11 chairs in the shop, one of three he owns in as many boroughs, he remarked with satisfaction that, like much else from the ’80s, the glorious hairstyles of that long ago era had cycled around again.

“The Mohawk came back heavy in the last year,” he said. “And people started playing with their hair again.”

They started having their hair shaped and shaved and cut into fanciful patterns. They began adding Chinese-made black coloring to already dark hair to achieve a blue-black “Beijing” dye job, an effect that lends the wearer a curious resemblance to an action figurine.

They resumed — and with greater brio than was ever seen in the 1980s, when the rigid machismo of early hip-hop culture put a crimp in playfulness — having fun with how they look.

“I used to cut Mickey Mouse into people’s hair, Yankees symbols, any logo or abstract symbol or caricature they could think of,” said Mr. Nuru, whose Islamicized name, he claimed, means “perfecting God’s light.”

Lately, he said, the so-called retro kids are going back to the styles of the ’80s, this time adding more intricate patterns than were ever seen then, more startling neon colors and patterns that are limited only by the imagination of barbers like Rico London, who commands the first chair at Levels, the one by the window, and who is without any question the star of the show.

“Rico is an artist, straight up,” Gonzalo Venegas, one of the three members of the rap group Rebel Diaz, said one recent Friday as Mr. London shaved an asymmetrical pattern of what he referred to as “futuristic arrows” into one side of Mr. Venegas’s scalp.

Roughly once every 10 days when he is not touring, Mr. Venegas, known as G1, stops into Levels to have a new motif styled into his hair. The cuts are a fraction of the cost of an average styling at Frédéric Fekkai SoHo, depending on the level of complexity involved. Mr. Venegas never knows and seldom even inquires in advance what Mr. London has planned.

Keep reading...

The Great Black Model Search 2010 - Go For It, Girl!

Johnson Product Company, Inc. has launched The Great Model Search (TGMS) nationwide to find four beautiful faces to grace the new product boxes and let the world know that it is back on the scene.

The search is based on Internet uploads from potential models (ages 18 and over) across the United States.

The four highest voted models will win contracts to appear as models on the packaging of the popular Gentle Treatment and Ultra Sheen relaxers, which are distributed globally. They also win $5,000 each, an all expenses paid trip to Los Angeles and more prizes.

Contestants should go to www.thegreatmodelsearch.com to upload a headshot. Once approved, a link to her contestant’s profile page will be sent, which the model-hopeful will then send to all of her friends and family to garner as many votes as possible.

The public can still join the fun in the “Vote to Win” part of the contest. By registering at www.thegreatmodelsearch.com they can vote for their favorite model. Each voter who opts in can enter the sweepstakes to win one of two iPhone 3 GS smart phones with a two-year contract, or one of eight iPod nanos (now with video camera and FM radio capabilities) or the Grand Prize trip for two to Los Angeles to be a judge at the contest finale in early June.

The finale of the event will be held in early June in Los Angeles and will be streamed live. Celebrity stylists and fashion savvy media personalities will serve as judges. Model registration and photo uploading begin will continue through March 30, 2010.

Voting begins February 1 and lasts through April 15. Voters should check the website as prizewinners will be announced weekly.

Who Are You And What Have You Done With The Black Sister We Know As Beyonce???

Is Hair Care Giant Loreal Tripping? Discuss!

NAIL SALONS NOT SAFE AND PUT ON PROBATION

Ladies when it comes to beauty treatments your state government should have your back. In the State of California they do, as ten California nail salons have been cited for unsanitary conditions under a 2006 state law that took effect this year.

The violations have to do with sanitization of ELECTRIC FOOT BATHS. The law was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger after several bacterial outbreaks at California salons. In one case, a Mountain View woman died after contracting an infection during a pedicure. Sistah's here is what to watch for...


While you are sitting there waiting for your appointnment for a pedicure, look around and keep your eyes open. Your technician is suppose to sanitize that ELECTRIC FOOT BATH for 10 minutes inbetween every customer. If the technician does sanitize the electric foot bath, you need to insist on it and be suspect of all the other treatments at the salon. MYFOXLA has more on the story if you want.

Omarion And Bow Wow Do Regis & Kelly: Next Stop, The Barber Shop!

The performance was cool. The hair, not so sure!

Do Black Women Fear The 'Fro? Depends On Which Sistah You Ask On Any Given Day

(Canadian opera diva Measha Brueggergosmnan)

As a black woman living in Canada, I often feel invisible when it comes to my natural hair. The television series da Kink In My Hair (which just wrapped up its first season on Global television) taps into a lot of the issues black women have with hair, but on the streets of Toronto, it's a whole other story.


Talk about hair is so woven into the black female experience that people often make jokes about who has "good hair" and who has "bad hair." In the song "I Am Not My Hair," India Aries sings, "Good hair means curls and waves/Bad hair means you look like a slave." A lot of people might not have a clue as to what she's talking about, but, as a black woman, I sure do.

Prior to the transatlantic slave trade, black hair denoted cultural and spiritual meanings for women, and men, too, write Ayana Bryd and Lori Tharps in Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America.

Back in the motherland, hair functioned as a carrier of messages for the Wolof, Mende, Mandingo and Yoruba people – those who filled the slave ships that sailed to the New World.

Specifically, the authors trace the roots of black hair to the early 15th century, when hairstyles were used to indicate a person's marital status, age, religion, ethnic identity, wealth and rank within the community. You could also determine a person's geographic origins from a distinctive hairstyle.

Once the slave trade began, Africans' connection to their hair was forever altered – and complicated – by their new life. Forced to work in the fields all day, they simply had no time to care much about their appearance or hair. While black women meticulously crafted elaborate hairstyles back in Africa, once slaves, they took to wearing head scarves or handkerchiefs atop their heads, partly to shield themselves from the sun, but also to hide their unkempt hair.

In the 20th century, black women wanted to show the world they were "free" and the easiest way to do that was to let go of their past. Thus, Madam C.J. Walker, touted as the first African American to use the hot-comb with various products to straighten black hair, helped to promote the idea that hair alteration was a signifier of collective progress.

By the time African American George E. Johnson created a permanent straightening system, the "relaxer," in 1954, there was virtually no turning back; that is until the afro-wearing Black Power movement of the 1960s.

Wigs, weaves, extensions and chemical relaxers are examples of how hair is socially, psychologically, and culturally significant to the black female experience

One of the first things I learned as a child was that "bad hair" was not the same as having a bad hair day. It was a matter of texture. "Good hair" was the complete opposite of nappy, tightly coiled hair.

In the book Hair Raising: Beauty, Culture, and African American Women, Noliwe Rooks says African Americans spend three times more than other consumer groups on their grooming needs.

Further, according to a 1997 American Health and Beauty Aids Institute survey, African Americans spend $225 million annually on hair weaving services and products. While these figures are from the '90s, it is fair to assume that similar results would be found today, and would also be applicable in a Canadian context.

And so, it's not just about hair. It's about a lack of cultural awareness and an internalized negative pathology. In order to transcend a troubled past, you have to engage in an open and honest dialogue, but that requires acknowledging there's a problem. On one level, I can understand why black women do what they do to their hair (I used to do it too). Natural black hair can be very difficult to manage and sometimes you just want to try a new look. Having said that, there are lots of products, books, websites and hair salons that cater to natural styles, but it requires effort to find them. [Full Story]

QUICKIE: ZOE KRAVITZ GETS ATTACKED BY KILLER HAIR CLIPPERS!

(photo from Bossip)

Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz's seed is starting to express herself, but is that a good thing???

Why Black Women Are Angry: It's All About The Hair Baby!

Do you care who does your hair? Before you pick your new look for the new year, you want to check out our next show The Great "Black Hair Care" Debate. By popular demand, we're pulling together one of the best panels we've had so far. We'll put all heads to bed with this one.

Whether you wear it short, long, natural, or unbeweavable -- you don't want to miss this show! Check out DryerBuzzBlog.com

MY BLACK WIFE BE MISSING HER SOME DON IMUS! (a timely reposted article)

Am I in the twilight zone, did they beam me down to the wrong planet, did I make a left turn at Albuquerque? When I tell you my African American Queen is moping around the house talking 'bout, "She miss her some Don Imus! And then she adds to it, "don't shake your head at me 'cause you got a lot to thank Imus for ya' damn self!" You Readers you judge for yourself.

Last Thursday morning this is how the conversation went between Me (M) and Her (H) :

M: Ok honey you’ve been moping around here for the last week, What's Up?
H: Well you should know how I feel. I lived in New York City for 17 years and for 15 of those years “I listen to Imus In The Morning.” So I love me some Don Imus.
M: "Ok 'Lucy' you got some ‘splainin' to do!”
H: Look when I was working my way through college. I worked grave yard shift all night long and came home, turned Imus on the radio and he kept me awake so I could study before going to class.
M: Coffee wasn’t enough?
H: Hell no, I said graveyard shift didn't? Then later, when we were dating and you would jet in from LA, I still had to get up at 6am and get dressed for work and you slept in.
M: Well ...??
H: Well I really wanted to wake you up to talk to me. But there was Imus, on the radio, keeping me company, so you could sleep in peace.
M: OK ...
H: You see I was listening to Imus before I met you, after we broke up, and still after we got back together.
M: Preach on reverend.
H: In fact Imus kept me from finding another man during that time we were broke up.
M: How’s that?
H: Well you know how I love a funny man ... or I wouldn’t be with you right?
M: Right.
H: Well Imus was funny enough on the radio where I didn’t need another man, ... so thank Imus for keeping me CELIBATE FOR YOU.
M: Say what?
H: In fact, if it wasn't for Imus, you and I would NEEEVER got back together.
M: How’s that?

H: For two weeks Imus went on vacation for some surgery. Yup' and that was just the opening you needed.
M: Come again?
H: He was gone ... there was a void. Back, in, my, life, steps' you.
M: Well thank you Mr. Imus!
H: See, now you get it!
M: But Baby that’s all changed. Now we live in LA and he’s wasn't on the radio here.
H: Yes, but at 2am he’s was on MSNBC, and you know I can’t sleep at night, right?
M: Right so …
H: So when you have those late night poker games and you try tipping in here 10 minutes passed 2am ...Well for those 10 minutes I’ve been looking at Imus. I’m laughing and in a good mood. So you could say Imus has kept you from getting a serous butt kicking.

M: Therefore …
H: Therefore, with all Imus has done for us, you really should be kissing his A…
M: Alright, alright I get it, but Honey when Imus talks about those “Nappy Headed Ho’s at Rutgers ... he’s also talking about our two girls.
H: He’s talking about MY GIRLS? Little Tiki and Briana? Nappy headed Ho?
M: Now ya' get it
H: You know little Tiki is only six years old and already sensitive about her nappy, kinky hair and her sister Briana's straight hair, “How come Briana’s hair doesn’t get tangled up?”, “How come Briana doesn’t cry when you comb HER hair? “ “I want hair like Briana's, ... I WANT GOOOOD HAIR!!”

M: So what are you saying about Imus now?
H: That Negro, had to go.
M: For calling Black women Hoes.
H: Naw, ... For throwing gasoline on our already flammable family hair issues.
My little girls can't be hearing no trash talk about Nappy Hair.

MY BLACK WIFE BE MISSING HER SOME DON IMUS!

Am I in the twilight zone, did they beam me down to the wrong planet, did I make a left turn at Albuquerque? When I tell you my African American Queen is moping around the house talking 'bout, "She miss her some Don Imus! And then she adds to it, "don't shake your head at me 'cause you got a lot to thank Imus for ya' damn self!"

Readers you judge for yourself. Last Thursday morning this is how the conversation went between Me (M) and Her (H):

M: Ok honey you’ve been moping around here for the last week, What's Up?
H: Well you should know how I feel. I lived in New York City for 17 years and for 15 of those years “I listen to Imus In The Morning.” So I love me some Don Imus.
M: "Ok 'Lucy' you got some ‘splainin' to do!”
H: Look when I was working my way through college. I worked grave yard shift all night long and came home, turned Imus on the radio and he kept me awake so I could study before going to class.
M: Coffee wasn’t enough?
H: Hell no, I said graveyard shift didn't? Then later, when we were dating and you would jet in from LA, I still had to get up at 6am and get dressed for work and you slept in.
M: Well ...??
H: Well I really wanted to wake you up to talk to me. But there was Imus, on the radio, keeping me company, so you could sleep in peace.
M: OK ...
H: You see I was listening to Imus before I met you, after we broke up, and still after we got back together.
M: Preach on reverend.
H: In fact Imus kept me from finding another man during that time we were broke up.
M: How’s that?
H: Well you know how I love a funny man ... or I wouldn’t be with you right?
M: Right.
H: Well Imus was funny enough on the radio where I didn’t need another man, ... so thank Imus for keeping me CELIBATE FOR YOU.
M: Say what?
H: In fact, if it wasn't for Imus, you and I would NEEEVER got back together.
M: How’s that?

H: For two weeks Imus went on vacation for some surgery. Yup' and that was just the opening you needed.
M: Come again?
H: He was gone ... there was a void. Back, in, my, life, steps' you.
M: Well thank you Mr. Imus!
H: See, now you get it!
M: But Baby that’s all changed. Now we live in LA and he’s wasn't on the radio here.
H: Yes, but at 2am he’s was on MSNBC, and you know I can’t sleep at night, right?
M: Right so …
H: So when you have those late night poker games and you try tipping in here 10 minutes passed 2am ...Well for those 10 minutes I’ve been looking at Imus. I’m laughing and in a good mood. So you could say Imus has kept you from getting a serous butt kicking.

M: Therefore …
H: Therefore, with all Imus has done for us, you really should be kissing his A…
M: Alright, alright I get it, but Honey when Imus talks about those “Nappy Headed Ho’s at Rutgers ... he’s also talking about our two girls.
H: He’s talking about MY GIRLS? Little Tiki and Briana? Nappy headed Ho?
M: Now ya' get it
H: You know little Tiki is only six years old and already sensitive about her nappy, kinky hair and her sister Briana's straight hair, “How come Briana’s hair doesn’t get tangled up?”, “How come Briana doesn’t cry when you comb HER hair? “ “I want hair like Briana's, ... I WANT GOOOOD HAIR!!”

M: So what are you saying about Imus now?
H: That Negro, had to go.
M: For calling Black women Hoes.
H: Naw, ... For throwing gasoline on our already flammable family hair issues.
My little girls can't be hearing no trash talk about Nappy Hair.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH EXTENDS TO APRIL

The History Of Nappy

(Check it out here)

THANKS FOR THE PERSPECTIVE INDIA.ARIE

She is NOT Her Hair: One Daddy's Perspective

I Have Taken on My Daughter’s Hair and Won

By Randal C. Archibold, NY Times

OFTEN, the women let out a little gasp. I look up, a hair twisty dangling from my mouth, a clump of my 5-year-old daughter’s hair clenched in one fist, a comb in the other, ready for attack. She squirms on the bench in the family locker room at the local Y, freshly showered after a swim class and bracing for her hair appointment with me, her father.

“Wow, you are really good,” one approving mother says one morning as my fingers weave three strands into a tight braid. I nod thanks and press on, fussing with another braid.

The gushing, I have noticed, is particularly heavy from black women, as well as from family and friends, who no doubt appreciate the challenge of combing, brushing and braiding hair like Lyla’s. I can’t imagine my wife garnering these compliments, and when I boast to her of my female fans, she confirms the suspicion. Nobody compliments her braiding when she takes Lyla into the girls’ or women’s locker room.

But Lyla’s locks have given me a closer glimpse into the angst, not to mention politics, that is black women’s hair. Sure, I have ridden the highs and lows of my wife’s hair-care odyssey. Go natural? Braids? Relaxer? A weave? Cut it all off? She has tried almost everything and been stressed about it all along the way. Does having a relaxer to straighten natural kinks bow to white society’s notion of good hair? Do free-form ’fros and braids with fake hair extensions look “professional” enough?

I’m sure I am not the only man going through this, but it often feels lonely...

Want the full, unedited story? Click here.

Don't forget to leave a comment here so we can talk about it.

How Is Halle's Twin Staying on "Idol"?

'American Idol' Makes a Surprise Cut

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stephanie Edwards was robbed - big time- on "American Idol" on Wednesday, while Sanjaya Malakar and Haley Scarnato were allowed to stay. The departure of the 19 year-old Georgia peach narrowed the number of "Idol" contestants to 10. The winner will be chosen in May.

Simon Cowell had said Edwards' rendition of Dusty Springfield's "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" lacked the edginess and youthful energy that she brought to other performance. Paula Abdul echoed that sentiment, telling Edwards she should have "more fun" onstage.

Dodging viewer elimination was Chris Richardson, 22, who was the next-lowest. The Virgina crooner had impressed judges with his smooth take on "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying." Cowell called it his "best performance so far," while Abdul praised him as "charming and sexy."

In its sixth season, "American Idol" continues to dominate the ratings, attracting 26 million to 37 million viewers per telecast and gazillions of dollars for everyone except us.