Ethnic Hair?

A few weeks ago, I responded to the following challenge posted on one of the several job search boards I subscribe to:

"Writers this is a chance to get published; Assignment: What can you tell us about ethnic hair? (subject matter is open within topic.)"

Following is my response, which I enjoyed writing, but for which I never received any acknowledgement. Guess my kind of hair isn't 'ethnic' enough.

I can tell you PLENTY about ethnic hair, starting with my own!!! I am the product of several generations of multi-racial ancestors. Only my maternal grandmother was 100% 'african american'. My paternal grandfather was 100% Filipino. All my other grandparents and great grandparents were multi-racial. Quite obviously, at least one of the great-great-great ancestors was black for all future generations to have been raised in the black community. I'm speculating that it must go as far back as the "1/16th" standard. But that's another story.

Because of the diverse racial/ethnic mix of my ancestors, my hair is a strange combination of straight, curly, wavy, frizzy, coarse and very thick. I have always been grateful that it was NOT the type of hair that needed to be straightened with a "hot comb", or chemically relaxed, or shellacked with gobs of pomade. However, the quest to find just the right hair care products (shampoo, conditioner, detangler, hair oil, etc.) has been largely fruitless.

About 10 years ago, I gave up and settled for any shampoo that merely cleans the hair, and of course, that's all any of them REALLY do. Regardless of the advertising hype, none of them have magical properties that actually change the texture of anyone's hair! As for conditioners, I've become pretty casual about using them. They do seem to have some short-term coating properties to control my frizzies - at least for a few days. And sometimes I believe these products DO protect my hair from the ravages of heat damage from curling irons (my best hair-styling friend!) and blow dryers. But never for very long.

As for the best hair groom product for my type of hair, after several years of trying all kinds of gels, sprays, creams, oils, etc, etc, I went back to using a product from my childhood. Wildroot cream! Of the various hair creams that were used on my hair from childhood (Breck, Suave, Brylcream), Wildroot and Brylcream are the only ones still being made. Breck went out in the late 60s I think. Suave was dropped in the mid-90s. I know that because I worked for the company that produced it - Helene Curtis. I was working there when they stopped making it. Fortunately I had stocked up! But when I got down to my last bottle a couple of years ago, I decided to preserve it as a piece of history. So I've never opened it. It was around that time that I rediscovered Wildroot - in the men's hair care section of my neighborhood Walgreen's. No wonder I hadn't been able to find it before! I was looking in the wrong section of the store!!! It truly is the best grooming product for my particular type of hair. Heaven help me if they ever stop making it!!! (Maybe I should start stocking up NOW!!!)

Another problem I used to encounter with my hair was getting a decent haircut. Because of its thickness and unique texture properties, I never found anyone - from any ethnic or racial group - who could cut and style it exactly right (meaning the way I wanted it done!). To cover their mistakes, they would use enough hairspray to hold the style in the fiercest hurricane. Sadly, the shellacking only lasted until I went to bed. The bad haircut, of course, lasted long after a good shampoo! So after many years, I decided I could give myself at least as bad a haircut as anyone I'd ever paid for one. I've been cutting my own hair or a regular basis for about 20 years now. And even when I KNOW I've made a mistake (too much off one side or another, or the top), I have always received compliments on whatever style I end up with. Another comfort is knowing my hair grows very fast so mistakes grow out to where they can be fixed within a month. Lucky ME!!!

My only other big problem is the effect of humidity on my mane. I'm convinced there is no product made that can keep my hair from swelling up, losing its body and sheen, and turning into "Diana Ross" hair - a thick mass of uncontrollable strands with a mind of their own. Not even the magical Wildroot cream has been able to keep it under control when the humidity level is up!

And if all these issues weren't enough to manage, I'm now stepping up the battle of keeping the gray hair at bay (hidden)! These monsters grow in like barbed wires and seem to multiply like weeds!!! ARRRGGGGGHHH!!!! So for the past 5 or so years of searching for and trying various hair-coloring products for various kinds of hair (each touting various magical properties), I've settled for buying the cheapest brand that merely does what it is designed to do - cover the gray, if only for a month, before the next crop of barbed wires grows in.

As much as it may sound like I'm complaining, I AM extremely grateful for the hair I have. The alternatives of other kinds of 'ethnic hair' seem so much worse! At least that's what people from various other ethnic groups have told me. I don't have to budget the small fortune and a full day it costs at a hair salon to achieve a high-maintenance look that only lasts a day or so. I don't have to waste money on useless hair products that can't do what they advertise. I don't have to invest in fake hair and the time of technicians to apply/affix it. I don't envy women from other ethnic groups, with different types of hair that requires a lot of maintenance. I'm lucky and I know it!

So THAT'S what I can tell you about "ethnic hair"!