Natural selection: More black women getting back to hair care basics

Talia Whyte

Black women’s hair has been a lightning rod in discussions about race, class and social conformity dating back to the days of slavery, when some black women wore scarves to hide their “naps.” Today, the debate still rages about what having “good hair” means in the black community, even serving as the subject of an upcoming documentary produced by comedian Chris Rock called, appropriately, “Good Hair.”

In the Boston area, more black women are getting reacquainted with their natural hair. Harvard alumna and author Chris-Tia Donaldson knows the process well.

Growing up in her native Detroit, Donaldson would experiment with pressing combs, wearing a wig and straightening her hair with relaxers. She went to predominantly white schools, which she said left a lasting impression on her self-confidence.

“Black women grew up aspiring to have nice hair like other white girls they see in school,” said Donaldson. “I started to straighten my hair to fit in and feel pretty.”

After graduating from Harvard Law School, Donaldson accepted a position at a top law firm in Chicago. She said didn’t feel that she had a hairstyle suited for the workplace. So she got a wig, she said, to make herself look like a younger version of Clair Huxtable.

However, the pressure to conform with her hair became too much, she said, and affected her job performance. Donaldson ended up leaving the law firm, feeling like she had to reevaluate her perspective on life.

“Our hair-grooming habits are reflective of our history, and it affects how we go about our daily lives,” she said. “Thankfully, I learned that I am much more than my hair, and I take better care of my hair now.”

Today, she lives in Chicago, works for a software company and said she gets her hair inspiration from singers Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. Donaldson recently wrote a book, “Thank God I’m Natural,” about her “hairstory.” Published in June, it includes tips for other black women who want to learn how to maintain natural hair.

In the book, Donaldson also debunks some of the myths about having natural hair, including the notion that it is unmanageable.

“Natural hair is as manageable as relaxed hair,” she said. “Once you learn proper grooming techniques and find suitable products for yourself, you will find that taking care of natural hair is very easy.”

Donaldson also noted the high costs and health risks that can come with relaxers. When her hair was straight, she said, she may have spent thousands to have stylists put potentially damaging creams in her hair.

Many other black women have had dangerous experiences with maintaining straightened hair. While she was a college student, Everett resident Romney Donald said, a friend put a bad relaxer in her hair that later caused all of her hair to fall out.

“I learned my lesson from that experience that day,” said Donald, 22, a manager at the shoe company Skechers. “From then on, I learned how to do my own natural hair.”

Like many modern young people, Donald headed straight for YouTube, where she watched video tutorials on managing black hair. Last year, she started the process of transitioning her hair, beginning by wearing braids. Now she sports her hair with short twists and she says that she only spends about $20 per month on organic hair products like Shea butter.

“Being natural is a process in itself,” she said. “My hair is still a work in progress.”

With an eye toward helping others in the same boat, Donald started the Boston Natural Hair Meet Up Group in August. The group aims to provide a safe space for people with natural hair or who are aspiring to live a more natural lifestyle. She said many people come looking for open-minded stylists willing to do their hair.

Finding such a stylist can sometimes be difficult, even in black hair salons. William Getschell, stylist and owner of W Salon in the South End, said that many black stylists actually fear natural hair.

“Most stylists don’t like doing natural hair because it takes too much time and too many steps,” he said. “People are also just intimidated by natural hair, and don’t know what to do with it.”

Getschell has spent the last 20 years working with natural hair, and he said he thoroughly enjoys doing it, mainly because it is healthier.

Malden resident Barbara Robinson, 26, shaved off her relaxed hair in 2005 and now sports dreadlocks. That choice debunked in her mind the myth that natural hair is frowned upon by white people; she said she has faced more discriminatory attitudes from blacks than whites.

As a matter of fact, Robinson said, she was hired for a job once because of her natural locks, which she does herself, like Donald, with some help from the Internet.

Robinson said blacks need to get over their fear of their own hair.

“I get compliments, because more people today are realizing that natural is beautiful,” she said. “When you are natural, you are being yourself.”