Rabbit Holes: What I learned from hours spent researching and discussing black hair care on the early internet.
It was once considered a rite of passage for black girls, that moment sometime during the tween or early teen years when you received your first perm. This “perm” was really a chemical relaxer—one designed to remove the curl from your hair, leaving you with sleek, bone-straight tresses that projected an image of respectability and maturity.
As one of the few students at my Midwestern university who possessed a laptop in 1998, I could retreat to the privacy of my dorm room to begin my quest. Late one night, I pulled up the ol’ AltaVista search engine, typed “black hair” into the search bar, and thanks to a mega-fast 14.4 baud modem, AltaVista responded two minutes later with a list of results.I didn’t know what I was looking for, but the site offered a discussion forum, ushering me into the black hair underground.
These strangers on the internet, however, were starting to denounce the “creamy crack,” as they called the chemical relaxers. And the forums were multiplying in conjunction with the growth of the World Wide Web. Someone on BlackHairCare.com linked to a newer site, NaturallyCurly.com, that had a mostly white audience—yet these women too were sharing their struggles with styling their curly hair without straightening. I was the 98member of the NaturallyCurly.
Yes, we’d absolutely shell out $25 for a 16-ounce jar of purple goop called Curly Pudding because Kurlee1999 said it was her holy grail. Kurlee1999 might have been a bot for all we knew, but darn it, we trusted Kurlee1999 and her beautiful 4B ’fro inherently more than any television ad. We all spent too much on hair products and relished in our status as “product junkies.”
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NZ's central bank seen holding rates, but coronavirus risks could bring early easing: Reuters pollNew Zealand's central bank is all but certain to hold rates at record lows ...
Read more »
Chinese public mourns, rages over death of doctor who raised early alarm on coronavirusA Chinese doctor who issued an early warning about the coronavirus outbreak befo...
Read more »
Holly Willoughby says this \u00a316 beauty buy is her 'saviour' for early morningsHolly Willoughby says this £16 beauty buy is her 'saviour' for early mornings
Read more »
MetaProp Accelerator's demo day showcases five early-stage startups - Business InsiderWe watched 5 early-stage startups blending tech and real estate demo their ideas after graduating from a high-profile proptech accelerator
Read more »
Review: The Odyssey rustles up the spirit of early Sam Shepard in an irreverent double billStrong acting and production design propel 'The Unseen Hand' and 'Killer's Head,' early Sam Shepard works playing at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A.
Read more »
#PetesBillionaires trends after Bernie Sanders goes after Buttigieg over billionaire backers amid battle for early statesPetesBillionaires trends after Bernie Sanders goes after Buttigieg over billionaire backers amid battle for early-states
Read more »