Bring back the hot combs

Natural hair is something many people, men and women alike have long forgotten. Gone are the days when are grandmothers sat us on stools outside their homes hot combing our hair and telling us stories of when they were kids. Centuries later, hair chemical happened and simplified the burden of our naturally hard hair. Let’s face it, our hair looks or feels nothing like our non black relatives. All they have to do is wake up and brush fingers through their hair and they are good to go.I dare any black woman with or without chemical to just pass fingers through their hair and still look like they came from the salon! Don’t get me wrong, I love being black but as a kid I always had sweaters on my head seeing as I admired white people’s hair. So when I was old enough I applied chemical to my hair thinking things would be much easier. I was so wrong!Chemical requires renewal almost every three weeks and let’s not forget the treatment that is used to keep it looking healthy. This treatment does not only apply on the day your hair is re-touched. You have to keep it coming at least every two weeks to give the hair even more boost. To cut the long story short, none of this was made easier, at least not for me. I miss the hot combs and the cornrows that graced our heads leaving us with nothing to worry about. Not even the rain! Hot combs are still used in some salons though not a lot because the people with natural hair are few. Even kids have chemical in their hair now. Hair products such as Dark and Lovely’s Beautiful Beginnings have paved way for kids to have treated hair though the good thing with that is theirs is much friendlier to the scalp. Braids have come in handy too. Most women have often resorted to having their hair braided literally all the time to avoid combing it. I think I wouldn’t mind that at all if it didn’t require sitting through a whole 10 hours with about three women tugging at my scalp! It’s ridiculous. Natural hair was so much easier but chemical got us fooled that it would be even easier. Hair chemical and rain or water in general are enemies. That’s why black women loathe the rain especially when they don’t have an umbrella or a car!Now the saddest part is on realizing that hair chemical wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, we could not go and just wash it out. There was an option though, and it was the barber standing in the corner with a huge grin on his face!But considering we had spent years fighting for it and writing in our diaries every time it grew a noticeable inch, we decided that the barber was not going to see us that day. So it’s on with the chemical till today. Some people chose to just let the growth over take the treated part with out having to cut it off even though that can cause serious damage to your hair. I guess it all depends on the strength of one’s hair. But I have to say, I have come across some black sisters with hair so beautiful it honestly made me want to shave my own head. Some people have it, some people don’t!Natural is the way to go I strongly believe. It is safer, less stressful and easier to maintain and let’s not forget cheaper. Simply buy a hot comb and straighten out the mess every time it goes haywire! rachelgaruka@yahoo.co.uk