Do you have that 'Good Hair?'

Nina Simone
Now, that's what you call 'good' hair!

Well I definitely don't! But what about you: Do you have that good hair?

I pondered on this question for a moment, after watching a promo for Chris Rock's docu-film, Good Hair. The movie explores the oft taboo area of discussion that revolves around a black woman's hair, and was thought-up when Rock's young daughter voiced her dismay at not having good hair like her blond friend.

Frankly, it's about damn time someone dealt with this straight up, and how ironic that it's a black man - a dad - doing so! You know about the good hair thing, right? If you're black and mixed with naturally straight or curly hair, or you've got kinky but long hair - basically any kind of hair that combs with ease - you've got 'good' hair!

But what if the hardest comb with the widest teeth, just snaps like a twig in your hair? Or if your mane is more a shock of wiry strands, instead of a flowing cascade of ringlets? Alas, you supposedly fall in the opposing, 'bad hair' camp. Like me.

My hair seems to be at great odds with itself: half of my hair gets nappier than a rusty Brillo pad, and the other half is extremely, and I mean extremely straight and coarse; I don't even need to press that side out. Took me a good two years to finally 'lock' my dreadlocks because of that... Geez!

My hair has never behaved in the way that good hair's supposed to; it just stands on my head in a variety of odd directions, and waves around in the breeze; even with the dreadlocks, there's always a batch of stray locks that insist on making me look like I've been repeatedly struck by lightening.

I've never liked the unbearable, intense pain associated with 'taming' my hair, so I came to terms with my mane a long time ago. I'll readily and willingly confess that I've gone through every sort of nappy hair alternative there is - with the exception of a Jheri Curl; you must have some limits, now - and each time, I would come right back to simply sporting my natural hair.

My logic? Well, my hair's quite fine just the way it is, it does what it does, and that's how it grows out of my scalp, so why pretend differently? It's not to say that folks with kinky hair should leave it as-is, in some rogue show of blackness; if perming your hair within an inch of its existence makes you feel good, well go for it.

But instead, I think the whole scenario begs the question: Who determines what good hair is?

LMN Harris