[cyborg]

I had one very good black female friend who could explain black American culture to me in college. She would talk about something called 'conking' mixing lye with potato starch. I am sure you would agree that it's a good thing that isn't done anymore. Aside from that, inventing these potions made CJ Walker the first female millionaire anywhere in the world in the mid-late 1800s here in the States.

Living in a predominantly middle-working class black neighborhood, I can tell you that moderation IS NOT the order of the day. I get a lot of women who gush over my hair and ask me how to get my kind of hair. Sometimes that makes me really uncomfortable, especially when they say 'good hair' eeewww... I'm glad I was not brought that way.

[Quester]

Living in a predominantly middle-working class black neighborhood, I can tell you that moderation IS NOT the order of the day. I get a lot of women who gush over my hair and ask me how to get my kind of hair. Sometimes that makes me really uncomfortable, especially when they say 'good hair' eeewww... I'm glad I was not brought that way.

My Midwest experience is probably a step beyond this.

It's about working with what God gave you.

[TontoKowalski]

Hair is a funny subject for us white folk, too.

My Mom and sister have straight hair, and go to the beauty parlor frequently to get it wavy. Then it's the curling iron every morning. I still remember their home-perm days, and some of the mishaps that resulted. They'd kill for wavy hair.

My wife has naturally wavy hair. She'd give anything for it to be straight. She wants to grow it longer, but when she does, it just gets wavier and curlier, and you can't tell it's any longer except when it's wet.

I told my wife she should try the relaxers that black girls use. I assume those would work on her, although her hair is wavy and not tight tight curls like black people have (we used to call it kinky, but now I'm not certain if that's a racist term... if it is, it's not intended to be).