Comedian’s movie delves into details of African-American hair care industry
Starting with Chris Rock’s two beautiful daughters being shown in home videos, Rock’s voice takes over and tells the story of when his 3-year-old daughter Lola ran up to him crying, asking “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?”
Rock begins with shocking statistics, citing that the U.S. Black hair industry reaps more than $9 billion (that’s right, billion) a year in revenue.
Throughout the film, Rock seeks to explore the true nature of what is “good hair” and how it impacts Black culture.
Featuring famous actors Nia Long, Tracie Thoms, Raven-Symone, Ice T, Reverend Al Sharpton, Salt-N-Pepa, and more, Rock probes them all, ranging from how much a weave costs to how hair affects relations in the bedroom.
Let’s start with the weave. A normal weave will cost around $1,000. This is just your average run-of-the-mill hair piece, which can take hours to attach and must be cared for every six weeks or so.
Actresses in the one-on-one interviews Rock conducted admitted to spending thousands on weaves.
Relaxing Black hair with relaxer is another technique used. The relaxer used contains sodium hydroxide, otherwise known as lye, or really-not-good for your scalp.
It causes a burning sensation, can cause hair breakage, lack of hair growth, and even hair loss.
Sandra “Pepa” Denton told the tale of when her sister tried to relax her hair and instead ended up burning the side of her head.
Rock even interviewed a small girl of 6-years-old having her hair “relaxed.” A pediatrician was later interviewed and told of the damage that could be done to children when lye is applied to the head, and gave a shocking mention of having clients ask her about having their 18-month-old child’s hair relaxed.
These are but a few of the startling statistics Rock has to share, and all of it done in a professional manner. The film is not about him, although his humor is seen throughout several interviews. It’s about, well, “good hair,” and just how far we go in order to achieve it.
Who knew a comedian could be so informative?