VIDEO: OPRAH, CHRIS ROCK, & SOLANGE TALK “GOOD HAIR”
Wednesday’s episode of Oprah was actually a pretty good one. Oprah invited comedian/actor Chris Rock to her show to speak about his new documentary, “Good Hair”. In the film, Chris explores the world of weaves, perms and more and tries to answer the question, what is good hair?
Singer/songwriter Solange Knowles (who recently chopped her hair off), also spoke about why she decided to go with the natural look and about how the internet/blogs went wild when she did it. Peep another clip from the show below.
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Tagged chris rock, oprah, solange, video
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Solange is 10xs better looking. she was glowing on the show.
Well…well…first Jay and now Solange, on the sofa w/ big O…connections…sigh..boy I tell ya…:)
The hair thing is redundant…next—>
Solange = The articulate sister
Oh big deal. What is all this obsession with hair of a sudden?
If a person wants to wear a weave, wig, lace front…whatever…that’s their business. You’re not “more black” or “the realist” than the next person because you’re hair is natural. Solange talking about being a single mother…like, what does that have to do with her choice to go natural? Solange, dear…you shouldn’t feel guilty for wearing a weave. What you should feel guilty (and dumb for) is for spending 40,000 on weaves when Keisha around the way could do the same for less than $100. I’m tired of women like Solange and Tyra acting like they deserve some trophy because they’re wearing their own hair.
She mentions being a mother because she doesn’t have the time to sit in a salon all day anymore, she doesn’t have the time to worry about what her hair is looking like now. She’s free from all of that. It’s like a weight lifting off the shoulders. She’s not saying she’s better for it, because she knows she is going to want long hair again the future. They are telling women, do what you want, but don’t feel bad about the hair you do have. There is nothing wrong with you if you are natural and nothing wrong if you aren’t so long as you are happy. I like this episode. That only thing is that they don’t go to the very source of why blacks and other women do that to their hair. It stems from slavery, to post slavery and the early 20th century and they don’t seem to talk about that at all.
And be real…. Solange would NOT be on O’s show if it wasn’t for being Beyonce’s sister.
thank you #4. Couldn’t have said it better myself. IT’S JUST HAIR…NO BIG DEAL.
Solange looks great. Her confidence shine ! ! ! She spent a great deal of money a year just getting her hair done. I had to evaluate my own spending on my hair. It was a must I get my hair done on aweekly basis. No more every two weeks now (LOL).
I watched the show yesterday and it is definitely true, don’t touch my hair especially when I just got it done. My man knows the rules of my hair ! ! !
a $1000 for that crappy wig that lady made wearing extremely too much make-up and a lay-a-way plan was the worst.
I saw this yesterday, and yeah I could not figure out why hair has become such a big deal. From the movie, to Tyra, to Solange and now O..even the interview sounded like a big announcement on how to deal with breast cancer. Kinda beats the whole purpose of their said goal, which is to GET OVER the obsession with hair. Like Solange said in her infamous twitter entry.
this hair issue is gettin way outta hand
i’m suprised people care about hair this much! is it really THAT serious?
weaves, dreads, natural…it doesn’t matter!
we should be focusing on more important things!
Solange is a very beautiful lady though. I love her confidence and intelligence!
#4 PEACEKEEPER,
Hmm, maybe she brought up being a single mom because it’s hard to have to take care of her hair and have to be with/watch her son? Not too sure .. don’t remember exactly what she said.
——
Ahh I missed the episode ..
Lol @ “Beyonce’s little sister Solange” – couldn’t she just say Solange?
again, lol @ Chris’ face when Solange came out, he was like “danggg girl!”
I don’t have ‘black hair’ but if I did and had children I would never perm their hair – unless it was absolutely needed. My little cousin’s hair is so curly and thick that it is almost impossible to comb through it. She is going to need to relax her hair in a few years – my aunt is forever braiding up her hair so that she doesn’t have to deal with it, my cousin cries whenever her hair gets combed because it hurts. I don’t know why parents are relaxing/perming whatever they’re 4, 5, 6 year old daughters hair .. that’s ridiculous.
seriously solange is only getting shine because of beyonce.
oprah could have invited any other natural black celeb that went against the grain and who has an actual career like grace jones are something and how having a different look affected her career
@ 4
I agree
Wow, she was only 4 yrs old when she got her hair permed. Good hair is Healthy hair just take care of it. Solange is glowing, she looks beautiful with her short cut.
@ 9
Negative. Solange brought up being a single mom because she feels that, that makes her a “strong woman”, she equates “strength” with being “natural”. Do you see how delusional she is? Lol, I was cracking up when she admitted to having her hair relaxed at age 4! Whoa…dayum chica was your hair that nappy to rrequire a relaxer so young? (smile) I kid, I kid…
I agree, hair is no big deal. But when your little girl comes home crying b/c her naturally thick curly hair doesn’t lay straight down her back like all the other girls at school or on tv, etc. that’s when it becomes an issue. That’s why Chris said he wanted to make the film b/c he experienced that with his daughter.
Solange probably did not have that much hair to being with between the weaves, braids and overprocessing. I remeber seeing a picture of her at her baby shower with this same hairstyle about 3-4 yrs ago, so it is not like she woke up a month ago and decided to do this. please don’t praise this girl like she started a revolution. her hair was probably really damaged from years of abuse and she decided to cut it off and start fresh. it is not that deep
Also, to the people saying “it’s just hair, no big deal” – a lottt of people care about their outer appearance and when most people look at someone, they look at their facial features, their clothing, as well as their hair.
When I see women at the mall, on the street wherever and their hair is not combed, or they’re wearing a cheap looking weave etc I think, as well as many others, that she doesn’t know how to take care of herself. So a lot of people think it’s a big deal because they want to look ‘presentable’ and proper when they go out .. they want to look good.
I think hair is somewhat of a big issue, just don’t know why it’s an even bigger issue all of a sudden.
A problem though is comparing hair. Having long hair doesn’t make someone better than other people .. a lot of people complain about their ‘short hair’ – if your hairs short then fix it up/take care of it .. don’t just leave it however. Hate when people walk around with dry hair .. and uneven hair, like moisturize and trim/cut your hair!
SIGH,
Lol oh okay okay.
And yeah 4 is a ridiculously young age ..
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I must say that I actually see Solange’s beauty more than b4 now.
What bothered me was when she said it starts at home. How her mama used to say “Good hair is Healthy hair”. How is your mum tellin you that when she started perming your hair at FOUR?? Tina, Tina,Tina….
Solange looks much better I will totally give her that.
But she is not “strong” and being a single mother is fine if you can raise your child in a responsible way which she also seems to be doing.
But let’s be clear. The reasons Solange cut her hair has nothing with being “strong” or natural but to get attention. This girl would cut off her left arm and a few toes if she felt people would take notice. This girl does things for attention that is the reason she does 99.9 percent of the things she does from the music, to how she dresses to everything she puts out. I bet she even had that shot gun wedding and her son for this need to take back some attention from her sister.
Can we say Latoya Jackson.????
People do seem to make hair a big issue…. Who cares? As long as it looks nice I could care less. My group of friends are all unique…2 rock the Amber Rose, 1 has very long hair/permed, 1 wears natural, 1 stays braided up in cornrows, & myself and another switch from weaves to our own. We don’t give 2 sh*ts about whos hair is what.
The whole topic is a non-issue to me
hair has always been a big deal on almost every post someone always has a comment about someones weave or hair style
I take it a lot of you are young and do not fully understand how we got here. How for centuries any and everything black was not only dirty, subpar, but subhuman. Black was not beautiful. Wide noses, kinky hair was ugly, not just ugly, the worst of the worse.
For Black folks hair is not “just hair” it is a very large part of who we are. Like our skin color it sets us apart – it makes us other. I suggest looking up the Black is Beautiful slogan that spread during the black power movement. Self love is the first requirement to self determination.
If you don’t know why you are perming and weaving…then you should as yourself. Nowadays there are as many natural hair care salons as there are for weaving and perming. Natural hair is not less manageable…you have to learn to DO IT just like you would any other style….
So while ultimately sisters should be able to choose…we have to ask ourselves why we accept black women with straight eurosilky weaves but would balk at a white woman with an afro wig.
@15,
Thankyou i totally agree with you! Me personally, i hate weave. when i tried to wear it in highschool i felt so fake, like i was putting on a front for somebody. i was always worried about my tracks showing, my wig beng crooked, making me feel even more insecure. i have a short cut and in a way i do feel liberated, free. i like to stand out from the crowd, i dont have to have long weave down my back to feel beautiful. not saying women who wear weaves feel that way, but weave does provide a sense of security IMO. looking around its not hard to notice all the jet black long weaves black women are rocking. and i love my short cut even more when i look at everybody else looking the exact same way.
props to solange. i think she looks beautiful with her hair natural. i can’t wait to check out this documentary!! p.s. i definitely agree that she is the more articulate sister.
“Why has hair become so important?”
…. because Black women almost condemn another for life if her hair/weave is not on “so called” point. It’s like she has broken the 11th commandment, commited blasphemy etc. Check out some of the comments in the blogs.
Other than hygiene, grooming and styling, it really is’nt that serious. Also it’s Black women’s condemnation of any hair that is not of Anglo Saxon European texture, all textures are beautiful, but hey, that’s some of the left over baggage from slavery and European brainwashing.
I am so shocked that Oprah’s hair is that long and healthy. I always thought she had a nice lace front wig or weave. Solange is my hair sheroe!
Solo is the truth!
This female, Solange, said that she’s a “single mother” lol? I wonder if that is by choice or necessity. The black woman cannot run these men off and then claim that single mother title.
#4 I feel you, but the I think we maybe looking at this wrong. I think the point Solonge is trying to get at is, you don’t have to have hair down your back to be considered beautiful.
For example….I have a friend who is light skinned ad has very long hair. Honestly she is not that pretty in the face but somewhere in her upbringing she has come to the notion that she has good hair and that makes her more beautiful than the next girl, she teaches her daughter the same thing. She has two nieces, one has more corse hair than the other. They tell the one with the more corse and short hair that She has “bad hair” the girl is only 7 years old!!! Come on!!!
We as people, if we want to wear weaves, wigs, color or whatever YOUR HAIR DOES NOT MAKE YOU BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!! YOU make YOU BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!! Just because you have naturally long hair doesn’t make you the $h!t!!!!!!!!!
I’m with the majority here…I don’t get why we as women consume ourselves with this hair topic. Good hair is healthy hair in my book. It doesn’t matter if its long or short, straighten verses relaxed, brown or blonde, has extensions or not, braided or locks…as long as its not damaged, its all good.
I only wish we demand from this hair care businesses to produce better products that specializes in people of color and also get these retail companies to stock up more products for us and stop over pricing products.
i dont know why you all are surprised oprah hair is long and healthy she has millions of dollars to invest in making sure her hair is long and healthy i wont be surprised if oprah vaginal hair is long and healthy
EWW @ #33 SHUT – a visual popped up in my head as soon as I read that.
–
Yeah I agree that as long as you’re hair is HEALTHY it’s GOOD HAIR
#4 PEACEKEEPER,
Hmm, maybe she brought up being a single mom because it’s hard to have to take care of her hair and have to be with/watch her son?
————————————————-
You can’t be serious with this comment??? If mananging your hair and tending to your kids is “hard” something is seriously wrong with that person, lol…
Lol @33
Hair texture, length, color etc. is genetics, it’s what’s in your genetic code, what you inherit from your parents. Skin color, short, tall, fat skinney, diabetes, sickle cell etc. A lot of things are already predetermined from your parents.
@32…Good point about the hair care products for black women. Now, that’s something O should’ve been discussing.
I’m amazed at how the manage to shave the head while keeping the length of the hair in tact.
@ peacekeeper its a big deal because of WHY we are doing it not because of the choice to do it WHY really are we doing it NO OTHER CULTURE of people does this NO ONE but AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN (now some whites are but thats lately) do this is it because we think that are own hair is not beautiful? that its not good because it doesnt look like everyone else? have we ever thought abt the fact that since we are the only onces with our type of hair that we are a rarety and maybe they shld be immulating us instead of the other way around you rite is it a personal choice to wear your hair natural, a relaxer a weave or a wig but just know that every time you go against your natural self you are telln yourself and others that you dont feel your natural self/hair is beautiful and that you want to be more like other people so much that we’ve made the weave industry a multi-BILLION dollar industry just think of all the communites that could be helpd schools built hospital and clinics open with the money that we spend on hair
I agree 100% with #24 Dvynesole
I think a lot of you are missing to point. Wear your hair however you want! But truly understand the REASON you wear it that way. I caught myself in the mirror and took a good look at myself, my pretty virgin Indian hair weave…and I just felt ridiculous all of a sudden, like why am I wearing someone elses hair on my head?!!! It really made me think about all the time and money I invested in this hair that wasn’t mine and underneath I had a full head of thick kinky curly hair of my own that I didn’t know, or didn’t take the time to learn how to manage. All I’m saying the whole point of the discussion is WHY do we do these things to our hair in the first place.
@24 Thank you for speaking truth to power.
Case in point if hair was not a major issue in the Black community, for painfully historical reasons, we definitely would not be having this discussion and the discussion would not be continually discussed.
It pains me to read and hear women utter the words over and over again that they cannot manage or comb there hair without perms, blow driers and/or flat irons. This is definitely not true no matter what texture you hair may be. What makes most of you think that somehow we were gifted with wild and untamable hair? It is not an expression of self-love to think that your hair as it exist getting out the shower or the pool or any body of water is not fine just how it is. Just like #24 said you have to LEARN (key word) to style your natural hair just as you LEARNED to style it straight. It’s a process that is not just the physical part of doing the hair but the mental part of truly understanding what it means to have Black hair.
@ 39
What are you talking about? Women of all races, that don’t have naturally straight hair, flat iron or blow dry their hair straight. So again, what are you talking about?
seems like it was a REALLY good show
i want to see the movie but in general im
SOOOOO over this good hair/bad hair
talk – that debate will be around forever.
i applaud chris’s efforts though & i love
how he keeps it real! no sugar coating!
@24 I have natural 4a hair and I often read the natural hair forums on techniques to maintain my natural hair. They often proclaim that natural hair is not any harder to maintain that relaxed hair and that’s bull, I beg to differ. I often rock a weave because I often don’t have the time or the energy to maintain my natural hair in it’s natural state. I live in Florida where the humidity often seems to be at 100%. If I try to do a press and curl, it doesn’t stay pressed and curled for long. While I can wear a weave for 6-8 weeks, wash, dry, moisturize and go, I think we all know that unless we’re wearing locs, which also take a whole lot of maintenance, any natural hair style isn’t going to last more than a week.
I work 10 hours a day and I have a 5 month old baby at home. I don’ t have time and I’m not ashamed to admit it. A lot of us wear a weave because we are overworked and overextended and don’t have the time to maintain our natural hair. Yes, some of it does stems from stigmas from our past, but we can’t ignore that it’s just easier to go to the salon once every two months and get a head of braids or a sew-in or a relaxer than to go to the salon every week and get our natural maintained.
It’s not about hair. It is about how much emphasis women put on hair to make themselves feel beautiful/ important/ worthy. The fact that women put all that time, energy and money into doing their hair and don’t focus on other things such as their well being, debt, their children etc.. amazes me. Based on the comments from some of the people on here, they just don’t get it.
I am not knocking those women down who wear weaves, wigs, extensions, the question is; who are you doing this for? If you cared so much about your hair, you would know that it is unhealthy to perm, dye, and expose your hair to heat on a regular basis. Again I ask, who are you doing this for.
For our black women, there is nothing wrong with your natural hair, your beauty is an extension of what you feel inside. Solange was beautiful on yesterday’s show, she was articulate and to me she looks better than beyonce; now she need a fatter ass and then she would be perfect, but i digress.
My beautiful black sistahs, know your worth, if your hair was to fall out today what would you do?
@41 Sigh,,,, i’m talking about weaves, relaxers, wigs, extensions thats what i am talkn about and no women all around the world dont do that u dont see chinese women wearing weaves you dont see arabs getn perms thats what i am talkn about there is nobody said nothing abt flat irons or blow dryers (which can still be used on natural hair) u miss my whole point tryn to make a point
also “SIGH”nappy is the term the slave masters used to describe our hair when they came & got us from the motherland thats they word for our hair not ours
Anyone know where the entire episode can be viewed?
@ 44
Lol, are you a man? Your questions are idiotic. Some women put emphasis on their looks because their men encourage it, others do it because they like to look good for themselves. They like to feel sexy, and maybe spending $40k on hair extensions (or w/e) helps them achieve that feeling. I still don’t understand why this topic is even up for debate..*shrugs* I’m bored..so I’ll continue to encourage..lol
@ 45
So, is your issue with black women getting relaxers or is it with women straightening their hair? Mind you, I’m referring to flat irons, blow dryers etc., not necessarily relaxers per se. Because, just so you know, women of alll cultures/races w/e wear their hair straight. It’s not just a black woman thing. Yes, only black women get relaxers, but all women use products to straighten their hair. That was my point. Again, this subject is redundant.
@ 46
I was joking when I referred to Solange’s hair as nappy. I was never raised with this bullshyt nonsense of “good hair” vs “bad hair”. Thank God my mother had the sense not raise me w/ such an inferiority complex about my hair/skin tone. I never realized how many low self esteem lunatics there were until I start going to black blogs. Sheesh!
I am so tired of this being the focus as if we are the only ones that wear them.
I also wish we had better haircair products available. Thats what the show SHOULD have been about, what not put on your hair.
#48 actually black women are not the only women who use relaxers. I personally have had a Tongan (Pacific Islander) friend and a Latina friend who used relaxer at some point…so that’s a misconception.
#30, she got a divorce. So it must be choice. Either way she is a single mother but the child still has his father in his life. Ok.
The only reason why people keep saying ‘WHY IS THIS A BIG DEAL?” is because their mad somebody actually had the nerve to do a documentary on why hair for black women is such a big damn obession. Alot of black women are obessed with their hair and dont want to admit it. Spending thousands upon thousands on hair (which is big waste alot of the time because the hair is still damaged regardless of all the hairstyling ) when that money can be going to something important like a credit card bill that should have been paid off. Trying to live up to some beauty standard that really isnt beauty in the first damn place. Did you see that woman who edges were burned the hell offf because she decided the pain of a burning relaxer is more important so she can have “Nap-free” hair. Sad.
And why yall acting like hair is no big deal all of sudden when I have seen EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU torment a celebrity when their hair wasnt to your liking (which some of you have the NERVE to do!). Anyway, Im going to see the movie. I appreciate Chris for his interest and thoughfulness in why so-called “Good Hair” is so important to black women. And Solange looks stunning with her haircut. Some of you need to get off her back. If she wants to chop her off, she can do that.
@43 Although I have never wore a weave and only permed my hair twice..I know what you mean re maintaining natural hair, its hard work and time consuming ..no joke about that!
And being Jamaican I have too much respect for the Rastafarian faith to simply rock dreadlocks as a hairstyle (which also require alot of maintaining as well)
So I have had my natural hair really short for years now which suits me just fine.
I think though that if more black women were to commit to their natural hair maybe we would eventually figure out a way to manage and style our hair so that we can move easily from bed in the mornings into our daily lives.
Good for Solange she came across really authentic.
I agree with Chris…with short hair you are able to see a person’s truth better in their face and therefore their real beauty.
#31
I agree with you. We as black women are obsessed with our hair. Most people think that having the long hair makes you beautiful and that is not true. We teach our young girls this at a early age and it’s sad that they grow up thinking that long hair is beautiful. I have a whole new level of respect for Solonge because she reconized that having long, flowing, straight hair does not make you beautiful. If the truth could be known, most men love women with long hair.
The reason this is a big deal for black women, is because for years and even now in some cases, black women have been slaves to their hair, there are black women who did not learn to swim because of their hair , have lost jobs because of their natural hair cuts, have been pimped by beauty salon and hair stylist, because of their hair and now Oprah is trying to get some black viewers to watch her show by having a show about hair, where are all of Oprah white fans. As for Solange, that girl never had any hair, she says her parents always told her she was beautiful every day, I wonder if this was being said by her mother who is a hair stylist while she was relaxing her hair with creamy crack when she was 4 years old . That family is so fake and are such lairs.
It is a big deal in my opinion. I am absolutely elated that there’s so much focus on this phenomena that occurs amongst black woman every day in this country. It’s been overlooked for S0 long and now it’s finally being outed into mainstream media. I feel that the sugarcoating of the fact that black women have so much difficulty embracing the hair that grows out of their scalp and would rather opt for a second rate substitute, contributes into perpetuating the problem.
It is a problem, and the first step to solving a problem is admission.
Why is the black hair industry a multi billion dollar industry? All of which doesn’t even go into the pockets of black people but yet who cares? As long as Nakia and Ayanna have their Indian Remy weave sewn in every 8 weeks or so they’re straight! Everyone knows this, it’s not like it’s a conspiracy theory but the only reason black women aren’t up in arms about this issue is because they’re content. The Asians are like, “we’ll have all the money and facilitate and control the entire industry but we will provide you with the products you need and the weave that you want.” And black women all respond with a resounding, “Okay!”
The Black community in this country hardly owns any infrastructure, black people are mainly consumers but yet billions of dollars can be spent on relaxers weave etc when they have perfectly good hair growing out of your scalp! It’s astonishing to me that people are this blinded and have no regards for the truth or logic. It’s astonishing to me that this is a culture. It’s astonishing to me that when a black women doesn’t relax her hair it’s called “natural hair” whereas every other ethnic group just calls it “hair”. It’s astonishing that something so basic as hair, that every human being on earth essentially has is the hardest thing for our women to accept about themselves.
This is a huge problem and a very intricate one deep rooted in so many areas but it’s undeniably a problem and the more and more people wake up and break free from what is considered the norm, the more people will follow. So I feel that the problem absolutely has to not only be addressed, but it has to be addressed in volume, front and center.
@ 56
Lol
@54, NO most men do not like women with long hair. That is a trap. Most men like women with self confidence ans self assurance. That is what messes us up. We teach men what to find beautiful. Although they have preferences, I think we should compromise and wear what we feel is beautiful.
I’m REALLLYY glad Solange is on a level MOST black women dare to go. I think she has told the raw truth that so many black women feel but don’t acknowledge because they would have to change. The sad part is the weave makes alot of us look worse, not better. I have seen many women who took off that BullSh and all the sudden you can see how beautiful they were.
Chris was right, Soalnge looked ‘typical’ beautiful with all that hair, now she looks like a real beauty. You can really see her! Black women are running after ‘typical’ beauty. It doesn’t become MOST of them.