Comments on: Brown Babies, Pink Parents: To Perm or Not to Perm—That is the question!

By: principessa1984

principessa1984 — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:39:04 +0000

Great! I agree…my mom didn’t allow chemicals until I was in college and out of her house
@mixedchica- there isn’t a big difference. All curls/coils are versatile. That’s what the author has discovered

By: MixedChica00

MixedChica00 — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 23:47:20 +0000

DO they mean MIXED kids or white mothers who adopt black kids? There is a big difference. Having mixed hair is very versatile and it is not that hard to work with. In fact you have MORE options. Anyways good to get these stories out there.

By: tcharter

tcharter — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 02:09:11 +0000

AS a pink mom with 3 little brown babies just like you – this is refreshing to hear – When my daughter was 5 – I had a friend who owned a ethnic salon and she convinced me my daughter HAD to have her hair texturized. I didn’t know any better and decided to trust the “expert.” As my daughter was having the relaxer washed out of her hair, I was watching clumps of her hair wash down the sink… My friend advised me that this was “normal.” Well it wasn’t. My daughter lost clumps of hair out of the back of her head. I began to cry. All those years of caring for that hair and coaxing it to grow went down the drain along with the hair… My daughter is now 7 and has a GORGEOUS head of natural curls and we LOVE to style it together!!!! Please pink mommas, educate yourself about curly hair and ask lots of questions before making any drastic decisions about your child’s hair!!! I hope you can learn from my mistake!

By: LaToya

LaToya — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:03:19 +0000

I think this was an awesome blog and I love your perspective on this subject. I see so many “pink mothers with brown babies” (I love that! lol) who have no idea what to do what their daughter’s hair so they slap a relaxer on it. I even had a friend who called her daughter’s hair “bad,” which made me angry. But I applaud you for loving your babies’ hair and learning to manage it. Good job mama!

By: lilricks

lilricks — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:34:15 +0000

@pinkmama…I love your blogs! Thanks for taking the time to learn about black hair and for teaching your girls to be proud of who they are…kinks, coils, curls and all!! They will greatly appreciate that! Be Blessed!

By: pinkmama

pinkmama — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 20:17:48 +0000

Thanks, ladies, for your input! Misso84 – You raise a very valid point and I appreciate the feedback. Isn’t it wonderful that we have options? Curly, straight, long, short – we can do whatever! Be beautiful my friends!

By: DerbyCityNaturals

DerbyCityNaturals — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:56:47 +0000

Thank you for sharing your story. You were so dead on. In so many ways we take the easy way out whether due to convenience or ignorance. Natural hair is a lot of work but it is also beautiful in all its states: kinky, curly wavy or straight. Exposing children to chemicals unnecessarily is such a horrible move. If you like straighter hair use a blow dryer or a flat iron. You are teaching your girls that they are beautiful just as they are!

By: 1Dae

1Dae — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:19:08 +0000

Yes, I have made the decision not to perm or texturize my 9 year old daughter’s hair. I prayed for a a little girl with long thick hair and I got her. What I left out is that she would not be tenderheaded. As much as i would LOVE to process her hair. I just can’t. We just got to work it out together until and we will. That’s why I love this site because it’s helping me so much.

By: Misso84

Misso84 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:24:09 +0000

“I think the shift in hair care has a lot to do with self-acceptance and the perceived image of beauty. I mean, after all, why did black women apply chemicals to their hair in the first place? To make it appear more like that of white women. Perhaps as women embrace who they are on the inside, we crown our bodies with acceptance and love in the way we treat our hair.”

im really tired of people thinking that just because you get a relaxer in your hair you want to look like a white women. NOT always true. If you have kinky and or curly hair you know it takes a LOT of care and time that you simply just don’t always have. I used to get relaxers for that very reason. took less time to do it before school. I don’t get them anymore since i know the damaging truth behind them. which is purely chemical and NOT psychological. Besides all that i would miss my curls too much so i’d rather make time than damage my scalp and hair. do white women tell other white women that they want to be black because they get a perm? highly doubt it. some people are not happy with what they are born with. some are. for whatever reason. hair, facial features skin color, whatever. It doesn’t matter as long as you are doing what makes you happy and you are not hurting anyone else in the process. This comment is for weaves too. sometimes you just want a style that lasts long and is easy to maintain yet you do not want to damage your hair in the process. what makes the black women getting wash and press so different from those who take a more permanent approach? the only difference is less damage. as for me i will never go back to chemicals BUT i will always wear weaves and maybe even a wig if i feel like it. I like to change styles and use heat more than i would on my own hair so it makes sense to buy some hair…do whatever you want to it then throw it away when you’re done…protecting your natural hair in the process. whatever suits my mood and that doesn’t make me any less proud of my curly top and any less proud to be a black woman. just take care of it and yourself no matter what you do to it. you can still be “true to yourself” and “happy what God gave you” no matter what you do.IT’S JUST HAIR and its quite ridiculous that people make such a big deal out of it.