What Your Hair Says - THE VIDEO WATCH IT

We wash it, we style it, we dye it. Hair. It's what many women spend hours perfecting. Whether long, straight, short or curly, a woman's hair can say a lot, at least according to one author.

Rose Weitz wrote a book called "Rapunzel's Daughters", which breaks down, what she said, is the truth underneath the roots. So what exactly does your hair say about you?

"We will choose hairstyles based on which cultural stereotype they want to fit into." In Weitz' book, women can send a subliminal message through their locks. For some, they use their hair to grab a man's attention, to show creativity or to get a job. Others use their hair to reveal a part of themselves.

Weitz said in our society, blonde hair is viewed as more feminine, but maybe not as smart. Brown or black hair, just the opposite. Red hair: funny, feisty, but angrier. Long hair: not as professional. Short hair: kind of masculine, yet powerful.

Dawn Beagle, who was getting her hair cut, said, "I think red fits my personality. I've gone to other colors but they haven't worked. I'm a red head, spicy." Jennifer Lauber, a hair stylist with a Total New You, said, "It's like an accessory. It doesn't say everything about a person, but may speak for them a little bit."

Hair, though, can also control how a woman feels about herself. Weitz said, "Women who go through chemo will talk about losing their hair as the more difficult part of the process."

But whatever the color, the cut, the style, at the root of it, it's just hair.

As far as men go, the author says a man should seem like he doesn't care about his hair. The worst thing he can do is the come-over, the mullet or the toupee.

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Oh is this SO...

If this is where we get our QUES or TIPS from them MINIONS we are FOLLOWING them WHITE GODS and their MINION into CULTURAL HELL.

Being a BLONDE  EQUALS BEING MORE FEMININE.

Being BLACK HAIR is not SO FEMININE it seems.

But if we want to be perceived as NOT AS SMART then BE THE BEST AT IT.

OH WELL for all WOMEN who USE THEM WHITE GODS and their MINIONS as JUDGE.

WAIT I am not FINISHED....

THE 'BLACK HAIR' INTERVIEW WITH ARON RANEN: The white guy who uncovered the Korean domination of the black hair industry

      *Aron Ranen is a gifted filmmaker and professor who has received a litany of accolades for his groundbreaking documentaries, along with a couple of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

      Here he talks about his latest opus, Black Hair, an incendiary expose' which is currently generating plenty of conversation in African-American communities all across the country.

      His eye-opening investigation revealed that Koreans have come to control virtually every aspect of the multi-billion dollar, black hair care industry, from manufacturing to distribution to retail sales, while simultaneously employing tactics to put African-American merchants and wholesalers out of business.

(Look for a review of the film in tomorrow's EUR.)

Kam Williams: How did a white guy like you develop an interest in the black hair care industry?

Aron Ranen: I made a TV pilot with an African-American host, comedian Chey Bell who also happens to cut hair. She told me about all the dollars black women spend on their hair. I was amazed, and decided to make a fun film about that. But when I began shooting in Oakland at a hair expo, I met some black folks who told me of the Korean takeover.

KW: How did you decide to make a movie about it?

AR: I knew that the black hair biz has the potential to bring dollars and employment to inner city neighborhoods. I decided that if my skills as a filmmaker can help, then that's my path.

KW: Did you learn a lot about the history of the industry as you researched the subject?

AR: You should have seen my reaction when someone first told me about Madame CJ Walker...I mean, come on...this thing is fixable, doable and the film can help. And I hope Oprah leaves her legacy, just like Madame CJ, and opens up a thousand black beauty supply shops with training, and product discounts for the employees.

KW: Were you surprised to learn the extent of Korean domination of the hair care market?

AR: No.

KW: Why did you put your movie on the Internet in several installments?

AR: To comply with the rules of YouTube.com (scroll down to see the video).

KW: Won't that hurt potential film sales?

AR: Perhaps... Is there money in documentary?

KW: Ask Michael Moore. He made over $100 million with Fahrenheit 9/11. Is what the Koreans are doing, the way they've gone about taking control of the manufacture, wholesale distribution and retail sales of black hair-care products illegal?

AR: We would need help from the NAACP to determine that. I am a filmmaker not an attorney.

KW: Playing Devil's advocate, let me ask you if it's a form of reverse-racism to suggest that black consumers should only buy from black businesses?

AR: Just think, it's a business in which 99% of the customers are black, and 99% of the owners are Korean... That just seems a little off...don't you think?

KW: Yep. What has been the response of blacks, whites and Koreans to your film?

AR: White people say it's one-sided, Koreans don't like it either, but African-Americans give me hugs and tell me to ignore the white people.

KW: Do you think black people will now organize and change their behavior after being educated by your documentary?

AR: I think it will take investment bankers like William Lewis and Vernon Jordan, and major media figures like Oprah, Ed Bradley, Spike Lee, or Sean Combs to take this to the next step in terms of economic development. I mean, these giant foundations give micro-grants to poor Africans in the Sudan for pottery businesses, why can't some of that seed money go to develop black-owned, retail hair supply stores in America?

KW: Were you surprised when one of the black distributors featured in your film was arrested for arson for allegedly attempting to burn down a Korean competitor who opened up down the street from him?

AR: I have no comment, since I have not seen any of the exact charges.

KW: How did he get caught?

AR: Are you trying to get me in trouble?

KW: I'm just asking logical questions. Why do you think the black community is so involved with their hair that they could be 10% of the population but purchase 80% of the hair care products?

AR: That's not my area of expertise. My documentary is a simple story of the obvious truth that is out there for everyone to see. By shining the media light on it, perhaps we can spur some positive economic changes in neighborhoods that could use some good news.

KW: When did you get interested in making movies?

AR: At the age of thirteen.

KW: Why do you also teach filmmaking?

AR: It's fun, and I get to meet people from all over the world who attend my workshops. I also learn a great deal by teaching, and thus become a better filmmaker. I teach "Organic Documentary" at my film school in San Francisco. People interested in learn how to make their own Black Hair-style expose' should visit my website at www.dvworkshops.com.

KW: What other projects are you working on now?

AR: A history of LSD in the Sixties is also up at YouTube.com I am looking for an investor to get it to feature-length.

KW: Is Black Hair officially finished, or is it still a work in progress?

AR: Black Hair will only be done when we get stores open and effect some real change. Until then, I will always release updates on the web and on DVD.

Below is an excerpt from the "BlacK Hair' documentary via YouTube.com.

VIDEO CLICK HERE

  For MORE, go HERE.

Make sure you WATCH the VIDEO before you read the following below.

Oh is this SO...

That it TAKES A WHITE GOD'S MINION to be CONCERN ABOUT THE PLIGHT OF BLACK WOMEN HAIR and the relationship of the BLACK COMMUNITY affair with IT.

Wow, A MINION who went out of his BUSY MINION WAY to FOCUS ON BLACK WOMEN and their HAIR.

So, there's JAPANESE, KOREAN, INDIAN, CHINESE, WHITE GOD'S GOLDEN DOME, SYNTHETIC, ANIMAL, etc in that HAIR.

Just like the state of many BLACK COMMUNITIES especially URBAN ONES. IT'S HAS BECOME MUCH LIKE FOREIGN TERRITORY.

I dont know if it MATTERS to ANYONE but I am willing to accept you as YOU ARE.

Oh well, I guess that's what we get for FOLLOWING those WHITE GOD'S and their MINIONS.

FINISHED...

file:home3

July 4, 2006

BY MAUREEN JENKINS Staff Reporter
 

Blond coifs belonging to Beyonce and Mary J. Blige may grab the headlines, but regular Chicago-area sisters who don't sing, act or dance are rocking golden locks this summer. You'll see them on women whose complexions range from deep dark chocolate to freckled peaches-and-cream.

Thanks to high-tech products from lines designed specifically for African-American hair -- which tends to be fragile because of its texture and non-uniform cuticle layer -- it has gotten much easier for black women to play around with color. As those who've gone blond know, it takes work for naturally dark-haired girls to maintain that golden glow -- not to mention to keep that hair on their heads. But many believe the finished look is worth the fuss.

"For women in general, it feels more [like] luxury, more high-profile," says Jacqueline Tarrant, director of education for Chicago-based SoftSheen-Carson, which produces color lines like Dark & Lovely, Hi Rez and Optimum Care. "Color brings light to your face and gives you a whole new sense of being. It's much less expensive than plastic surgery or a whole new wardrobe."

Black blonds are hardly new, especially on concert stages. Sassy songstress Etta James and late Motown star Mary Wells sported golden locks back in the '60s. And the history stretches back to Africa, says Essence magazine beauty director and cover editor Mikki Taylor.

At Panache Hair Design in Oak Park, salon owner Stephanie Pegues checks client LeVera Roman's golden locks. Pegues makes upkeep "agreements" with clients before taking them blond. (JIM FROST/ SUN-TIMES)

GOLDEN RULES

Considering lightening up for the summer?

Know thyself. "Blond is a bold statement," says SoftSheen-Carson's Jacqueline Tarrant (left), "and although it can look great on someone with your same [skin] tone, that doesn't necessarily mean it's something you can just do." It's not a look for wallflowers.

 

Get hair in shape first. Because you're removing color (and protein and moisture) from naturally dark hair, Tarrant and Oak Park stylist Stephanie Pegues insist it be in optimum condition before coloring. Consider making color the only chemical in your hair by going relaxer-free. But if you insist on both, says Tarrant, reduce your relaxer strength after coloring.

 

Take it slow.Not only will it look more natural, says Tarrant, but it's "better to lighten in steps rather than go from one to 1,000. You want to maintain the integrity of the hair strength because it doesn't do you any good if you [damage it] and have to cut it all off."

 

Commit to upkeep. Blond locks aren't cheap. At Pegues' upscale Panache Hair Design, virgin color with shampoo and styling is $145-$180, with highlights $135-$150. You'll have to invest in regular color touchups (they're $85 at Panache), satin pillowcases and conditioning shampoos for color-treated hair. "You really want to indulge your hair like you would any fine fabric," says Tarrant, "because your hair is a fiber."

 

Take it for a test drive first. Stop in a wig shop and see which blond undertones best match your complexion. Going blond is "a total commitment," says Tarrant, "which is why I say take it for a walk for the weekend."

mjenkins@suntimes.com

"When I look back in African cultures and I look at the Dinkas [in southern Sudan] and how there was a coloring of hair with clay, that was the beginning of platinum blond," says Taylor, author of Self-Seduction: Your Ultimate Path to Inner and Outer Beauty (Ballantine, $29.95). "Not only were they going that ash platinum blond, there were also strong reds. I don't want to mistake black women going blond as a 'trend.' The use of hair color is a form of self-expression that has been with us since the earliest days."

At different points in American history, black women who embraced typically Caucasian looks -- including colored contact lenses, long-and-loose straight locks and blond hair -- were accused of "wanting to be white." Not anymore, says Taylor.

"We are so over that," she says. "We never thought blonds had more fun; we never thought anybody had more fun than we did!

"It's been arrival time for black women for quite some time now. It is a celebratory period. And anytime there's a celebration going on, joy comes forth and expresses itself in many forms. You're seeing it from Hollywood, from the streets -- distinctive beauty moves you've never seen before."

Tarrant says black celebs, including singers Christina Milian and Blu Cantrell and tennis star Serena Williams, have gone ga-ga for blond "because it gets you noticed. And when you're in entertainment, you want to stand out from the crowd. Nobody just wants to blend in."

Adds Taylor, whose job keeps her in touch with black America's top celebrities and stylists: "It is the game of reinvention, if you will. It's the unexpected, the wow factor. Even those who are blond right now might be redheads next year." (That's why it's key for "real women" to remember that just because celebs can seemingly fly from light blond to dark brown and back within a week, they've got top-notch stylists hooking them up with realistic-looking wigs and weaves.)

Because Essence celebrates sisters and self-expression, Taylor won't "typecast" which black women look better with fair hair. "There are chocolate women who look fabulous with golden blond or platinum hues or mocha-toned women who look good with cool blond. We leave that up to women to work in partnership with their stylists."

Oak Park salon owner and Cosmetologists Chicago board member Stephanie Pegues finds that more clients want to go light in the spring and summer. And they range from twentysomethings to retirees, avant-garde types to the more conservative.

"I'll get a client that will go out and party and have a good time with her friends in Jamaica or on the weekends, but on Sunday she's got to go sing [at church] and not look so wild," Pegues says. "None of us are the same way all the time, and we're in different atmospheres at different times of the day and different parts of the week."

What's key at Panache Hair Design, says Pegues, is focusing "on making sure the hair is healthy enough to handle [the coloring] because it is damaging." She insists that clients at Panache Hair Design get six cleansing and conditioning treatments before coloring. "Every time you put that hair color in, you're taking moisture out, whether you're black or white. You will find it on your pillow if you're not putting moisture back in. It requires good upkeep."

But once clients know what's involved, why not take 'em blond?

"We want to express our womanhood," says Pegues, who adds that as an African-American woman, "I know who I am; I just want to be able to expand my world."

mjenkins@suntimes.com

Back, found it.

Oh is this so...

Regular black woman who want to be blond.

I see two sets of standards.

The curseth skin tone issue and blond hair.

Know thyself. "Blond is a bold statement," says SoftSheen-Carson's Jacqueline Tarrant (left), "and although it can look great on someone with your same [skin] tone, that doesn't necessarily mean it's something you can just do." It's not a look for wallflowers.

Only a certain skin tone looks GOOD in blonde.

This CURSE is still with us.

Even Essence Magazine Taylor is AVOIDING where BLOND looks good on a certain black women.

Because Essence celebrates sisters and self-expression, Taylor won't "typecast" which black women look better with fair hair. "There are chocolate women who look fabulous with golden blond or platinum hues or mocha-toned women who look good with cool blond. We leave that up to women to work in partnership with their stylists."

 

Reducing "black" women to pieces of CANDY is not my doing. And to REASSURE those CHOCOLATE women wont be offended when a certain skin tone say you do not LOOK GOOD because you are TOO DARK to be BLOND.

Then we have same EDUCATED female with some out in the woods ideal that no REGULAR BLACK WOMEN in America look too saying... 

"When I look back in African cultures and I look at the Dinkas [in southern Sudan] and how there was a coloring of hair with clay, that was the beginning of platinum blond," says Taylor, author of Self-Seduction: Your Ultimate Path to Inner and Outer Beauty (Ballantine, $29.95). "Not only were they going that ash platinum blond, there were also strong reds. I don't want to mistake black women going blond as a 'trend.' The use of hair color is a form of self-expression that has been with us since the earliest days."

At different points in American history, black women who embraced typically Caucasian looks -- including colored contact lenses, long-and-loose straight locks and blond hair -- were accused of "wanting to be white." Not anymore, says Taylor.

"We are so over that," she says. "We never thought blonds had more fun; we never thought anybody had more fun than we did!

"It's been arrival time for black women for quite some time now. It is a celebratory period. And anytime there's a celebration going on, joy comes forth and expresses itself in many forms. You're seeing it from Hollywood, from the streets -- distinctive beauty moves you've never seen before."

I dont think any SISTER in AMERICA likes the idea of having CLAY in their HAIR.  If the DINKA are the same TODAY as they were back THEN, they have a CONSTANT DIRECT LINK to their ANCESTORS and I GUESS THEIR SKIN TONE reflects THAT.  In America many of us descendants of enslaved Africans have lost a great deal of our ancestors knowledge and ways. 

I guess there is CLAY and its certain AFRICAN DISTINCTION from Sudan which I see no one so FAR emulating then there is that OTHER choice which brings in the issue of that CURSETH SKIN TONE issue which correlates to being CONSIDERED as LOOKING GOOD or NOT.

I REALLY HOPE THE ISSUE IS NOT IN REFERENCE TO WHITE GOD'S GOLDEN DOME.

Oh well, I guess that is what we all get for FOLLOWING those WHITE GODS and their MINIONS.

FINISHED...