Kim, age 53, is a payroll manager. She is married and has two children, a son age 28, and a daughter age 14. She lives in North Carolina.
What is your first or strongest hair memory?
I was 14 and my sister gave me my first perm. It was silky, long, and straight.
What is your favorite or best hair memory?
I was 25 and I got silky dreads. They were twisty, long, pretty things. They were beautiful.
What did you learn and believe about your hair from your mother?
I learned that hair couldn’t be kinky. You had to straighten it with some hair grease, always Royal Crown. I was always sitting in front of a hot stove on Sunday night.
What did you learn or believe about your hair from family and friends?
That long hair was good.
What were your favorite hairstyles in your elementary and high school years?
In elementary school, I wore two cornrows down the sides and front to back. In high school, my sister did my hair; it was curly in the front with two twists in the back.
At what age did you start doing your own hair?
College
Were you ever teased or ridiculed about your hair?
Yes, in elementary school, my sister rolled my hair in curlers the night before so it would be curly. I walked to school and by the time I got there my curls were gone and my hair was puffy, like an unattractive afro.
Were you ever made to feel ashamed or wrong about your hair?
No
Oprah tells a story about losing her hair after a bad perm. Do you have any hair tragedies?
Yes. I went to a salon for color, I wanted it lighter. They left the color on for a really long time. I remember saying to the lady, “this seems like a really long time.” When they washed it out, it was orange and was falling out in handfuls. I sued them and I won. I learned a valuable lesson that my hair always grows back, no matter what.
What were your favorite hairstyles in your 20s and 30s?
In my 20’s, I loved the Dominican doobie shops. They were everything because it was quick, cheap and my hair was in great shape because they would blow it out, rather than hot curl it. In my 30’s, I wore it the way I wear it now, in a short bob.
Looking back, what is your funniest hair experience? It may not have been funny then, but it’s funny now.
Just a few months ago, I colored my hair because I thought it would look cute red, but it came out orange. I tried to curl it, but it’s humid here (in North Carolina), so I looked like Ronald McDonald or Annie.
What transitions have you been through?
Press-n- curl, perm, Janet Jackson Poetic Justice braids, silky dreads, back to perms, now I’m natural but I use color to stay on top of the gray.
Have you made any drastic decisions about your hair? If so, were they tied to anything happening in your life at that time?
Yes, I dyed my hair red in conjunction with a dramatic change in my life.
Have you ever allowed your hair to stop you from doing something you wanted to do?
Yes, swimming, working out at the gym, going to outdoor events when misty or rainy.
What do you believe about your hair now?
It’s indestructible, no matter what I do it comes back. It takes time and effort, but I love the versatility of my hair, I really do.
What is your favorite way to wear your hair now?
I live in the south now, so there are no doobie shops, so I’m mostly wearing it natural and using rollers. I love a long bob, once it gets healthy I’ll go back to that again. I’ve had it bleached twice and now it’s dry and not as thick and full as it usually is. I don’t like the current color because I think it makes me look older and it doesn’t look natural.
What products does your hair love now?
My top products are olive oil, shea butter, and Nexxus Keraphix damage healing conditioner, and Nexxus Therappe ultimate moisture shampoo. I stopped using them for a while but those are my top products.
Who is your main stylist now?
No one, I’m still trying to find one.
Have you made peace with your hair?
Yes, but I need a good stylist, I’m too lazy to take care of it properly and I haven’t found any shops here like the ones I went to when I lived in New Jersey. I’m finding that the shops are expensive and mediocre. I’ve made peace with my hair; I just can’t take care of it properly on my own.
Kim, thank you for sharing your HAIRstory.
