Revenna, age 54, is a high school English teacher. She is single and has a son, age 22, and a daughter, age 20. She lives in New Jersey.
What is your first or strongest hair memory?
My hair was always different from other little girls because it was thin, soft, and a sandy reddish color. I didn’t have big, thick ponytails, I had little pigtails. I couldn’t wear the big hair ball barrettes, I had to wear the small ones. The big ones fell right off. It’s not that I didn’t like my hair, but I didn’t love it either.
What is your favorite or best hair memory?
I was in my 30s and my hair was locked and long, past my shoulders. I never had a bad hair day. I didn’t have to worry about it because it was beautiful in any state.
What did you learn and believe about your hair from your mother?
My mother always kept her hair short and neat. I never saw her fuss with her hair or stress over it. She wasn’t all into her hair. I guess what I learned was the attitude that as long as it’s neat and easy, that’s what makes it pretty, and that’s what I admire.
What did you learn or believe about your hair from family and friends?
As a young person, family and friends never commented on my hair. I never got any compliments because my hair didn’t stand out in any way. My hair did not make an impression, so I experimented a lot as I grew up because it was important for me to fit in.
What did you learn or believe about your hair from society and the media?
I was a typical black girl with short hair and my hair didn’t stand out in any way. Back then I felt that it was important for me to try to fit into a mainstream standard of beauty.
What were your favorite hairstyles in your elementary and high school years?
My mother straightened my hair with the hot comb, but other than that I have no recollection of the styles that I wore in elementary school. As I said before, my hair was so unimpressionable! Almost as if it was just on top of my head doing nothing. In high school, I wore updos with a bang, pulled back, or in a French roll. I wore those styles through high school and into college.
What were your favorite hairstyles in your 20s and 30s?
In my 20’s, the updo with a bang was my classic look until I started the weave crap. In my 30’s, I cut it all off and started locking. At that time, people were starting to lock, and it was trendy, but that’s not why I did it. I did it because it was easy, I didn’t care about trends. All it had to do was grow. It was the first time in my life that people noticed my hair. Before I started locking, my hair was invisible. Once I started locking, and my hair started growing, it became an event, it was almost mysterious. It started off short, but the shortness had a purpose because I was cutting it off to create something beautiful.
Were you ever teased or ridiculed about your hair?
I don’t recall being teased or ridiculed but I don’t recall ANY compliments. Again, it was as if my hair was invisible. My hair was a non-subject, there was no conversation about it.
Were you ever made to feel ashamed or wrong about your hair?
Maybe in high school, when I started to become more sensitive about my hair. We didn’t have money for the beauty parlor, so I started experimenting on my own. I guess I just never thought it looked pretty so I felt as if I was on a quest for the right style so that it would finally look pretty. I went to Catholic school and wore a uniform. So, all you have to make yourself stand out is your hair and some accessories. In order to compensate, I wore jewelry and had long nails.
Oprah tells a story about losing her hair after a bad perm. Do you have any hair tragedies?
Yes, in ninth grade, my hair was very soft and could not take a lot. I tried a home perm and it was too strong. My hair broke off and didn’t grow back for a long time. In 11th or 12th grade, I tried a Jheri curl and it looked crazy! It was like a mushroom afro sitting on top of my head.
Looking back, what is your funniest hair experience? It may not have been funny then, but it’s funny now.
When I entered the weave stage in my early 20’s; it was so ridiculous. I went from a person who didn’t really value hair to having all this hair on my head to fuss with. I spent all day in my friend’s kitchen to get long, luxurious hair that didn’t fit me at all. Weaves were a novelty back then and it covered and hid my real hair, so I guess I was trying to achieve what I never had. Hair still didn’t really mean that much to me and I’m not sure why I did it. Maybe because I was starting my career in corporate America and still didn’t know what to do with my hair on a daily basis.
What transitions have you been through?
Press n curl, pigtails, perms, Jheri curl, weaves, natural and now locks.
Have you made any drastic decisions about your hair? If so, were they tied to anything happening in your life at that time?
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I cut it all off to start locking. I wanted something easy and didn’t want my hair to distract me.
Have you ever allowed your hair to stop you from doing something you wanted to do?
No, because I love hats and scarves! And I look cute in them. I don’t get upset over bad hair days. I try not to let fear prevent me from doing anything.
What do you believe about your hair now?
My hair is beautiful, and it reflects my inner sexiness.
What is your favorite way to wear your hair now?
Locked in a curl set colored in my favorite red. My color now is close to my natural color but more vibrant. My inspiration is Dorothy Dandridge.
Do you currently have a stylist that you love?
Nadia Jones of Kingswell Beauty Salon in Jersey City. I go faithfully every two weeks because I work out and locks hold sweat. I hardly ever do my own hair. Nadia listens to me.
What products does your hair love now?
I use Tropical Roots clarifying shampoo, conditioner and growth oil; Nadia makes her own in-house conditioner with pumpkin, honey, mayo, carrot and egg yolk. I also use setting lotion and edge gel, anything with olive oil.
Have you made peace with your hair?
Absolutely!
Any final thoughts?
This is the first time I’ve actually thought about all of this. I believe that I am fortunate to not have been traumatized growing up with hair like mine. I attribute it to my mother’s attitude about hair. I dodged that bullet! Hair was never the focus of our beauty. My mom didn’t put hair pressure on me. Of course, it had to be done and it had to be neat, but that’s it. I came out unscathed because hair was not that big of a deal. It didn’t really mean anything. Now, of course, people do know me by my hair.
Thank you Revenna, for sharing your HAIRstory!
