Michelle Obama's hair

[spokette]

Well, I was at an event this afternoon and chatting away to other black women when a white woman joined us and asked us about Michelle Obama's hair. She said that Michelle Obama must be mixed race because her hair is straight.

Cue me and the other women look at each other with that knowing look and proceeded to educate the white woman on the intricacy of afro hairdressing as well as the expense. We explained that her hair was relaxed and maybe she wore tracts of weave to add body - we are still debating that one.

Anyway it was quite interesting to explain afro hairdressing to someone who has no idea of what black women have to go through with their hair!! Also, I think Michelle Obama's hair is going to be discussed widely for the next 4 year and beyond by black women at least!

I'm interested in this.How often do you need to relax it then?

But do you think MO's hair looks OK? I have been consistently amazed by how awful it looks when she is so beautifully dressed and groomed otherwise.

My friend spends an incredible amount of time in the hairdessers getting it relaxed!

I once couldn't get hold of the on-call Dr at work (am a nurse) because she'd buggered off to the salon to get her hair braided. She was gone 6 hrs!!!

(She got a big slap on the wrist for that one)

What about the daughters? Is their hair straightened too?

I don't like that straightened look either.I think black women look good with those sort of late 60s style very short cropped afros.
(Like Diana Ross and the Supremes on the cover of the album 'Love Child').

She's so gorgeous though.They both are. I bought the Times today just fro the 'behind the scenes pics' supplemnet.

I've heard it's really complicated and often a spurce pf stress. What happens if you don't do any of that stuff? Or is it frowned upon to leave 'natural.'

This page says her hair isn't relaxed, no lye, nothing like it, just product + blowing out. (I think natural hair looks best too. Cornrows, or twists, or whatever.

Spokette, is their daughters' hair relaxed too do you think?. I thought they were a bit young to have their hair relaxed, or is hair relaxing not considered the same as letting a ten year old get highlights?

I know that does happen though.

Personally I think White women only look good with shoulder length blonde bobs.

[as ridiculous a statement as Moondog's about black women's hair]

If her hair is Afro, it would have to be blow dried every day. And she wouldn't be able to go out in the rain.

i get all my hair dressing supplies from black beauty supply places (in the states) are there any stores like this in london? nothing keeps my hair healthier.

oh and spokette i was on the thread where we were discussing if Obama had a chance. I thought he didn't but wished he did. I'm really glad you had enough conviction to argue. it was really refreshing!

Maybe.
But that is how I like black women's hair generally. I have spent my whole life surrounded by black women unti the age of 22.
Oh, and am Zambian.

Why can't you go into the rain with an afro?

There are loads of places in London. Whereabouts are you?

Not straightened afro hair, any more than I would go out in the rain with straightened 'white' hair

Until I watched ANTM I never really knew about weaves etc. But they give everyone one on that show. Tyra is always going on about hers

If you have natural black hair and it's blow dried, it will revert to natural in the rain.

Norkybutnice, a lot of male employers would agree with you I think.

I wondered about this too.I work with lots of black women and they all say they are very of Michelles do but are unsure as to wether its her real hair or not.They say it must be because they dont think her daughters would go through all the relaxing et al at their ages and their hair looks similar to Michelles..

I quite like her hair but think it looks a bit too sturctured iyswim..bit too pefect...That dress she wore for the 10 balls was fabulous though.Top marks.

Any hair ime will "revert to natural" in the rain. (exceptional case is my mil who has her hair "set" every week and it is sprayed with some sort of heavy duty concrete hairspray and nothing budges it all week. She does however favour those rainhoods and large brollies and never goes near a shower)

Google it somebody, find out if the daughters hair is relaxed! i'm just nosy, wouldn't be a criticism. I'm sure if they'd been white and their daughters had mousey brown hair a little bit of touching up mgiht have gone on.

nkf
i'm in st johns wood, do you think there's anything close by?

i am familiar with the euston area too if there is nothing close to where i am now.

Michelle Obama's hair looks relaxed to me. If it was blow dried and straightened, she could never go out in the rain without a hat! So if it had rained during the inauguration,she would have been reaching for an umbrella or hat.

Maybe it is blow dried and straightened but I doubt it.

I think her daughters's hair has been blowed dried and straightened because she would be too sensible to subject them to the relaxing regime which tbh, depletes hair of natural elasticity because it requires redoing every 6-8 weeks.

Moondog, Diana Ross and co wore wigs in the 60s like most black women in the media did at that time. These days, most black women in the media wear weaves(Jamelia) or laced front wigs (Beyonce). Laced front wigs are all the rage now because they are more natural looking than traditional wigs. Some artist wear traditional wigs and you can tell because they usually look awful (Whitney Houston and Alfre Woodard - don't they ever look in the mirror and think Noooooooooooooo?).

There is a small place near King's Cross. On Pentonville Rd. The bottom end. Near the Thameslink Station.