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I sometimes look at old pictures of my mother, as she came of age in the 1970s. Her gorgeous Afro gave a nod to the self-empowerment that swelled across the Black community in the years after the civil rights movement.
By the time I was 12 years old, I had been on a begging spree to my mother about getting a hair relaxer. Back then, I didn’t see the beauty in my long, thick hair that took a whole Saturday morning for my mother to wash, detangle, and dry. All of my friends at school had relaxed hair, so I wanted that, too. Eventually, she gave in and my journey with the creamy crack began.
Black women spend close to $8 million a year on beauty and salon products and services, and, on average, visit a salon more than twice a month. In addition, Black women spend twice as much on skin care than women from other demographics. It’s a result of biased beauty standards and racist discrimination that forces Black women to try to measure up to society’s standards of what is appropriate and professional. These products often have a higher toxicity than those marketed to the general population.
You may be wondering: “It’s just beauty, what’s the big deal?” Well, makeup, skincare and hair care are powerful tools of expression for Black women. It’s not just looking good but can also help cope with difficult moments in life such as acne and other conditions.
We’ve all seen the commercials and social media ads for people who have developed certain cancers or conditions related to their use of chemical relaxers. By filing lawsuits, victims may be compensated, which could assist with their treatment and medical costs. To look good and feel good about ourselves comes with a heavy price.
The disturbing truth is that, in the United States, it’s legal for products that we use every day to contain chemicals linked to breast cancer, hormone disruption, birth defects, and other chronic health problems. Products that may contain chemicals of concern are not just hair relaxers but skin lighteners, dandruff shampoos, hair conditioners, hair dyes, nail polish, and fragrances — products we use on a daily basis. The industry has regulated itself for decades, and even defends the toxic ingredients they use.
Most mainstream magazines still cater to white readers. Cosmetic brands are making an effort in their marketing, but most skincare brands are not. By only featuring white women in their campaigns, they signal their assumption that their audience and consumer is white. At the majority of the large beauty companies, most of the key decision-makers are white, which dictates what ends up on advertising material. This is a weaponization of European beauty standards against Black women and why it is so important for us to have a seat at the table to make decisions.
The pressure to look put-together is often fueled by discrimination in the workplace. In 2020, researchers at Duke University found Black women with natural hairstyles are perceived to be less professional and less competent than women with straight hair or white women with curly hair. These perceptions are grounded in patriarchy and misogyny and reinforce the notion that this is the only standard.
In the late 1800s, Annie Malone understood that for Black women, appearance and grooming represent more than just their personal style. It can also indicate a woman’s class and social status. She realized that improving hair health can also have a positive effect on the lives of Black women. This motivation inspired Malone to develop products to help women adapt to a society that judges them based on how they meet the American standard of beauty, which excluded the natural appearance of most Black women. She experimented with chemistry and established a successful business after developing a line of products that were advertised to help improve scalp health and promote hair growth. Malone ultimately opened Poro College.
Around the same time, Sarah Breedlove struggled with hair issues of her own and experimented with solutions. She enrolled at Malone’s Poro College and later became an agent. Given Breedlove’s personal hair struggles and the training she received, she was inspired to begin making and selling her own products. She changed her name to Madam C.J. Walker and started developing her own line of hair products.
The two trailblazing Black women’s stories are often pitted against one another. Regardless, they both understood the relationship between Black women and their appearance, as well as the importance of safe, quality ingredients.
What we choose to put on our hair and skin is a very personal choice. I don’t want to be lectured about what I should and shouldn’t use, as well as the perceived risks. Having to make choices about how I look based on ingredients that could kill me is where I am at right now. I learned that the foundation and concealer that I’ve been using has retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A. Sounds good, right? But it has been linked to skin cancer. So, I stopped using both of those products.
Once all the information started to emerge about the harmful effects of relaxers and other products, many women have veered away from them. But as we know, just because a product may label itself as a natural alternative doesn’t mean it is without risk.
The beauty industry consistently says that product safety is a top priority, and they spit a lot of scientific research and development for everything they do. It just seems like smoke being blown because Black women are getting sick and dying from trying to be beautiful.
The truth is we are beautiful just the way we are, and there is no need for the industry to resort to harmful and dangerous products.
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