~Share Your Childhood Memories~

[DejaVu2]

Basically I looked like SideShow bob, and was teased endlessly by family and friends. (they all had wavy/straight hair)

So it wasn't surprising that I turned to relaxers when I turned 14.

I love my mom but my childhood was full of hair insecurities, and me wishing I had straight hair. I know I joke a lot on this forum but you guys have really helped me find the beauty in our hair, and for that I'll forever be grateful.

 

[regina07]

OP - my memories are the opposite of yours. I was teased by family for thinking I was all that for having 'good hair.' When I spent summers with my aunts and grandparents, they would rip out my hair every morning when they combed it and tell me that's what I get for having 'good hair.'

Problem was it was good hair as long as it's wet --- air and my hair create a big ole chia do that only more water can tame. My mother hated taking care of it and fussed that she couldn't press it and it wouldn't take a relaxer.

To this day, I still cringe if people tell me I have "good" hair.

 

[yaya24]

I remember this like it was yesterday:

 

[Jas123]

getting a boost up onto the kitchen counter, laying on my back and my mom washing my hair in the kitchen sink... she would give me a towel to place over my eyes just in case any shampoo escaped past my forehead... she would then proceed to rinse and would use a cup, fill it up and pour all over my hair... aaaahhh memories... then she would comb/detangle/braid my hair... it would dry overnight and the next day she would press/hotcomb... i remember when she would get that hair around the edges behind my ear... i would have to hold my ear all the way down & pray she wouldn't accidently burn me she never did thank god... the smell of that ultra-sheen grease & heat... the blue stuff (yellow & green too)... they still make that stufferplexed... you know i don't think we ever used any type of conditioner... much less dc... straight from wash to detangle...

see my avatar for an "after" of my hair being pressed and put into a bun...

eta Poohbear when i googled/images "ultra sheen and hot comb" a few of your pics came... i'm pretty sure that's you... please check it out...

 

[alive]

DejaVu2 @ side show bob

one of the rules at my elementary school was that all the girls had to either have boy cuts or cornrows at school.

so every Sunday, i would sit on a pillow on the floor and my mom would cornrow all 13 strands of my fine relaxed hair into whatever style she felt "inspired" to create on my head. i would then have to wear that style for the entire week. come the following Sunday, we'd repeat the ritual memories memories memories

 

[Nerd.]

My childhood experiences were not too bad. My mom would brush and redo my 4-8 pigtails every morning and change the hair clips to match my outfit for the day. She would spritz my edges with water and SCurl No Drip Activator and at night she would grease my entire scalp with Royal Crown or even Vaseline

Other than wanting to wear my hair out and DREADING my pigtail's shrinkage after wash day, it wasn't that bad. I was relaxed at age 10 unfortunately.

 

[cinnespice]

I remember this like it was yesterday:

That was my first "kiddie relaxer" at 12

 

[cinnespice]

I just remember before the relaxer getting my hair pressed every sunday, greased up with some green dax and then cornrowed and i hated it. My mom still uses dax in hair. I have the urge to throw it in oncoming traffic.....off the bk promenade to ensure death to the jar.

Non- hair related- playing hop scotch and double dutch in an empty space on the side walk fighting with my sister cause i was double handed

 

[PJaye]

getting a boost up onto the kitchen counter, laying on my back and my mom washing my hair in the kitchen sink... she would give me a towel to place over my eyes just in case any shampoo escaped past my forehead... she would then proceed to rinse and would use a cup, fill it up and pour all over my hair... aaaahhh memories... then she would comb/detangle/braid my hair... it would dry overnight and the next day she would press/hotcomb... i remember when she would get that hair around the edges behind my ear... i would have to hold my ear all the way down & pray she wouldn't accidently burn me she never did thank god... the smell of that ultra-sheen grease & heat... the blue stuff (yellow & green too)... they still make that stufferplexed... you know i don't think we ever used any type of conditioner... much less dc... straight from wash to detangle...

see my avatar for an "after" of my hair being pressed and put into a bun...

eta @Poohbear when i googled/images "ultra sheen and hot comb" a few of your pics came... i'm pretty sure that's you... please check it out...

Jas123

Wow! We share identical childhood experiences; the only difference is the type of hair grease that was used - your Mom used Ultra Sheen while my Mom preferred the white Dax.

This was my regular wash routine until my 3" growth spurt in the 4th grade, after which I had to bend over the sink.

 

[Hersheygurl]

I have fond memories of sitting on the floor on a pillow, while my big sis braided my hair in elaborate styles. She was so talented! I would sit on the floor threading multicolored beads on a loop of thread for her to put on the ends of my braids. My braids would hang down long, and you couldn't tell me I wasn't cute when I got to swingin' my hair. Of course, the beads were noisy, but I was happy to have the extra swang.

I would wear certain bead colors for holiday like, red/white/blue for the 4th of July, or red/green for Christmas. I loved the red/black/green beads she put in during Feb. for Black History Month. The little white kids were so enthralled with my hair in beads and thought it was the neatest thing. They always wanted to know how I got my hair like that.

 

[Tiye]

Mine are good memories. I liked the warmth of the pressing comb as it passed by my skin - without touching it. I liked the click click of the curling tongs. I liked the smell of grease - the kind we used smelled kind of jasminey. For some odd reason although we didn't use conditioner, and my hair was natural I never had any problems running a comb through it. When I got my hair braided I liked the feel of comb teeth on my scalp - it was like a massage. Basically all these things are why I like hair today.

 

[Jas123]

Jas123

Wow! We share identical childhood experiences; the only difference is the type of hair grease that was used - your Mom used Ultra Sheen while my Mom preferred the white Dax.

This was my regular wash routine until my 3" growth spurt in the 4th grade, after which I had to bend over the sink.

i remember making the switch to bending over the sink...

My childhood experiences were not too bad. My mom would brush and redo my 4-8 pigtails every morning and change the hair clips to match my outfit for the day. She would spritz my edges with water and SCurl No Drip Activator and at night she would grease my entire scalp with Royal Crown or even Vaseline

Other than wanting to wear my hair out and DREADING my pigtail's shrinkage after wash day, it wasn't that bad. I was relaxed at age 10 unfortunately.

how could i forget the matching of the hair accessories to the outfit... my hair accessory of choice were ribbons

I just remember before the relaxer getting my hair pressed every sunday, greased up with some green dax and then cornrowed and i hated it. My mom still uses dax in hair. I have the urge to throw it in oncoming traffic.....off the bk promenade to ensure death to the jar.

Non- hair related- playing hop scotch and double dutch in an empty space on the side walk fighting with my sister cause i was double handed

@ the bolded

Mine are good memories. I liked the warmth of the pressing comb as it passed by my skin - without touching it. I liked the click click of the curling tongs. I liked the smell of grease - the kind we used smelled kind of jasminey. For some odd reason although we didn't use conditioner, and my hair was natural I never had any problems running a comb through it. When I got my hair braided I liked the feel of comb teeth on my scalp - it was like a massage. Basically all these things are why I like hair today.

what was the deal w/our mothers not using conditionererplexed

 

[fifi134]

I remember my mom would wash my hair every Saturday. My process was always twice as long as my sister's because I had longer hair. She was a bit rough with washing; she used her nails sometimes . Detangling must not have been too bad because I can't remember anything about it. However, I hated blowdrying my hair. She blowdried it every week also, so I had never seen my naked natural texture until I went natural. My mom used the highest setting and my hair was really thick, so it would take forever. I used to complain so she'd let me take breaks . After that, she'd grease my scalp with vaseline and style it. My hair was always done. Every month, she'd hot comb my hair for me and I'd stand in the mirror swangin' around . She's definitely always kept my hair healthy, and it's probably because of that that'd I still take similar approaches with my hair now.