Someone must have sat up in the middle of the night and thought of a great way to exploit the BLACK woman. Before long we were convinced that the way we look is not acceptable and needs alteration. And lets face it, we are insecure about our looks. The whole concept revolves around misinformation, illusion and subterfuge. Not on the part of the manufacturer but the woman herself.
First it was the permanent wave or the perm. It involved the application of harsh chemicals to the hair to create to illusion of the wave. My father once said the process which included hours sitting under some contraption, was like the women were being launched into space. The hair was often greasy and smelled quite a bit. As did the lotions which one needed to maintain the look. If you got on to a chicken bus with lots of women with their perms, and the journey was long, you would smell like you had had the perm yourself.
Then came the relaxers lye and non lye based. The lye based ones were really the pits. You had to make sure the hair was unwashed for at least 3 days prior to the treatment. Otherwise extensive hair loss, scalp damage and universal alopecia would occur. The non lye based relaxers were no better but the "cooking" process was much less traumatic. But the process needs to be repeated every 6 - 8 weeks to maintain a consistent look and prevent hair breakage. Which means more money spend on the hair. Not counting the numerous trips you have to make to the salon in between to get the set, the oil treatment etc. A big hole in your pocket!
Now we have the weave. Oh the joys of the weave! You have one and it is sewn on properly, you will look like you were born like that. If its synthetic, and you have skin like mine you will get a rash which people might mistake for some eruption which has got nothing to do with the weave. This is a cheaper option though and will set you back around $25 for both the weave and the braiding. The hundred percent human hair is rather pricey and might set you back upwards of $300 for just the weave. Most weaves look really skanky after two weeks which necessitates another trip to the salon. And a bigger hole in your pocket!
It has become necessary to encourage women to apply foundation creams, concealers, face powders to maintain the illusion of flawless beauty. Some women wear so much makeup it is difficult to tell where their skin begins. So much make up it looks like mud. Then the skin lightening creams which make you look almost white. Diproson, carolite, ambi, betamethasone etc are applied to lighten the skin. These chemicals weaken the structure of the skin and in the event that they are not available the blemishes are frightening especially on the face.
We have also become fashion victims following every whim, fad or trend with mindless disregard of our pockets. Of particular interest is the legging, jegging and jumpsuit trend. If we can get away with it, we will wear leggings with everything. Shorts (the ridiculously short ones which should never be worn in public anyway), skirts (especially the cheerleader variety) dresses, trousers... We even wear them to bed! And those who are preggers think its a fashion statement to wear leggings and leggings even showing their swollen fronts. Eew! The jeggings at times look rather shameful and scandalous especially if worn by fat people like me. Then you can see the cellulite and the unappealing bumps and dips.
Why anyone thought the black woman could pull off the jumpsuit I will never know. First it looks great on Asian women because we have always known them to wear harem pants and we are used to it. Second, our bodies with those inflated behinds and large hips just look ridiculous and scandalous. It was a great laugh at first but now it just looks sad. You look like you are going to start belly dancing at any moment!
Think of the amount of money you could save if you just believe you are beautiful and do not need to look like someone you are not.
peace,
fadz
First it was the permanent wave or the perm. It involved the application of harsh chemicals to the hair to create to illusion of the wave. My father once said the process which included hours sitting under some contraption, was like the women were being launched into space. The hair was often greasy and smelled quite a bit. As did the lotions which one needed to maintain the look. If you got on to a chicken bus with lots of women with their perms, and the journey was long, you would smell like you had had the perm yourself.
Then came the relaxers lye and non lye based. The lye based ones were really the pits. You had to make sure the hair was unwashed for at least 3 days prior to the treatment. Otherwise extensive hair loss, scalp damage and universal alopecia would occur. The non lye based relaxers were no better but the "cooking" process was much less traumatic. But the process needs to be repeated every 6 - 8 weeks to maintain a consistent look and prevent hair breakage. Which means more money spend on the hair. Not counting the numerous trips you have to make to the salon in between to get the set, the oil treatment etc. A big hole in your pocket!
Now we have the weave. Oh the joys of the weave! You have one and it is sewn on properly, you will look like you were born like that. If its synthetic, and you have skin like mine you will get a rash which people might mistake for some eruption which has got nothing to do with the weave. This is a cheaper option though and will set you back around $25 for both the weave and the braiding. The hundred percent human hair is rather pricey and might set you back upwards of $300 for just the weave. Most weaves look really skanky after two weeks which necessitates another trip to the salon. And a bigger hole in your pocket!
It has become necessary to encourage women to apply foundation creams, concealers, face powders to maintain the illusion of flawless beauty. Some women wear so much makeup it is difficult to tell where their skin begins. So much make up it looks like mud. Then the skin lightening creams which make you look almost white. Diproson, carolite, ambi, betamethasone etc are applied to lighten the skin. These chemicals weaken the structure of the skin and in the event that they are not available the blemishes are frightening especially on the face.
We have also become fashion victims following every whim, fad or trend with mindless disregard of our pockets. Of particular interest is the legging, jegging and jumpsuit trend. If we can get away with it, we will wear leggings with everything. Shorts (the ridiculously short ones which should never be worn in public anyway), skirts (especially the cheerleader variety) dresses, trousers... We even wear them to bed! And those who are preggers think its a fashion statement to wear leggings and leggings even showing their swollen fronts. Eew! The jeggings at times look rather shameful and scandalous especially if worn by fat people like me. Then you can see the cellulite and the unappealing bumps and dips.
Why anyone thought the black woman could pull off the jumpsuit I will never know. First it looks great on Asian women because we have always known them to wear harem pants and we are used to it. Second, our bodies with those inflated behinds and large hips just look ridiculous and scandalous. It was a great laugh at first but now it just looks sad. You look like you are going to start belly dancing at any moment!
Think of the amount of money you could save if you just believe you are beautiful and do not need to look like someone you are not.
peace,
fadz
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