Good Hair


Good Hair

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Transcript


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This film contains some strong language.

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Those are my daughters, Lola and Zahra,

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the most beautiful girls in the world.

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And even though I tell them that they're beautiful every single day,

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sometimes it's just not good enough.

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Just yesterday, Lola came into the house crying

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and said, "Daddy, how come I don't have good hair?"

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I wonder how she came up with that idea?

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Well, there's always this sort of pressure within the black community,

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like, "Oh, if you have good hair,

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"you're prettier or better than the brown-skinned girl

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"that wears the Afro or the dreads or the natural hairstyle."

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I mean, have I gone around thinking it,

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and have I said it to myself, "I got good hair"?

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Do I say it to my daughter,

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like, and not even thinking what I'm saying?

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I'm like, "Honey, you have such good hair.

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"You have such beautiful hair."

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Growing up, I considered anybody's hair but mine good hair.

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Like, my mom is white.

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I'm half Russian and Norwegian on my mother's side,

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so my mom's hair is silky and blonde, and I was like, "Why?

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"Just why didn't I get your genetics?"

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That was what I looked at as, you know,

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good hair was white hair.

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The lighter, the brighter, the better.

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And that's a thing that causes great dissension

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within the black community and with black women.

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You know, I look in the black hair books,

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and it's like all the hair is straight.

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It was a hard, like, decision in the beginning.

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I said, "No, I'm going to be strong against all the forces

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"that are going to try to get me to straighten my hair."

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You know, you look at the magazines

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and you want to be that girl, you know.

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You want to be that girl,

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and you have this fantasy where you think,

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"If they straighten it out,

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"then all of a sudden it's going to grow

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"and it's going to really move and it's going to really flow

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"and I'm going to have this hair."

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Well, you never had the hair to begin with,

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but you don't know that, you know.

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When you look at a woman's hair,

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it's a fantasy come true if they can really pull that off.

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So, for me, yeah, hair's real important.

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Well, I would say that hair is a woman's glory,

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and that you share that glory with your family.

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And they get to see you braiding it,

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and they get to see you washing it,

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and they get to... It's a glory.

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But it is not a bad thing or a good thing. It's hair.

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If you have it on your head, it's good.

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If you have it growing between your toes,

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it probably isn't so good.

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So what feeds this hair machine?

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How do we decide what good hair is?

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Well, at least for some people, that decision is made

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where all major black decisions are made...

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in Atlanta at the Bronner Brothers Hair Show.

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That's right, the Bronner Brothers Hair Show.

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Twice a year, for over 60 years,

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the Bronner Brothers have hosted this massive hair show

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with over 120,000 hair professionals in attendance,

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over 28 major hotels booked exclusively,

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and over 60 million pumped into the Atlanta economy.

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Good hair is good business.

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My father started it 60 years ago,

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and the show was actually a seminar

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to teach the people buying the products

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how to use the products.

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And 60 years later,

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the number-one purpose of the hair show,

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to come learn how to use new products.

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Certain products, we index triple what the white market does.

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We're at 12 per cent of the population,

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but we buy 80 per cent of the hair.

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Wow!

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I got in the wrong business.

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All I know is, we spend a ton of money on our hair.

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No matter what, we going to look good.

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We going to look good.

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You know, that's the bottom line.

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We're going to look good regardless.

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While the main purpose of the show

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is to promote products and make tons of money,

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the three-day event culminates in a hair contest

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where stylists from around the world

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come to compete and show off their skills

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in front of an arena of cheering hair fans.

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The winner not only takes home 20,000,

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but also receives lucrative endorsement deals

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and establishes themselves as the leading voice in black hair.

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Now, can you tell me, how are the hairstylists chosen

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to compete in this competition?

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We try and select the best of the best.

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If we see someone that's exciting on stages,

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we invite them in to do our Battle.

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Tanya, I really can't say her strength,

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cos this is her first time doing the Battle.

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Her weakness is that she's sort of new.

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-Well, I'm happy to be nappy.

-How about that?

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Oh, Lord. See, Tanya, don't take it there.

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She don't want to be nappy.

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No, I'm not saying...

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I know my hair can get very coarse, but...

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Ooh, and then they try to find a better word for it.

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Yes!

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Dress it up, baby. It's OK.

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That's a stigma.

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Chris, are you listening?

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It's not called bad.

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Nappy's not bad.

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Well, actually...

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It can still be good.

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It's just nappy.

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I changed it around.

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Cos people with that soft, natural, curly hair,

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I call that bad hair now.

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OK, cos it's hard to curl?

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Cos nappy hair holds curls.

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Tanya's new to this, but she's also business partners

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with former Bronner Brothers champion Kevin Kirk.

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Kevin won 20 grand back in 2005,

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when 20 grand really meant something.

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If that belt could talk, what do you think it would say?

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It'd say, "Bring home my brother August 18th."

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So the brother's held captive?

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It's held captive.

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Bronner Brothers got it on lock right now.

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I picture myself being David

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and all the other contestants being Goliath.

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Derek is a very exciting person.

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He's a unique person.

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His performance is always at the top.

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Styling, he might be a little bit weak on that,

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but exciting, very exciting.

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Derek competed last year

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and many people, mostly Derek, felt he should have won.

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But he ended up losing on two technicalities -

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nudity and too many people on stage at one time.

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My biggest scare was me

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trying to find a pair of boots to wear for the show.

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A guy hit me up on MySpace,

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and he ends up being a boot designer.

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Jayda, Tyree. Terrence, Tyree.

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And he basically takes boots that you...

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a boot that you already have,

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and redesigns it and customises it

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and, hopefully, you guys will see a phat pair of boots.

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I can't wait. I'm so excited about this right now.

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Freddie...

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very smart.

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That's her strength. Smart, can do hair.

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Her weakness is that she over-thinks it.

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She goes over the audience's head.

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Last year's theme was Broke Front Mountain.

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So that was based

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-on the movie Brokeback Mountain.

-It was, kind of.

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When we did the...

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We did a video clip

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that was in the beginning that was about 30 seconds.

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I'm going to work on her with all these.

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I might have to hide from them to get them, though.

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I'm going to be hiding more than Harriet Tubman was hiding.

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You know, I liked Broke Front Mountain.

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I think I just shouldn't have cut the hair in the boxes.

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I put this "FJ," my logo on there,

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and people thought it was something Asian.

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They just couldn't keep up.

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Now, which of the other stylists are you most worried about?

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Probably Jason.

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Jason Griggers.

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Me and Jason know of each other.

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Do you have any enemies in hair?

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No.

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Jason's strength is his incredible hairstyles.

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I, actually, am from the same hometown as Jason.

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He's been doing my hair since about 2000,

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and my hair was her length when I started coming,

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and this is mine.

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No tracks in this.

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So he has what we used to call "the growing hand".

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I never said that.

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So, Jason, you seem to be able to get women off the weaves.

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You're kind of like the Betty Ford of black hair.

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I refer to it as the Rosa Parks of hair.

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Jason...

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where does a white man learn how to do black hair?

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In school, they teach you everything.

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This one teacher that I had,

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she would always give me a pair of these

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to walk around school with, and she'd say,

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"I don't hear you clicking and twisting.

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"I don't hear you clicking and twisting."

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-Was she a black woman?

-She was a black woman.

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She was the only black teacher at school.

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And she was determined to teach you...

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She was determined to teach me how to work those Marcel irons.

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So she's like Branch Rickey and you're the Jackie Robinson.

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That's "The Jackie Robinson Story"

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starring Jackie Robinson as himself.

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It's big league all the way.

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There are some white people that are good at doing black hair.

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But there are very few that I've met.

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There are very few.

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So what happens is,

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you walk in and the first thing you say is,

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"Do you have a pressing comb?

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"Do you have a flat iron?"

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And it's like, "Oh, yeah!

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"You know, we have everything.

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"I can do whatever you need."

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And then the process starts.

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The process starts, and it's a little tragic.

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If you don't understand black hair,

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you're afraid of it if you see it in its natural state.

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And you can't really see around it.

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They don't understand that it can change.

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"Give me two days, baby.

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"What you want? Long, short, black, blue, green?

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"Little fan on the side? What hair do you look...

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"Give me a picture, give me two days, I got you."

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Is this your hair?

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Yes. All mine.

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-All your hair?

-All mine.

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Shake it for me.

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I mean, how does this happen?

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What did you put in it?

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If you went under the counter in a black woman's bathroom,

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she's got about 30 or 40 bottles of different things.

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She's always constantly trying out something,

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trying to perfect the solution, if you will.

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The antidote.

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The antidote. Yeah.

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Relaxer.

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The closest thing we have to a nap antidote.

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For all you white people out there that don't know what it is,

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you name a black woman, any black woman,

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no matter how famous or infamous,

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they've either had their hair relaxed,

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or they're having their hair relaxed right now.

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And a lot of black men, too.

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If your hair's relaxed, white people are relaxed.

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If your hair is nappy, they're not happy.

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So what's your definition of good hair?

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Something that looks relaxed and nice.

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Yeah, relaxed and straight.

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Wow, what do you have there?

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Is that a bucket of relaxer?

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No doubt, baby.

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Relaxer.

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Also known by its government name, sodium hydroxide.

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Relaxer's the chemical that will take a black woman's hair

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from this...

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and change it into this.

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Wow.

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Look at it.

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My ring is still there.

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My fingers all there.

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I think I'm going to marry you.

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In fact, as far as hair products go,

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relaxer's the cash cow for the Bronner Brothers Hair Show.

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It's how black women have been getting their hair straight for decades.

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Vigorol Liquid Hair Relaxer.

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You're going to love your hair like you've never loved it,

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come rain or come shine.

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The first time I got a relaxer,

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I remember thinking, "Wow, now I'm pretty.

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"Now, I'm beautiful...

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"or closer to it, at least."

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Dark and Lovely Permanent Creme Relaxer.

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A beautiful way to relax your kind of hair.

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Mentally, I think a lot of black women,

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they're on this quest for attaining the straightest hair possible,

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trying to conform to a more European look.

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The straighter hair, the better.

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And we've been coached with that mentality since childhood.

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With Vigorol Hair Relaxer and a hot comb,

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you'll have your hands full.

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I remember seeing ads like this

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when I was a little kid watching Soul Train.

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What the hell is relaxer anyway?

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Where does it come from?

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Well, some of it comes from Greensboro, North Carolina.

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This medium-size town

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was once the capital of the Confederacy.

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White will fight desegregation!

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But now it's the home of Dudley Products,

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a 35-million black-owned hair empire

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that employs thousands of people worldwide.

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Greensboro is the home of the Dudley Mansion,

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the Dudley Beauty School,

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Mr Dudley himself,

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and, of course, Dudley Manufacturing.

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Dudley Products have been valued at up to 100 million.

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The plant itself is worth over ten.

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It employs hundreds of people

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and is situated on over 47,000 acres

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of prime North Carolina real estate.

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In short, Mr Dudley is a nap impresario.

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Bad hair has been very good for Mr Dudley.

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What's he doin'?

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Joe is making relaxer.

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This is how they make relaxer?

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This is a portion of a 7,000-pound batch of relaxer.

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7,000 pounds is worth how much?

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7,000 pounds, you're talking about 18,000.

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This would last Prince about a month.

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Exactly.

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The slightest little bit of these chemicals

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can really cause harm to the body.

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A splash of sodium hydroxide in your eye

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can potentially lead to blindness.

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It may not happen right away,

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but it can lead to blindness later on in life.

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But you'll eventually have a dog.

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Yes, you will eventually have one.

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And the more of these chemicals you inhale

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as you continue to work in it,

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it can have an adverse affect on your body.

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Let me read some of these.

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"The rate of change is controlled by what factors?

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Temperature, concentration, time, and pH."

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Wow, what's that word?

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What? Ammonium thioglycolate?

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Wait. Say that again to the camera.

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Ammonium thioglycolate.

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You're smart.

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Enrolment at the Dudley School of Beauty

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means one thing - long nights poring over scalp theory.

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These budding hair scholars

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master the chemistry of Dudley products

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and how to use them on mannequins,

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even white mannequins.

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They are also tested on the finer points

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of how not to put relaxer in the eyes,

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how not to burn ears with hot combs,

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but most importantly, they learn

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that if you can make enough black women happy,

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you can live like a king.

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When you go back home,

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I want you to tell the world,

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we manufacture our own product,

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we sell our own product to our own, through our own.

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That's the reason why we will never sell our company.

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Because if I asked you to take off the clothes

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that you didn't buy from your race,

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it would be a nudist camp in here right now.

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The nudity thing was a little weird,

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but if you sniff enough chemicals,

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you just might say anything.

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But I've got to admit,

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looking at these proud black women

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just made me think about my daughters.

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So the next day, I got on a plane

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and went to meet the Dalai Lama of hair himself.

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Tell me, when was the first time you had relaxer in your hair?

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Late '70s.

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James Brown, who was like the father I've never had,

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was in his office one evening in Augusta, Georgia,

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and he said to me

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that he was real tight with the Republicans.

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And I said, "Well, if you so tight,

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"why don't you get us Martin Luther King's birthday

0:16:530:16:56

"a federal holiday?"

0:16:560:16:57

He said, "Get the White House on the phone."

0:16:570:16:58

I said, "Oh, yeah, right."

0:16:580:17:00

But I told his secretary, "Get the White House on the phone."

0:17:000:17:02

They left a message.

0:17:020:17:03

Three hours later, to my surprise,

0:17:030:17:05

the White House called back.

0:17:050:17:06

He got on the phone

0:17:060:17:07

and told them he wanted to come see President Reagan.

0:17:070:17:10

So they agreed to meet on January 15th, '82.

0:17:100:17:13

And I'll never forget, he said,

0:17:130:17:15

"When you go to the White House, I want you to look like me,

0:17:150:17:18

"cos when people see you, I want 'em to see me.

0:17:180:17:20

"You're a reflection of me."

0:17:200:17:21

He took me to a lady in Augusta named Mary.

0:17:210:17:24

He said, "I want you to style Rev's hair like mine."

0:17:240:17:26

But that's the day we went to the White House, right there.

0:17:260:17:29

When was the first time you had a relaxer?

0:17:300:17:33

I was nine.

0:17:330:17:34

I remember the exact day.

0:17:340:17:36

And I was, like, "Mama, I want to get my hair done.

0:17:360:17:37

"I want a relaxer."

0:17:370:17:39

And she was, like, "What do you know about relaxers?"

0:17:390:17:41

And I was, like, "I want a relaxer."

0:17:410:17:43

At nine years old, I got my first relaxer

0:17:430:17:44

and I remember it just being...

0:17:440:17:47

it was like a miracle.

0:17:470:17:48

I think you're trying to blend in.

0:17:480:17:49

I think you're trying to make everybody comfortable.

0:17:490:17:52

Relaxed.

0:17:520:17:53

Relaxed and not, like,

0:17:530:17:54

"Oh, my God, what is that?" you know?

0:17:540:17:56

That's what the relaxer does. It relaxes people.

0:17:560:17:58

How old were you

0:17:580:18:00

the first time you got a relaxer?

0:18:000:18:03

Oh, God.

0:18:030:18:05

I was about 70.

0:18:050:18:07

70?

0:18:070:18:09

You went your whole life?

0:18:090:18:10

Not my whole life. I'm still alive.

0:18:100:18:13

I relaxed my hair when I was in the tenth grade.

0:18:150:18:18

And I'll tell you, when you was really gangster,

0:18:180:18:20

you could show up in homeroom with rollers in your hair.

0:18:200:18:22

And you had rank by how big the rollers were.

0:18:220:18:25

Like, the yellow rollers were smaller,

0:18:250:18:26

and they get bigger and bigger.

0:18:260:18:28

The orange rollers meant you had more hair,

0:18:280:18:30

so it was like,

0:18:300:18:32

I actually got a mug shot some-damn-where

0:18:320:18:33

with rollers in my hair.

0:18:330:18:36

Yeah.

0:18:360:18:38

I have a relaxer. I am on the creamy crack.

0:18:380:18:40

You call it "creamy crack"?

0:18:400:18:42

Because once you're on it,

0:18:420:18:43

unfortunately, people tend to have a difficult time getting off of it.

0:18:430:18:47

Creamy crack.

0:18:470:18:50

So you're saying your hair's addicted to relaxer?

0:18:500:18:53

It was. For a time, I was the first one at the beauty shop.

0:18:530:18:57

I was like, "I feel roots.

0:18:570:18:59

"Hook it up."

0:18:590:19:00

I don't know.

0:19:000:19:02

I was taught by a lot of old hustlers.

0:19:020:19:03

They said that the only way

0:19:030:19:05

you could have a upper hand on a woman

0:19:050:19:06

is to be flyer than her.

0:19:060:19:09

Tell us about the first time you ever got...

0:19:180:19:20

-the process.

-- The cook-up?

0:19:200:19:21

Yeah, the cook-up.

0:19:210:19:25

You got to wash that out immediately.

0:19:250:19:26

Soon as it starts to burn,

0:19:260:19:29

you got to get to the sink immediately,

0:19:290:19:30

or else you lose your hair.

0:19:300:19:32

The burn of a perm is, I think, the most excruciating burn.

0:19:320:19:35

I think it's hotter than fire.

0:19:350:19:37

Especially the first time.

0:19:370:19:39

I mean, the first time,

0:19:390:19:40

you've never felt like your whole skull is on fire,

0:19:400:19:43

and why are you doing this?

0:19:440:19:46

If you have maybe like a pimple or something in your scalp,

0:19:460:19:49

and that stuff gets in, it'll start to burn.

0:19:500:19:54

But usually if you're really trying to relax your hair,

0:19:540:19:55

it's kind of like a torture session.

0:19:550:19:57

It's like you want it to get as straight as possible,

0:19:570:20:00

so you feel it burning,

0:20:000:20:01

but you be like, "Just a little longer.

0:20:010:20:02

-"Just a little longer.

-A little bit longer.

0:20:020:20:04

"Wash it out!"

0:20:040:20:05

Anybody here ever been shot?

0:20:050:20:08

So what felt worse,

0:20:080:20:09

the bullet or the relaxer?

0:20:090:20:13

Anybody here have a baby?

0:20:130:20:15

What's more pain,

0:20:150:20:16

a chemical burn or childbirth?

0:20:160:20:19

Childbirth.

0:20:200:20:21

But what if you had to have a bad perm for eight hours?

0:20:210:20:24

I don't know.

0:20:250:20:29

Where were you shot?

0:20:290:20:31

In the face.

0:20:310:20:32

You got shot in the face?

0:20:320:20:33

That's a pretty bad shot.

0:20:330:20:35

I was the first 50 Cent.

0:20:350:20:37

Somebody just thought you was ugly?

0:20:370:20:39

Could be.

0:20:390:20:40

What's it feel like, the chemical burn?

0:20:400:20:43

Can you explain it?

0:20:430:20:44

Just like, you know, you're on fire, literally.

0:20:440:20:47

You know, my head was just burning.

0:20:470:20:49

The sensation was just horrible.

0:20:490:20:50

Immediately, I just began to cry.

0:20:500:20:52

It was horrible.

0:20:520:20:53

The burning of the skin, the stripping,

0:20:530:20:56

you know, the oozing, the weeping,

0:20:560:20:58

all the things that go along with stripping

0:20:580:21:00

that superficial epidermis off the skin.

0:21:000:21:03

You can get a burn, like scabs around your head,

0:21:030:21:06

in the middle of your head.

0:21:060:21:07

It's supposed to take the knottiness of your hair

0:21:070:21:10

down to some thin, laid-back, Suave Bolla Dominica hair.

0:21:100:21:14

But if you leave it in too long, you just get Negro nappy scab,

0:21:140:21:18

left the Concolean too long,

0:21:180:21:21

and you just are walking around twisted

0:21:210:21:23

with scabs on the front of your head.

0:21:230:21:25

That's how my asymmetrical thing came in.

0:21:250:21:27

Oh, yeah?

0:21:270:21:28

Remember when my sister did my hair?

0:21:280:21:31

-And then this whole side was burnt off.

-I remember.

0:21:310:21:34

And then that's how the style

0:21:340:21:35

of the asymmetrical look came in with Salt-n-Pepa.

0:21:350:21:38

And I had to shave off one side of my hair,

0:21:380:21:41

and that's how my hair fell out.

0:21:410:21:44

I remember that. That was devastating.

0:21:440:21:46

I was really hurt for you.

0:21:460:21:47

In the "Push It" video.

0:21:470:21:49

Right before that.

0:21:490:21:52

Cos in the "Push it" video, it's kind of...

0:21:520:21:54

And then you were colouring it in with...

0:21:540:21:56

-With pencil.

-With brown pencil.

0:21:560:21:58

I was colouring in those spots for you.

0:21:580:22:00

I remember that.

0:22:000:22:01

Can you imagine that?

0:22:010:22:02

And she's colouring my hair with pencil,

0:22:020:22:04

trying to cover the bald spots.

0:22:040:22:07

So, I'm here with Professor Berry, well-renowned.

0:22:080:22:12

Now, could you tell us

0:22:120:22:14

exactly how dangerous sodium hydroxide is?

0:22:140:22:17

Sodium hydroxide will burn through your skin.

0:22:170:22:21

The chicken is your skin.

0:22:210:22:22

OK. So it'll go from my brown skin down to the white meat.

0:22:220:22:25

-Right.

-Wow.

0:22:250:22:28

Now, you realise this goes on people's heads, right?

0:22:280:22:30

Sodium hydroxide?

0:22:300:22:31

Yeah, black people, black women, some men...

0:22:310:22:35

You know, Morris Day, Prince...

0:22:350:22:37

put sodium hydroxide in their hair to straighten it out.

0:22:370:22:41

Why would they do that?

0:22:410:22:42

To look white.

0:22:420:22:43

Probably what the sodium hydroxide is doing

0:22:430:22:45

is actually breaking down the protein in their hair.

0:22:450:22:48

If it gets down into the scalp, it'll kill it at the root,

0:22:480:22:51

and you'll actually have bald spots there.

0:22:510:22:54

If you're a beautician or something,

0:22:540:22:55

and you deal in sodium hydroxide all day,

0:22:550:22:58

-I mean...

-I wouldn't do it.

0:22:580:23:00

If you breathe just the fumes from sodium hydroxide,

0:23:000:23:03

those fumes will ruin your lungs.

0:23:030:23:05

They'll damage your lungs permanently.

0:23:050:23:06

Wow.

0:23:060:23:07

Now, this is an aluminium soft drink can,

0:23:070:23:10

and it's been in sodium hydroxide for just over an hour.

0:23:120:23:15

Another aluminium soft drink can

0:23:150:23:18

that's been in for about three hours.

0:23:180:23:21

And then this one has been in

0:23:220:23:25

for out four hours. It has disintegrated.

0:23:250:23:28

So that can's got a good perm.

0:23:290:23:31

That can's got a good perm.

0:23:310:23:33

Wow, you're a good girl.

0:23:400:23:43

How old are you?

0:23:430:23:44

Six.

0:23:440:23:45

Six. Getting that perm.

0:23:450:23:49

What's the youngest kid you ever done?

0:23:490:23:52

Three.

0:23:520:23:53

Three?

0:23:530:23:55

How long you been getting your hair permed?

0:23:550:23:58

This is your second perm, huh?

0:23:590:24:01

No.

0:24:010:24:02

How many have you gotten?

0:24:020:24:04

I had the texturizer, and some of my hair fell out,

0:24:040:24:07

and my mama started giving me some Kidee Perms.

0:24:070:24:10

So your mama gave you Kidee Perms?

0:24:130:24:16

I didn't even know they had Kidee Perms.

0:24:160:24:18

Of course, they go to the drugstore

0:24:180:24:20

and they see Kidee Perm.

0:24:200:24:22

Well, a kidee perm is really the same as any adult perm.

0:24:220:24:25

It's just milder.

0:24:250:24:26

But it's still that same chemical,

0:24:260:24:29

that hydroxide chemical that can be very damaging.

0:24:290:24:31

It would be like a kiddie beer.

0:24:310:24:33

Right.

0:24:330:24:35

Does your hair blow in the wind?

0:24:350:24:38

Is it cuter than the other girls at school?

0:24:380:24:41

Really?

0:24:410:24:43

Sometimes their hair be hanging down longer than mine.

0:24:430:24:46

The other girls at school got perms, too?

0:24:460:24:49

I mean, I have had mothers that are starting to give their girls,

0:24:490:24:54

their little girls perms,

0:24:540:24:55

and they're not even two years old yet.

0:24:550:24:57

They're calling regarding consultation

0:24:570:25:00

on, "Dr Maclin, what do you think that I should do?

0:25:000:25:03

"My daughter is one and a half,

0:25:030:25:05

"and it's tough for me to comb her hair.

0:25:050:25:08

"I'd really like to put a perm in. What do you think?"

0:25:080:25:10

Under a certain age, the child is still growing,

0:25:100:25:12

the scalp is still maturing,

0:25:120:25:13

the follicles are still maturing.

0:25:130:25:15

And if you're putting this chemical on too early,

0:25:150:25:18

you're damaging your child's follicles almost for life.

0:25:180:25:20

When was the first time you got a perm in Jaylin's hair?

0:25:220:25:27

It was back in July, I think.

0:25:270:25:29

How old was she?

0:25:290:25:31

Three. She had turned three in June.

0:25:310:25:34

Do you like gettin' perms?

0:25:340:25:36

I got a little three-year-old, Zahra.

0:25:360:25:38

She don't have a perm, though. Not yet.

0:25:380:25:40

Should I get one for her?

0:25:400:25:41

-Yes.

-OK.

0:25:410:25:43

Why should Zahra get a perm?

0:25:430:25:45

Cos...

0:25:450:25:47

she's supposed to get a perm.

0:25:470:25:50

Cos everybody's supposed to get a perm?

0:25:500:25:51

-Yes.

-OK.

0:25:510:25:54

When the time's right, I'm going to tell my daughters,

0:25:590:26:01

"Don't drink, don't smoke,

0:26:010:26:03

"and don't have babies till you're married."

0:26:030:26:05

Now I got to add, "If you do have a baby,

0:26:050:26:08

"make sure you don't get her a Kidee Perm."

0:26:080:26:10

Wow.

0:26:100:26:13

Now, it's five days till the show.

0:26:180:26:21

What do you think you need to work on the most?

0:26:210:26:24

Upside-down cuttin'.

0:26:240:26:27

I'm hanging upside down from a bar,

0:26:320:26:34

and I'm cutting one of my models' hair upside down.

0:26:340:26:37

It's really hard.

0:26:370:26:39

Oh, jeez.

0:26:390:26:42

I'm scared.

0:26:420:26:44

So are you going to try to cut in front of her face?

0:26:440:26:46

Uh-uh. She going to have a spiked bob.

0:26:460:26:48

OK, so you ain't... That'll make it easy.

0:26:480:26:52

That's what I was tellin' you.

0:26:520:26:53

It takes you so long to catch on here.

0:26:530:26:56

In order to do great things, you know,

0:26:560:26:58

you have to have greatness inside you.

0:26:580:27:01

I believe the greatness is Jesus Christ.

0:27:010:27:03

Our talent level might be right there,

0:27:030:27:06

but it's that favour and anointing that we have

0:27:060:27:08

that take us over the top.

0:27:080:27:11

Now...sacrifice.

0:27:140:27:17

If you ain't never been there, you're about to go there.

0:27:170:27:19

So let's get ready, OK?

0:27:190:27:20

Sacrifice. We're going to start a fast

0:27:200:27:23

starting midnight tonight, no sodas...all right?

0:27:230:27:26

No juice. Water only.

0:27:280:27:30

We're purifying ourselves, OK?

0:27:300:27:32

No snacks. Water only.

0:27:320:27:34

No food?

0:27:340:27:36

OK, first of all, hold on.

0:27:360:27:39

You're not going to stand here and tell me

0:27:400:27:42

what you are or not going to do, all right?

0:27:420:27:44

Winners do one thing. Hold on.

0:27:440:27:46

Winners do one thing... that's win. All right?

0:27:460:27:49

And we're going to make some sacrifices.

0:27:490:27:51

I've sacrificed a lot for this show.

0:27:510:27:54

That's something I really don't believe in.

0:27:550:27:57

-You're not a Christian?

-No.

0:27:570:28:01

Wow, she's gettin' debris out your nose.

0:28:090:28:12

You went to school for this?

0:28:120:28:13

Yes.

0:28:130:28:16

Now, what does the feet washin' do for you, Derek?

0:28:160:28:18

I'm wearing a four-inch boot for the show.

0:28:180:28:21

-A four-inch boot?

-Correct.

0:28:210:28:22

And so I need to make sure that my feet is right

0:28:220:28:25

so they won't be all hurtin' after I get off that stage.

0:28:250:28:28

cos people don't want to see me nasty,

0:28:290:28:32

so this is just my "me" time.

0:28:320:28:33

So can you describe your show?

0:28:330:28:36

It's a real high-energy show.

0:28:380:28:41

I chose the theme "Battle of the Bands,"

0:28:430:28:46

cos it's a big thing here in Atlanta.

0:28:460:28:47

It basically shows rivalry throughout the first part of the show.

0:28:470:28:50

Then everyone that's in the show come together

0:28:500:28:52

to do this whole number at the end of the show.

0:28:520:28:55

A lot of people are on point this year.

0:28:550:28:56

I just like glamorous, sexy hair.

0:28:560:28:58

That's what people want. That's what men want to see.

0:28:580:29:01

Now, what do you have to say to the competition right now?

0:29:010:29:04

Just come correct.

0:29:050:29:06

You know, that's all I can really say to them.

0:29:060:29:08

Just come correct. That's why they got me at the end.

0:29:080:29:10

cos they know what's about to happen.

0:29:100:29:12

You the headliner?

0:29:120:29:13

Yep. They just my openers.

0:29:130:29:15

Can you tell us about this year's competition

0:29:150:29:20

and what you have planned?

0:29:200:29:23

Basically, I have planned a bar scene

0:29:240:29:27

called the "Aqua Bar."

0:29:270:29:30

My theme is, I play the owner of a bar,

0:29:330:29:35

and I'm the hairstylist that works at the bar sometimes, so...

0:29:350:29:38

two other ladies come in the bar

0:29:410:29:42

and they have these hideous ponytails

0:29:420:29:44

that somebody put on their heads.

0:29:440:29:45

I talk her into getting a haircut.

0:29:450:29:47

And I tell her I have to wet it, and she says, "Water?"

0:29:470:29:50

So then there's an aquarium at the back,

0:29:500:29:52

so basically I throw her in the aquarium,

0:29:520:29:54

and I jump in and cut her hair.

0:29:540:29:57

So you're going to make it a little simpler this year by...

0:29:580:30:00

I'm trying to make it simpler.

0:30:000:30:03

By going underwater?

0:30:030:30:05

How much time do you spend rehearsing for this show?

0:30:110:30:14

I haven't rehearsed at all for this show.

0:30:140:30:16

What I'm trying to do this year is a bit of an experiment.

0:30:160:30:19

My theory is, if I can get into what makes women feel pretty

0:30:190:30:24

or what makes women feel good,

0:30:240:30:26

I can expand on that.

0:30:260:30:28

So I'm trying something different this year

0:30:280:30:29

for the hair competition.

0:30:290:30:31

What are we seeing you for today, Jason?

0:30:310:30:32

A little Restylane and a little Botox.

0:30:320:30:36

A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

0:30:360:30:38

-Fill this up.

-Fill it up?

0:30:380:30:41

OK, we'll fill it up.

0:30:410:30:42

Let's get you over here on the table.

0:30:420:30:44

I got to psych myself up.

0:30:440:30:46

You're going to do great.

0:30:460:30:47

I can do this. I can do it.

0:30:470:30:49

Good. Excellent.

0:30:490:30:50

I wish we had a Botox

0:30:500:30:52

with something similar to the python venom.

0:30:520:30:55

It's actually botulism toxin.

0:30:560:30:58

What is the main ingredient in this Restylane?

0:30:580:31:01

Hyaluronic acid.

0:31:010:31:02

Like I know that that is.

0:31:020:31:03

I don't want to be too aggressive

0:31:030:31:04

since this is your first treatment, OK?

0:31:040:31:06

Some of the girls that come into the salon say they get this done,

0:31:060:31:09

so I'm excited to...

0:31:100:31:12

I think you will end up loving it.

0:31:120:31:14

I'm pleased with the way everything is looking now.

0:31:140:31:16

The redness and the swelling are normal.

0:31:160:31:18

That will dissipate over the next several hours to 48 hours.

0:31:180:31:21

I don't feel as beautiful as I had anticipated.

0:31:230:31:25

Ice the face over the next 30 minutes.

0:31:250:31:29

I feel like I've been attacked by a thousand killer bees.

0:31:290:31:32

We came up with a test, cos human hair actually...

0:31:360:31:39

usually has a little weight to it, so it bounces.

0:31:390:31:41

So if you ladies mind jumping up for me,

0:31:410:31:43

you can kind of see which one's real and which one's not.

0:31:430:31:46

Bounces. Bounces.

0:31:460:31:47

Just sitting there.

0:31:470:31:50

Not doing anything.

0:31:500:31:51

They always say, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend."

0:31:510:31:54

But diamonds better watch out,

0:31:540:31:56

because there's a new friend in town,

0:31:560:31:57

and its name is weave.

0:31:570:31:59

I don't remember the world without weaves.

0:31:590:32:02

Back in your mother's day, there was wigs, right?

0:32:020:32:04

The weave is like a graduation from the wig.

0:32:040:32:07

At least a weave is like an extension of reality.

0:32:070:32:11

Maybe her mother's mother was an Indian or something.

0:32:110:32:14

It's about big hair today. I can't keep up.

0:32:140:32:17

I'm like, "Peps, you got to get this hair bigger, you know?"

0:32:170:32:20

They just want a little fullness, a little thickness.

0:32:200:32:22

They want their own hair but with some drama.

0:32:220:32:24

Like, they want to go like this.

0:32:240:32:26

Like in the movies in the 1970s or something.

0:32:260:32:28

Like Farrah Fawcett.

0:32:280:32:30

Those images are stuck in everybody's head,

0:32:300:32:32

and they ain't lettin' them go.

0:32:320:32:34

Chicks be wantin' to be blonde or something.

0:32:340:32:35

When I first started going to Extensions Plus,

0:32:350:32:38

which is where I get my hair from in LA,

0:32:380:32:39

they used to have a back entrance,

0:32:390:32:41

and going in Extensions Plus

0:32:410:32:43

was like a scene from a James Bond movie.

0:32:430:32:45

You have dark glasses

0:32:450:32:47

and you pull up to the door and you run in,

0:32:470:32:49

and it's like, "Did anybody see me? OK."

0:32:490:32:52

You know, when I started doing it,

0:32:520:32:53

women weren't as free to discuss,

0:32:530:32:55

"No, this is really my hair."

0:32:550:32:56

No, it's not. It's really not.

0:32:560:32:58

So in the early days, everyone was lying?

0:32:580:33:01

For the most part, yeah.

0:33:010:33:02

Back in the day, a weave was kind of like

0:33:020:33:04

you was in a secret weavy society, and it was like,

0:33:040:33:07

we vow to weave together

0:33:070:33:08

and we have little special weave sayings.

0:33:080:33:11

I don't know. It was like a special little world

0:33:110:33:13

that literally I had white friends

0:33:130:33:14

who were like, "Your hair grew overnight!

0:33:140:33:18

"A foot! How did you do that?"

0:33:180:33:20

I mean, like, you know,

0:33:200:33:22

they used to have these dolls in the Toys "R" Us

0:33:220:33:24

that you could make their hair grow by pushing a button.

0:33:240:33:25

I swear to God, they think black people had a little button

0:33:250:33:27

at the small of our back

0:33:270:33:29

where you just pressed the button and the hair grows.

0:33:290:33:31

# Hair that grows Hair that goes

0:33:310:33:33

# To here, to there... #

0:33:330:33:35

You know, it was considered our beauty secrets

0:33:350:33:37

that we just don't discuss. And now it's like,

0:33:370:33:40

women stop other women on the street,

0:33:400:33:41

like, "What kind of hair is that that you got?"

0:33:410:33:43

And we share our secrets.

0:33:430:33:45

The weave words and the weave culture,

0:33:450:33:47

I wasn't in it for very long,

0:33:470:33:49

but you have to get indoctrinated quick.

0:33:490:33:51

So they teach you a lot.

0:33:510:33:53

You know how you're in the desert,

0:33:530:33:55

and you see, like, the tumbleweed going by,

0:33:550:33:58

the scene in the movie?

0:33:580:33:59

Well, if you're on 125th Street in Harlem,

0:33:590:34:01

or Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, where I was,

0:34:010:34:04

or any number of places in Brooklyn

0:34:040:34:06

or Crenshaw or wherever you are in this country

0:34:060:34:08

in a black neighbourhood,

0:34:080:34:09

occasionally you will see the tumbling tumbleweave

0:34:090:34:12

blow down the street.

0:34:120:34:13

It's a ball of hair that's flying out of a door

0:34:130:34:16

after they have done the weave and swept up the hair.

0:34:160:34:20

They sweep it outside,

0:34:200:34:21

and it goes tumbling down the street.

0:34:210:34:25

And I call it the tumbling tumbleweave. I love it.

0:34:250:34:28

Every time I see it, I'm, like, there goes the tumbleweave.

0:34:280:34:30

The tumbling tumbleweave.

0:34:330:34:35

I think the horrific part of the hair

0:34:350:34:36

was when I really started to find out, you know,

0:34:360:34:40

what they was doing.

0:34:400:34:41

You know, because it was a mystery early,

0:34:410:34:43

and then I was like, "OK, if it's a wig, do they take it off?"

0:34:430:34:48

They're like, "No."

0:34:480:34:49

How's it stay on? Glue?

0:34:490:34:52

Sometimes, and they sew it.

0:34:520:34:54

They sew it to what?

0:34:540:34:55

Then I was getting more and more information and stuff.

0:34:550:34:58

It was like a secret society,

0:34:580:35:00

a hair society of what's really going on and stuff.

0:35:000:35:04

It's very interesting.

0:35:040:35:05

Do they have classes?

0:35:050:35:07

I don't know, but I'm starting it.

0:35:070:35:08

So you're like a weave scientist?

0:35:080:35:11

Yeah, I'll note myself as a weave scientist.

0:35:110:35:14

You're a weaveologist.

0:35:140:35:16

So what's in your hair now?

0:35:180:35:19

A few things.

0:35:190:35:21

This hair, underneath the other hair, is thick hair.

0:35:210:35:24

This is a weave right now.

0:35:240:35:26

This is a weave. It's my edges and everything.

0:35:260:35:29

I have pieces that are...

0:35:290:35:31

..kind of, like, you know, like, extensions.

0:35:310:35:33

Right now, I have clips in my hair.

0:35:330:35:35

-I've attached...

-..two pieces here, because...

0:35:350:35:38

-I want a little more...

-..fullness.

0:35:380:35:39

Mine is all one unit.

0:35:390:35:40

Like that.

0:35:400:35:42

Oh, God.

0:35:420:35:43

It's like Dr Frankenstein.

0:35:430:35:46

-"It lives! It lives!"

-"It lives! It lives!"

0:35:460:35:49

There are a couple different ways of doing it.

0:35:500:35:52

You could do tracks, where you just take a cornrow,

0:35:520:35:54

and you attach the track onto the braid and sew.

0:35:540:35:58

It you have a full weave, like myself,

0:35:580:36:00

my entire hair is braided up,

0:36:000:36:03

and then there's a very thin net that protects my hair,

0:36:030:36:07

and then the tracks are actually braided onto the net.

0:36:070:36:10

The thing about a successful weave,

0:36:100:36:12

and as we say in our industry,

0:36:120:36:14

"You got to know your weaver."

0:36:140:36:17

Know your weaver, baby,

0:36:170:36:18

cos you got to be able to do it and cut it.

0:36:180:36:20

She's got to know what she's doing, right?

0:36:200:36:22

I'm from New York, but I live in Colorado.

0:36:220:36:24

You flew from Colorado to New York?

0:36:240:36:28

Yep, to get my hair done. Yes, I did.

0:36:280:36:30

How long is the flight?

0:36:300:36:31

The flight is 3 1/2 hours.

0:36:310:36:33

There should be a weave airline.

0:36:330:36:35

Sometimes you got a long flight

0:36:350:36:37

and you want to pass the time.

0:36:370:36:39

If you could get your hair done on the flight...

0:36:390:36:43

would you take that airline?

0:36:430:36:44

Yes, I would.

0:36:440:36:46

Every black woman in the country would take that airline.

0:36:460:36:48

And when you land, your hair's done.

0:36:480:36:51

Oh...

0:36:510:36:53

Depending on who your hairdresser is,

0:36:530:36:55

I mean, I've been in the chair for six to eight hours.

0:36:550:36:58

Black men have to become very, very patient.

0:36:580:37:00

It's like jail.

0:37:000:37:01

And I remember it took a good five hours.

0:37:010:37:04

It was a very intricate piece,

0:37:040:37:06

and I was very particular.

0:37:060:37:07

I don't like weaves that you can see the tracks.

0:37:070:37:09

I don't like weaves where it looks like weaves.

0:37:090:37:11

I don't like hair that looks like that waxy hair.

0:37:110:37:12

If it looks waxy, it needs to look shiny,

0:37:120:37:14

cos you put grease in it,

0:37:140:37:15

not because there's extra pieces of plastic in it.

0:37:150:37:18

I'm very particular about my hair.

0:37:180:37:20

OK.

0:37:200:37:22

I get serious, right?

0:37:220:37:23

You're really serious about your weave.

0:37:230:37:25

I love my weave. I do. I love it.

0:37:250:37:27

I embrace it, yes.

0:37:270:37:28

Do you have a pet name for your weave?

0:37:280:37:30

No! Money. Bitch costs money.

0:37:300:37:33

I paid a lot of money for this, but this is an investment.

0:37:330:37:37

The black hair business is a 9 billion business.

0:37:370:37:40

60% to 70% of the business is the weave hair alone.

0:37:400:37:43

The margin is 125%, 150%.

0:37:440:37:47

How much is this hair?

0:37:470:37:48

1,000.

0:37:480:37:50

1,000. For just the weave or the weave...?

0:37:500:37:52

Just the weave, not the hair.

0:37:520:37:54

The hair was more.

0:37:540:37:55

Let me tell you, them prices can go up.

0:37:550:37:56

One of these can run you 5,000.

0:37:560:37:58

I'm famous for switching out my weaves

0:37:580:38:00

once every month, cos I get bored.

0:38:000:38:03

Is that 18,000 for the year?

0:38:030:38:05

Yeah, about that.

0:38:050:38:06

-Throughout her whole life?

-Oh, my God!

0:38:060:38:09

Probably about 150,000.

0:38:090:38:10

Over. Oh, yeah, about that.

0:38:100:38:12

I change my mind a lot.

0:38:120:38:14

So some people have a wine cellar. You have a weave cellar.

0:38:140:38:17

1998, this was a good year for weaves.

0:38:170:38:19

How much does this cost?

0:38:190:38:21

-That's 1,000.

-This is 1,000?

0:38:210:38:23

Yes, it is.

0:38:230:38:24

You come in... It's a maintenance.

0:38:240:38:27

You got to come in every two weeks or once a week

0:38:270:38:29

for wash and condition,

0:38:290:38:30

and every six weeks, you have to get it retightened.

0:38:300:38:33

Wow. This is amazing. 1,000.

0:38:330:38:36

Yes. It starts at 1,000.

0:38:360:38:38

It starts? So, how high...

0:38:380:38:39

You can go as far as 3,500.

0:38:390:38:41

-3,500?

-Yes, yes.

0:38:410:38:44

-And who's payin' for this?

-Ladies, workin' people.

0:38:440:38:47

-Black women?

-Black women, everyday people that are working

0:38:470:38:51

and want to look good and look as natural as possible.

0:38:510:38:54

She's wearing a hair unit over there.

0:38:540:38:56

You? How much did you pay?

0:38:560:38:57

1,000.

0:38:570:38:58

You paid 1,000?

0:38:580:39:00

And those two ladies in the back over there.

0:39:000:39:02

A question. Where do you work?

0:39:020:39:06

I have my own business. Child care.

0:39:060:39:08

Child care, OK.

0:39:080:39:09

And you spent 1,000?

0:39:090:39:12

And it's worth it.

0:39:120:39:14

She's wearing one.

0:39:140:39:15

Yours cost 1,000, too? Where do you work?

0:39:150:39:18

I'm a schoolteacher and I'm a grad student.

0:39:180:39:19

Wait a minute. Schoolteachers don't make no money.

0:39:190:39:23

And this lady, she's getting hers for the first time today.

0:39:230:39:26

You're getting your first 1,000 weave today?

0:39:260:39:28

-I am.

-Wow.

0:39:280:39:29

But I raised the kids already, so it's my turn now.

0:39:290:39:32

-It's your turn for the weave.

-That's right.

0:39:320:39:34

Good for you. 1,000.

0:39:340:39:36

People don't realise how much money is in this.

0:39:360:39:38

It just seems that your clientele

0:39:380:39:41

is more hooked to this than, say, cocaine, because...

0:39:410:39:45

Well, I'll tell you,

0:39:450:39:47

once they start, they won't go back.

0:39:470:39:49

They won't go back.

0:39:490:39:50

She's been gettin' weaves for ten years.

0:39:500:39:53

If she had a drug habit, she would've went to rehab by now.

0:39:530:39:57

You know, even a bad drug addict got periods of sobriety.

0:39:570:40:00

The weave is going to put you in situations

0:40:000:40:03

that you don't want to be in.

0:40:030:40:05

Yes.

0:40:050:40:06

You going to have to date men you don't want to date

0:40:060:40:07

just cos you hungry.

0:40:070:40:08

Cos our hair's got to be weaved.

0:40:080:40:10

Cos you got to pay the money on this weave.

0:40:100:40:11

The problem is when it becomes something

0:40:110:40:14

that's beyond your means,

0:40:140:40:15

and we buy what we want rather than what we need.

0:40:150:40:18

And I tell women all the time,

0:40:180:40:20

"What do you have a 1,000 weave on for

0:40:200:40:24

"and don't have food in the house for the kids?"

0:40:240:40:25

It just doesn't make sense.

0:40:250:40:26

How does the average girl pay for this?

0:40:260:40:29

I have no idea.

0:40:290:40:31

I think about that all the time.

0:40:310:40:33

Like, what would I do

0:40:330:40:35

if I didn't make the money that I have?

0:40:350:40:37

I guess I'd...

0:40:370:40:38

I have no idea.

0:40:380:40:40

Are you payin' for this?

0:40:500:40:51

I'm paying for it right now.

0:40:510:40:53

Right now?

0:40:530:40:55

You've had a man handle this expense before?

0:40:550:40:59

Yes.

0:40:590:41:00

Any of you guys ever been pressured into,

0:41:000:41:03

you know, giving a woman some money

0:41:030:41:05

because of an expensive weave?

0:41:050:41:07

My mother and daughter.

0:41:070:41:10

Mother and daughter?

0:41:100:41:12

So you're spend on weaves...

0:41:120:41:14

These weaves are hurtin' your pocket?

0:41:140:41:17

A woman wants to look good,

0:41:170:41:18

and a man is going to find money up under a rock

0:41:180:41:22

so that she can be pleased by getting her hair done.

0:41:220:41:26

Now, those are the facts.

0:41:260:41:27

Well, I have a layaway plan on my hair units.

0:41:270:41:31

So, you can layaway the weave?

0:41:310:41:32

That's right. I have a layaway plan.

0:41:320:41:34

This lady right now,

0:41:340:41:35

in about another month or so, she's gettin' a new one.

0:41:350:41:38

She already start payin' for her next weave.

0:41:380:41:41

The price of maintaining a woman

0:41:410:41:44

is like real estate in New York City.

0:41:440:41:47

It's skyrocketing.

0:41:470:41:49

It's beyond out of hand.

0:41:490:41:50

One trip to the hairdresser, or the weaveologist,

0:41:500:41:53

could leave you bankrupt.

0:41:530:41:55

Do you think some of the men are being asked to subsidise

0:41:550:41:58

this weave habit, and it's creating

0:41:580:42:02

an animosity in the community?

0:42:020:42:05

Oh, it definitely can create animosity.

0:42:050:42:07

I mean, it's one thing for me to subsidise your living,

0:42:070:42:10

or subsidise your education

0:42:100:42:14

if you're young and I'm young and you're in school,

0:42:140:42:16

or I'm going to help you with your kids even.

0:42:160:42:19

But to subsidise your weave?

0:42:190:42:21

I mean, hard enough for me to get a job,

0:42:210:42:24

hard enough to go through school and get something,

0:42:240:42:26

and you don't want me to help you with education, children, mama,

0:42:260:42:30

401K, none of that.

0:42:300:42:34

Your weave. You want me to go to work

0:42:340:42:36

and invest in you puttin' some hair

0:42:360:42:39

on the back of your head that ain't yours.

0:42:390:42:40

I mean, I can't even write it off on my income tax.

0:42:400:42:42

Maybe I should have, as part of my dependents, your weave.

0:42:420:42:46

Cos your weave costs as much as some children.

0:42:460:42:49

That's ridiculous.

0:42:490:42:50

As you can see, the hair business can be cut-throat.

0:42:500:42:53

So far I've learned that good hair

0:42:530:42:55

could put you in the poorhouse,

0:42:550:42:57

and if you're not careful, it could burn down your house.

0:42:570:43:00

Back in Atlanta, the hair show battle was coming together,

0:43:000:43:03

and I was wondering how our contestants were holding up.

0:43:030:43:06

OK... we're going to see your first rehearsal on this stage.

0:43:060:43:10

We have a problem.

0:43:100:43:12

What's the problem?

0:43:120:43:13

This stage is double the size it was last year.

0:43:130:43:15

This is some bullshit.

0:43:150:43:16

This really is, though.

0:43:160:43:18

There's no way that y'all going to be able to make it

0:43:180:43:20

all the way down this damn stage.

0:43:200:43:22

I can't work with this.

0:43:220:43:23

This stage is double the fuckin' size it was last year.

0:43:230:43:26

This is some bullshit.

0:43:260:43:27

Whose job was it to get you the measurements of the stage?

0:43:270:43:30

Bronner Brothers. I don't have the right measurements.

0:43:300:43:32

I don't have rules. I don't have shit.

0:43:320:43:35

Derek, he said he didn't get the dimensions of the stage.

0:43:370:43:41

-Oh, really?

-Did you know the dimensions of the stage?

0:43:410:43:43

Yes, I got it in my packet.

0:43:430:43:46

Are you nervous?

0:43:460:43:48

No, just anxious.

0:43:480:43:49

-Just anxious?

-Yeah.

0:43:490:43:51

Like "anxious," you getting ready to kick somebody's ass?

0:43:510:43:54

-Well, yeah.

-OK.

0:43:540:43:56

How was it, Tanya?

0:43:560:43:58

It was fine.

0:43:580:43:59

Leah, pay attention. Shit.

0:43:590:44:01

It's plugged up. He already did.

0:44:010:44:03

It's plugged up.

0:44:030:44:05

It's on the cord.

0:44:050:44:07

We kind of ran into every...mishap

0:44:070:44:10

you can possibly have.

0:44:100:44:11

It all had something to do with the show.

0:44:110:44:13

What we got, ten minutes left now?

0:44:130:44:15

Guys, come on!

0:44:150:44:17

You name it, it happened.

0:44:170:44:18

Lord Jesus, help me.

0:44:180:44:20

I just know this is our destiny.

0:44:200:44:21

You know what I'm saying?

0:44:210:44:23

Through my prayers, through the vision that God gave me.

0:44:230:44:26

And I said, "The next time it would be you."

0:44:260:44:27

Did I not say that?

0:44:270:44:30

Jason, everybody's rehearsin'.

0:44:370:44:41

Everybody's rehearsin'. That's right.

0:44:410:44:42

Except you.

0:44:420:44:43

You're the only one.

0:44:430:44:45

Yet, you're the favourite.

0:44:450:44:48

I just can't see why I'm the favourite.

0:44:480:44:50

I mean...

0:44:500:44:52

Are you worried?

0:44:520:44:53

-No.

-You're not worried?

0:44:530:44:54

Like I said, I would love to win,

0:44:540:44:57

but, you know, whatever happens happens,

0:44:570:44:59

and I'm excited either way.

0:44:590:45:01

And no rehearsal?

0:45:010:45:02

And no rehearsal.

0:45:020:45:03

But we're going to look good.

0:45:030:45:05

OK.

0:45:050:45:06

Lookin' good is half of the battle.

0:45:060:45:09

It may be all about looking good for Jason

0:45:110:45:13

and the other hair show contestants,

0:45:130:45:15

but it's all about cash for the 1,800 hair booth vendors.

0:45:150:45:18

You guys are heads of the Black Owned Beauty Supplier Association.

0:45:210:45:27

Most of the black manufacturers

0:45:270:45:28

have sold their companies to the various companies

0:45:280:45:30

like Revlon and L'Oreal.

0:45:300:45:32

Do black people own anything in this room?

0:45:320:45:35

We have a cluster of black manufacturers.

0:45:350:45:38

And these two rows and this row here

0:45:380:45:40

and this row here are all black entrepreneurs,

0:45:400:45:42

black manufacturers.

0:45:420:45:44

So of this whole convention,

0:45:440:45:45

only two rows are owned by black people,

0:45:450:45:47

but most of this is white?

0:45:470:45:48

Most of it is, I think, Asian.

0:45:480:45:51

-Asian?

-Right.

0:45:510:45:53

Most of the black hair money is made by Asians.

0:45:530:45:54

Right, correct.

0:45:540:45:55

Is it hard for black people to get in the black hair business?

0:45:550:45:58

Yes, it is very hard

0:45:580:46:00

for African-Americans to get into the hair business.

0:46:000:46:02

The Koreans have dominated the manufacturing,

0:46:020:46:05

and they also dominate the retail level.

0:46:050:46:07

Koreans only sell to Korean retailers,

0:46:070:46:09

but because the profit margin is so large,

0:46:090:46:12

they will not sell to other African-Americans.

0:46:120:46:14

Are you Korean?

0:46:140:46:16

No, I am Chinese.

0:46:160:46:17

Chinese, sorry.

0:46:170:46:18

That's OK.

0:46:180:46:20

Are Chinese people in China buying any black hair?

0:46:200:46:23

We would like to.

0:46:250:46:26

And second, we're not Chinese.

0:46:260:46:28

We are Korean.

0:46:280:46:29

Korean. Sorry.

0:46:290:46:30

Imagine if I went into another community

0:46:300:46:33

and just set up shop selling them what only they use.

0:46:330:46:37

The question would be whether they'd call the cops

0:46:370:46:39

or whether they'd just shoot me.

0:46:390:46:40

But in our community, anything goes.

0:46:400:46:43

And I think that a lot of that, we got to blame on ourselves.

0:46:430:46:45

I mean, it's not like anybody else needs black hair products,

0:46:450:46:48

so if we can't control what nobody uses but us,

0:46:480:46:54

that is real economic retardation.

0:46:540:46:57

How many other black hair companies

0:46:580:47:00

do you know of that are black-owned?

0:47:000:47:02

That manufacture their own products?

0:47:020:47:04

That manufacture their own products.

0:47:040:47:05

About four.

0:47:050:47:07

Out of hundreds.

0:47:070:47:09

So did the white man just buy up everybody else's company?

0:47:090:47:11

Yeah. Yep.

0:47:110:47:13

In 1987, Revlon's president,

0:47:130:47:17

he said, "Eventually there are not going to be

0:47:170:47:19

"any black-owned hair care companies."

0:47:190:47:21

And then you could see the gradual takeover

0:47:210:47:23

through the late '80s into the '90s,

0:47:230:47:25

and now very few of the companies

0:47:250:47:27

that market to African-Americans are black-owned.

0:47:270:47:31

No wonder the schools and everything else is out of control.

0:47:310:47:34

I mean, you get up and comb your oppression

0:47:340:47:37

and exploitation every morning.

0:47:370:47:38

Or you attach your economic exploitation

0:47:380:47:41

to the back of your head every morning.

0:47:410:47:44

Or you shove it down or you put it on the nightstand.

0:47:440:47:47

"Here's my symbol of economic exploitation."

0:47:470:47:49

Lights out, go to sleep,

0:47:490:47:51

wake up, and cover it back up.

0:47:510:47:53

How are you going to think right

0:47:530:47:54

when you're wearing exploitation all the time?

0:47:540:47:57

That is a real grassroots need,

0:47:570:47:59

to recapture the fact that we can't control something

0:47:590:48:02

as close to us as the hair on our head.

0:48:020:48:05

People are complaining

0:48:050:48:06

that black people aren't making any money off this hair,

0:48:060:48:09

but the truth is, it's not our hair.

0:48:090:48:12

When and if my daughters ever decide to buy hair,

0:48:120:48:15

it can come from anyplace in the world.

0:48:150:48:18

What kind of hair is the ponytail?

0:48:180:48:21

I guess it would be considered...

0:48:210:48:24

It's called "human" on the pack.

0:48:240:48:27

What kind of hair is in there?

0:48:270:48:28

Oh, my God. I didn't know

0:48:280:48:29

you were going to ask all these questions.

0:48:290:48:31

I would've called the lady that I bought it from.

0:48:310:48:35

This is 100% human hair.

0:48:350:48:37

Meaning that you can curl it,

0:48:370:48:39

do whatever, and it won't melt.

0:48:390:48:40

This is 100% real, baby.

0:48:400:48:42

So do you have any idea

0:48:420:48:44

what nationality these humans were?

0:48:440:48:47

What part of the world these humans come from?

0:48:470:48:51

Yes, Indian humans.

0:48:510:48:52

Janet Jackson's hair is Indian hair?

0:48:520:48:54

It's Indian hair.

0:48:540:48:55

Who else got Indian hair?

0:48:550:48:56

Right now, I have Indian hair.

0:48:560:48:58

It's human hair, though, and it's prayed upon.

0:48:580:49:01

Are you thinking... Are you considering...

0:49:010:49:03

I see Jessica Simpson has her own weave line.

0:49:030:49:06

Have you looked into having your own weave line?

0:49:060:49:09

So there's a chance you may join the weave empire?

0:49:090:49:12

I don't know.

0:49:120:49:13

It depends on if I can get a straight connection to India.

0:49:130:49:15

Then I will, yeah.

0:49:150:49:18

You heard what Raven said.

0:49:180:49:19

"A straight connection to India."

0:49:190:49:21

Well, I guess that's where I got to go.

0:49:210:49:24

This is India, a land with a population

0:49:340:49:37

of over one billion people.

0:49:370:49:39

A quarter of the population lives below the poverty line,

0:49:390:49:42

making about forty cents a day.

0:49:420:49:44

Good thing they don't need weaves.

0:49:440:49:47

Overpopulation is at the root of much of India's problems,

0:49:480:49:51

but there would be even less room

0:49:510:49:53

if the Indians didn't ship out most of their hair.

0:49:530:49:56

After software and statues with eighty pairs of hands,

0:49:560:49:59

human hair is India's biggest export.

0:49:590:50:02

My cab driver, Sanjeep, said if I wanted to find good hair,

0:50:230:50:26

this was the place to go.

0:50:260:50:29

All right.

0:50:320:50:33

Mr Murali!

0:50:330:50:34

Hello, how are you?

0:50:340:50:35

All right. Chris Rock here.

0:50:350:50:37

-All the way from America.

-Yeah, very good.

0:50:370:50:39

You are welcome to all this.

0:50:390:50:40

Now, I hear you the man with the hair.

0:50:400:50:42

Yes.

0:50:420:50:43

You got more hair than anybody.

0:50:430:50:44

Yes.

0:50:440:50:45

If I want some Indian hair, you're the man to see.

0:50:450:50:48

Yes.

0:50:480:50:51

This is daily, we are getting like this.

0:50:510:50:53

Collected from the temple.

0:50:530:50:55

Wow. Well, show me some more.

0:50:550:50:56

-Let's see some more.

-Yes. Come.

0:50:560:50:59

What are they doing right now?

0:51:010:51:03

Now, this is the hair we have bought from the temple,

0:51:030:51:06

and they're just segregating this thing.

0:51:060:51:08

And this is before washing, we do like this.

0:51:080:51:11

Then we go for a washing.

0:51:120:51:13

Because there'll be some bugs.

0:51:130:51:15

It is all dead bugs but some people,

0:51:150:51:17

they don't like to have lice and bugs in their hair.

0:51:170:51:19

Yeah, I don't.

0:51:190:51:20

Whenever I buy hair, I don't want no bugs in it.

0:51:200:51:23

This is the place where we process human hair.

0:51:350:51:37

Weave paradise.

0:51:370:51:39

Yes.

0:51:390:51:40

So this is where the magic happens, huh?

0:51:400:51:43

And everyone's got a perfect weave on their head.

0:51:430:51:46

What are they doing right there?

0:51:480:51:49

See, this is what I mean.

0:51:490:51:50

I show you that after washing,

0:51:500:51:51

they'll just put the hair on the hackle,

0:51:510:51:54

there to remove this tangle,

0:51:540:51:56

and they'll remove the top-side of the hair.

0:51:560:51:58

So then it will be bundled, and it will be sold as bulk hair.

0:51:580:52:02

OK.

0:52:020:52:03

Approximately how many heads of hair

0:52:030:52:05

are processed every day?

0:52:050:52:06

-Not that, weight.

-Kilos?

0:52:060:52:08

So, you don't even care about the head.

0:52:080:52:10

You measure by the kilo.

0:52:100:52:11

We measure by kilo only.

0:52:110:52:12

You like Scarface. "Keys."

0:52:120:52:14

Kind of like cocaine.

0:52:140:52:15

The hair business is probably an easier business to be in.

0:52:150:52:18

-Yes, it is a legal one.

-It's legal.

0:52:180:52:21

Are there hair farms?

0:52:210:52:23

Are there just places

0:52:230:52:24

where just a bunch of women are sitting there growing hair?

0:52:240:52:26

No.

0:52:260:52:28

Everything's from sacrifice. Tonsure.

0:52:280:52:30

Everything's from the sacrifice.

0:52:300:52:31

Do your other friends sacrifice their hair, too?

0:52:310:52:34

Yeah. Everybody does.

0:52:340:52:36

Everybody does it.

0:52:360:52:37

I guess nobody in India buys hair.

0:52:370:52:39

Why? We already have our own hair.

0:52:390:52:41

It's like fish buyin' water.

0:52:410:52:44

Has anybody ever tried to steal your hair?

0:52:440:52:46

No. Not yet.

0:52:460:52:47

If you see some black women, just run the other way.

0:52:470:52:49

OK.

0:52:490:52:50

Now, there seems to be a great demand

0:52:500:52:53

for the hair all over the world.

0:52:530:52:57

Can the temple satisfy all the demand,

0:52:570:53:00

or do people find other ways to get the hair?

0:53:000:53:02

So let me get this straight.

0:53:130:53:15

Women fall asleep,

0:53:150:53:17

and while they're asleep, someone...

0:53:170:53:19

Trimming their hair.

0:53:190:53:20

Takes their hair. Does this happen a lot?

0:53:200:53:23

Somebody is cutting hair.

0:53:300:53:32

So you go see "I Am Legend,"

0:53:320:53:34

and when you leave, you go, "I Am Bald."

0:53:340:53:37

Hair is worth more than gold?

0:53:500:53:52

Yes.

0:53:520:53:53

And women are being scalped to get this hair.

0:53:530:53:56

Ten inches and better?

0:53:590:54:01

It's like porno.

0:54:010:54:02

Tell me.

0:54:020:54:03

I'd learned that this good hair

0:54:030:54:06

came from a religious ceremony called "tonsure."

0:54:060:54:09

And that's what I needed to see, the tonsure ceremony.

0:54:090:54:12

If my daughters were going to eventually wear this hair,

0:54:120:54:15

I needed to see what kind of person's head it had been on first.

0:54:150:54:18

Over ten million people tonsure their hair every year.

0:54:340:54:37

They tonsure their hair in exchange for the gods' blessings.

0:54:390:54:42

Why do you tonsure your hair?

0:54:550:54:58

You ever think about your hair?

0:55:030:55:05

Thinkin' about seeing it again on somebody else?

0:55:080:55:11

-God likes hair?

-Yeah.

0:55:120:55:15

Tonsure.

0:55:210:55:22

That's the word we keep hearin'. Tonsure.

0:55:220:55:25

Eighty-five percent of India's population

0:55:250:55:27

have had their hair shaved at least twice in a lifetime

0:55:270:55:30

in a religious ceremony known as tonsure.

0:55:300:55:34

In India, hair is considered a vanity

0:55:340:55:36

and removing hair is considered an act of self-sacrifice.

0:55:360:55:39

CHILD SCREAMS

0:55:570:56:01

By the end of the night,

0:56:090:56:11

these pretty young girls will be baldheaded.

0:56:110:56:13

And in a few weeks,

0:56:130:56:14

their hair will be on the heads of doctors,

0:56:140:56:17

lawyers, and even strippers swinging off of poles.

0:56:170:56:20

These people have no idea where their hair's going

0:56:210:56:23

or how much it's worth.

0:56:230:56:25

The money made at this temple is second only to the Vatican.

0:56:250:56:28

The hair collected here is auctioned off to exporters

0:56:280:56:31

who distribute it around the planet.

0:56:310:56:34

But its chief destination

0:56:340:56:36

is the weave capital of the world, Los Angeles.

0:56:360:56:39

-Vijay!

-Hey.

0:57:000:57:03

How's it goin', man?

0:57:030:57:04

Good. How are you?

0:57:040:57:05

-Can't wait to see what you got.

-Oh, yes.

0:57:050:57:06

All right, let's go in.

0:57:060:57:09

Now, Vijay.

0:57:090:57:11

How much money worth of hair

0:57:110:57:13

do you have in that bag right now?

0:57:130:57:14

Roughly about 10,000 to 15,000.

0:57:140:57:17

-15,000 worth of hair?

-Yeah.

0:57:170:57:19

Have you ever been robbed?

0:57:190:57:21

No. Luckily, no. Touch wood.

0:57:210:57:24

All right.

0:57:240:57:25

Do you have security?

0:57:250:57:26

No. The security is it's a suitcase,

0:57:260:57:29

and they think it's clothes, and I'm a tourist.

0:57:290:57:32

I need, uh...

0:57:320:57:33

the auburn shades or the natural black?

0:57:330:57:35

The natural black.

0:57:350:57:37

And I need, like, 14 to 16 inch.

0:57:370:57:39

Now, what are you lookin' for when you go through the hair?

0:57:390:57:42

Well, one, I look to make sure that the ends are not so frayed.

0:57:420:57:46

You know what I mean?

0:57:460:57:47

I look to make sure that when I run my hands through it that it's silky.

0:57:470:57:50

OK. Now, is this your first stop today?

0:57:500:57:53

Yes. Today, it's my first shop.

0:57:530:57:56

So you get it first?

0:57:560:57:58

Beverly Hills gets it first?

0:57:580:58:01

So you start here and then you go to Compton?

0:58:010:58:04

It's not quite like that, Rock.

0:58:040:58:05

Everything else works like that.

0:58:050:58:08

OK, so you got this big-ass suitcase full of hair.

0:58:090:58:12

And this is your first shop?

0:58:140:58:16

Will you make it through the day with that?

0:58:160:58:18

How long before all that hair is gone?

0:58:180:58:21

It could be gone in a few hours.

0:58:210:58:24

A few hours?

0:58:240:58:25

Once the ladies get it, they want more.

0:58:250:58:27

And they won't pay their rent to get their hair done.

0:58:270:58:29

Yeah, there's a lot of that goin' on in America.

0:58:290:58:32

A lot of foreclosures.

0:58:320:58:34

But they got hair.

0:58:340:58:35

There's no hair-closures goin' on.

0:58:350:58:38

So if you not in the weave business,

0:58:380:58:39

you not in the hair business.

0:58:390:58:42

It's true, because you can't make the money.

0:58:420:58:44

The weavin' is where the money is.

0:58:440:58:46

It takes you up there.

0:58:460:58:47

It puts you up there with the doctors, you know?

0:58:470:58:49

It's that kind of income

0:58:490:58:50

because you're finding something that you can really promote.

0:58:500:58:52

It's like surgery. Non-surgical hair replacement.

0:58:520:58:55

It's the real deal.

0:58:550:58:56

You ever say, like,

0:58:560:58:57

"Hey, this hair is from a Hindu princess"?

0:58:570:59:00

Charge a little extra?

0:59:000:59:01

No. Why should I say that?

0:59:010:59:02

Well, I've put it on some celebrities and said, "This was on so-and-so.

0:59:020:59:06

"I'll sell it to you if you want it."

0:59:060:59:08

They'll buy it.

0:59:080:59:09

"Ooh, I got so-and-so's hair."

0:59:090:59:10

Really? So you can sell, like,

0:59:100:59:12

a used weave if Angela Bassett had it?

0:59:120:59:14

Yeah, she brings it back, then I resell it.

0:59:140:59:17

I say, "Angela had it on her head."

0:59:170:59:18

And they like, "Really?"

0:59:180:59:19

"This is Vivica Fox hair."

0:59:190:59:20

Yeah, and they'll buy.

0:59:200:59:22

You know, she like Malaysian hair.

0:59:220:59:25

Vivica likes Malaysian hair.

0:59:250:59:26

She's not really into the Indian hair.

0:59:260:59:30

I knew there was a market for selling Indian hair,

0:59:300:59:33

but what I really wanted to know

0:59:330:59:35

is if I could make any money at all selling black hair.

0:59:350:59:38

Black hair!

0:59:380:59:41

Black hair!

0:59:430:59:46

How you doin', sir?

0:59:510:59:53

OK, sir. How are you?

0:59:530:59:54

Pretty good.

0:59:540:59:55

So, you sell a lot of hair here?

0:59:550:59:57

Yes.

0:59:570:59:58

What kind of hair?

0:59:580:59:59

We have Malaysian. We have the Indian hair.

0:59:591:00:02

We have synthetic hair.

1:00:021:00:03

We have so many different hair.

1:00:031:00:05

-Wow. Do you have any hair from Africa?

-Yes.

1:00:051:00:08

Really? Can I see the African hair?

1:00:081:00:11

Where is that?

1:00:111:00:14

This is... That's not African hair.

1:00:141:00:17

That's Indian hair. It says "Indian."

1:00:171:00:19

India is Africa from Indians.

1:00:191:00:21

-That's Indian hair?

-Yes.

1:00:211:00:23

-For African women?

-Yes.

1:00:231:00:25

See, I was tryin' to sell...

1:00:251:00:28

I had Indian hair, and I sold it easy,

1:00:281:00:30

but the black hair, nobody...

1:00:301:00:33

Would you like to buy some black hair?

1:00:341:00:38

I have all sorts of black hair here.

1:00:381:00:40

Some of this hair is from Cleveland and Cincinnati.

1:00:401:00:43

This hair is from Detroit.

1:00:451:00:47

Well, you might want to take it back.

1:00:471:00:49

So this is not good hair?

1:00:491:00:51

Uh-uh.

1:00:511:00:52

Is that off of someone else's...

1:00:521:00:54

This hair was cut off at a Baptist temple.

1:00:541:00:57

Uh, well, I couldn't...

1:00:581:01:00

It wouldn't be healthful for me to sell that hair here.

1:01:001:01:03

You think somebody's going to get sickle-cell

1:01:031:01:05

or something from wearing black hair?

1:01:051:01:07

Oh, yes.

1:01:071:01:09

The hair's no good.

1:01:091:01:11

But it's black hair for black people.

1:01:111:01:13

But black people don't wear that no more.

1:01:131:01:15

-So my nappy hair's not worth anything?

-No.

1:01:151:01:18

They don't want to look like, you know...

1:01:181:01:20

like, you know, Africa, like this.

1:01:201:01:24

They want to look the style.

1:01:241:01:25

You know, right now, you look at all the magazines,

1:01:251:01:27

all the style, what kind of styles they have.

1:01:271:01:29

They want sexy-looking.

1:01:291:01:31

So this is sexy?

1:01:311:01:33

Nobody walks around with nappy hair no more.

1:01:331:01:36

No more. You see, how many people, they do it?

1:01:361:01:38

No. You make sure the hair's straight.

1:01:381:01:41

Look more natural.

1:01:411:01:43

As far as black women wearing hair from other nationalities

1:01:431:01:47

or the hairstyles of other ethnicities and races,

1:01:471:01:50

you know, I would just say that European and Asian hair,

1:01:501:01:54

the texture seems to be the style

1:01:541:02:00

that all women seem to be trying to achieve.

1:02:001:02:03

I always was bothered by women

1:02:031:02:05

that had it and used it as a power thing.

1:02:051:02:10

It's kind of like, if I'm wearing somebody else's jewellery,

1:02:101:02:13

but I'm flexin' it on you, that's kind of fake.

1:02:131:02:15

So if you got a wig on, but you flexin' your hair

1:02:151:02:18

like I'm supposed to give you points for that hair,

1:02:181:02:21

I'm not giving you those points.

1:02:211:02:23

I'll give you points for your ass.

1:02:231:02:24

I'll give you points for your legs or your skin,

1:02:241:02:26

but you don't get points for that.

1:02:261:02:27

But you whippin' it at me like...

1:02:271:02:30

And a real pimp can always look at a girl

1:02:301:02:32

and know what she looks like baldheaded. Be like...

1:02:321:02:34

You could see through the cap.

1:02:341:02:37

I have alopecia,

1:02:371:02:38

which causes hair loss on your head or on your body.

1:02:381:02:42

I chose not to wear a wig for a number of reasons.

1:02:421:02:47

There's this feeling about somehow hiding,

1:02:471:02:49

and I never wanted to feel like I was hiding something.

1:02:491:02:53

I wanted to deal with sort of accepting who you are

1:02:531:02:56

and look in the mirror and feeling

1:02:561:03:00

as though you're beautiful and legitimate.

1:03:001:03:03

So I think the reason hair is so important

1:03:031:03:07

is because our self-esteem is wrapped up in it.

1:03:071:03:11

It's like a type of currency for us,

1:03:111:03:15

even though those standards are completely unrealistic

1:03:151:03:20

and unattainable, especially for black women.

1:03:201:03:22

You know, you're going to be graduating soon,

1:03:221:03:24

going out into the real world.

1:03:241:03:26

You might have to pay your parents back

1:03:261:03:28

for the weaves at some point.

1:03:281:03:31

Do you think...

1:03:311:03:33

you have a chance of getting a good job with natural hair,

1:03:331:03:36

or are you going to need a weave to get a good job?

1:03:361:03:39

Even though I think your Afro is kind of cute,

1:03:391:03:42

if somebody came into my office with an Afro way out here

1:03:421:03:46

and a suit, that just seems really out of place.

1:03:461:03:49

It's like a contradiction.

1:03:491:03:51

So I would kind of second-guess.

1:03:511:03:53

And I agree with you.

1:03:531:03:55

If I was going to, say, some new law firm,

1:03:551:03:58

and you wanted to, you know, join,

1:03:581:04:00

and I'm like, "OK, you look really nice,

1:04:001:04:02

"and I'm understanding what you're saying,

1:04:021:04:03

"but I can't get past the fact

1:04:031:04:04

"that you're going to be sitting with big executives and all that,

1:04:041:04:07

"and it's, like, they're not going to really take you seriously

1:04:071:04:10

"for the fact that you just don't look too put together."

1:04:101:04:17

You have to kind of really have conviction with it.

1:04:171:04:20

cos there's so many pressures

1:04:201:04:21

to straighten your hair all the time.

1:04:211:04:23

But the result is a beautiful thing, you know.

1:04:231:04:26

And it's funny, because I always think it's interesting

1:04:271:04:29

that to keep my hair the same texture

1:04:291:04:32

as it grows out of my head is looked at as revolutionary.

1:04:321:04:36

Why is that?

1:04:381:04:41

I seek them out with the natural hair.

1:04:441:04:47

Now, do you seek out women with natural hair

1:04:471:04:49

cos it's more affordable?

1:04:491:04:50

Absolutely.

1:04:501:04:52

How old are you?

1:04:521:04:53

Nineteen.

1:04:531:04:54

Nineteen. God.

1:04:541:04:55

Have you ever seen a woman,

1:04:551:04:56

seen her hair, and thought, "I can't afford her"?

1:04:561:04:59

Sometimes.

1:05:021:05:03

OK.

1:05:031:05:05

I know how you feel.

1:05:051:05:08

Does this have an effect on the relationships

1:05:091:05:10

between black men and black women?

1:05:101:05:12

Is there a pressure on a black man...

1:05:121:05:15

Right.

1:05:151:05:17

..that's dating a black woman

1:05:171:05:18

that a white man doesn't have dating a white woman?

1:05:181:05:21

A black man automatically knows,

1:05:211:05:23

out the gate, especially if his mama's black,

1:05:231:05:26

so he's already grown up in a household with a black woman.

1:05:261:05:28

So he kind of understands

1:05:281:05:30

the importance of getting the hair done

1:05:301:05:33

and of the woman looking good,

1:05:331:05:35

and he wants his woman to look good.

1:05:351:05:38

Yeah, he probably has to make a bit of an investment in that area

1:05:381:05:41

and just know that's part of being a black woman,

1:05:411:05:45

and I'm going to embrace that.

1:05:451:05:47

I'm just sayin', your woman has a head of hair,

1:05:471:05:50

it's like a condo, and you got to pay the maintenance.

1:05:501:05:53

When your woman's hair is jacked,

1:05:551:05:57

it's a reflection on you.

1:05:571:06:01

And when you date a chick, as a single guy,

1:06:011:06:04

when I go out with a girl and I look at her,

1:06:041:06:05

and I'm looking at her hair,

1:06:051:06:06

first thing I know,

1:06:061:06:08

whether we could go to the bathhouse,

1:06:081:06:10

steaming, swimming, or a beach trip,

1:06:101:06:12

and is it going to be a big to-do?

1:06:121:06:13

When you have natural hair, you can do stuff. More stuff.

1:06:131:06:16

If I get caught in the rain, it's not the end of the day.

1:06:161:06:20

She will be, like, "I don't want a massage,"

1:06:201:06:23

or, "I don't want to go to the steam room."

1:06:231:06:24

And you say, "Why not?"

1:06:241:06:25

"I'm not tense."

1:06:251:06:26

You know she's tense.

1:06:261:06:28

She's tense at the idea of the weave she just paid for

1:06:281:06:31

just fallin' to pieces.

1:06:311:06:32

Do you swim?

1:06:321:06:34

I have a pool.

1:06:341:06:37

That doesn't answer the question.

1:06:371:06:39

I do have a pool.

1:06:391:06:40

I can definitely get in the water.

1:06:401:06:42

I definitely get in the water, from about here down.

1:06:421:06:44

You don't swim?

1:06:441:06:46

No. We don't play those games.

1:06:461:06:48

He's got to be really special for me to get my hair wet.

1:06:481:06:51

Taking a shower together

1:06:511:06:52

could be more intimate than having sex.

1:06:521:06:54

Wow.

1:06:541:06:56

That's damn near like, "You're my nigga for real."

1:06:561:06:59

All my white classmates, whenever I'd get out of the pool

1:07:001:07:02

and my hair went from straight to curly,

1:07:021:07:04

they were like, "Wow!"

1:07:041:07:05

And they'd pull on it. And I'm like...

1:07:051:07:07

But they're curious.

1:07:071:07:08

They're curious white people. It's OK.

1:07:081:07:12

It's OK. You can touch it.

1:07:121:07:13

But just be gentle, and if it's me.

1:07:131:07:15

Don't just go walking up to a random black chick on the street

1:07:151:07:18

and reach out to touch her hair,

1:07:181:07:20

cos you might get hurt,

1:07:201:07:21

your fingers broken, sawed off, something.

1:07:211:07:23

Of course, a random white stranger

1:07:231:07:25

shouldn't walk up and touch a black woman's hair,

1:07:251:07:28

but what about her husband, her boyfriend?

1:07:281:07:30

You'd be surprised.

1:07:301:07:32

You guys, anybody ever been with a woman

1:07:321:07:34

that you couldn't touch her hair?

1:07:341:07:37

You know, when you can't put your hands

1:07:371:07:39

through a woman's hair, there's a lack of intimacy.

1:07:391:07:41

Have you ever put your hand through a black woman's hair?

1:07:411:07:44

Not that I can remember.

1:07:441:07:45

You can't touch a black woman's hair.

1:07:451:07:47

You just don't touch it.

1:07:471:07:48

Just leave it alone.

1:07:481:07:49

Don't tell me I can't touch your head.

1:07:491:07:52

It's decoration. Leave it alone.

1:07:521:07:54

It's like plastic fruit?

1:07:541:07:55

Kind of. Just leave it alone.

1:07:551:07:58

I don't care if you got fake titties,

1:07:581:07:59

I want to at least be able to squeeze 'em.

1:07:591:08:00

There just can't be no off-limits to no parts of your body.

1:08:001:08:03

If it's fake, cool, but I want to touch anyway.

1:08:031:08:07

Like, really. Don't do that.

1:08:071:08:09

cos I'll have to fight you.

1:08:091:08:10

So, you can't touch your woman's hair?

1:08:101:08:13

Hell, no! Not a black woman, right after she get it done.

1:08:131:08:15

"Nigga, I just got this done.

1:08:151:08:17

"Now let me wrap this up before we do anything."

1:08:171:08:19

The weave, yeah, it does matter.

1:08:191:08:22

It definitely matters if a girl got natural or weave.

1:08:221:08:24

I like real hair.

1:08:241:08:25

I mean, if you baldheaded, I'm cool with that, too.

1:08:251:08:27

You can't run your fingers through,

1:08:271:08:29

cos your fingers get stuck.

1:08:291:08:31

Like a DJ!

1:08:311:08:34

I don't want to run into the tracks

1:08:351:08:36

and get caught up and got to reset the fingers,

1:08:361:08:38

like, you know what I'm saying?

1:08:381:08:39

It's like gettin' your fingernail stuck in a sweater or something,

1:08:391:08:42

and you don't want that happening.

1:08:421:08:43

That's just nasty.

1:08:431:08:44

So weave-touching is off-limits?

1:08:441:08:46

Do not touch my weave, no.

1:08:461:08:48

I don't even touch the inside of my weave, barely.

1:08:481:08:50

But how close can you get with somebody

1:08:501:08:52

if you can't touch their hair?

1:08:521:08:54

I mean, at the right time, the right place,

1:08:541:08:56

I might be in another zone,

1:08:561:08:58

but if I'm in my right mind, get out my weave.

1:08:581:09:01

So what, you got to be high for somebody to touch your weave?

1:09:011:09:03

Maybe.

1:09:031:09:04

Weave sex is a little awkward.

1:09:041:09:06

What do you do?

1:09:061:09:09

I guess stay on top.

1:09:101:09:14

So if you're makin' love to one of these women

1:09:141:09:16

and you want to roll your hands through their hair,

1:09:161:09:18

you just got to really put all the...

1:09:181:09:20

Put all your effort in the bangs.

1:09:201:09:23

My advice for men

1:09:231:09:24

when they're making love to a woman who has a weave

1:09:241:09:26

is keep your hands on the titties.

1:09:261:09:29

That's probably the safest bet.

1:09:291:09:31

On the titties.

1:09:311:09:33

You can only touch up to here,

1:09:331:09:34

but if you get here, that's the forbidden zone?

1:09:341:09:37

Exactly.

1:09:371:09:38

You grab it during sex,

1:09:381:09:39

it's going to tear the relationship's ass up.

1:09:391:09:41

It's going to hurt the relationship, definitely,

1:09:411:09:43

if you grab it during sex,

1:09:431:09:44

cos it's going to go here, there.

1:09:441:09:45

They don't want you pulling that tail!

1:09:451:09:47

Maybe we stayed together back in the old days

1:09:471:09:50

cos Kunta Kinte could put his hands through Kizzy's hair,

1:09:501:09:52

thus bringing them closer together.

1:09:551:09:58

Kizzy was his daughter.

1:09:581:09:59

Oh, Kizzy was his daughter. I messed up.

1:09:591:10:01

Does your wife let you touch her hair?

1:10:011:10:04

The question is, do I let her touch mine?

1:10:051:10:08

So I hung out with her a couple of times.

1:10:101:10:12

You know, we went from partying

1:10:121:10:13

to, like, maybe we should do something.

1:10:131:10:16

You know, been over to my house a couple times,

1:10:161:10:18

laid up in the bed a couple times.

1:10:181:10:20

I ain't get at it yet, but I'm close.

1:10:201:10:22

But I haven't ran my fingers through her hair

1:10:221:10:24

because I'm not sure, is she really...

1:10:241:10:27

Is that all her hair?

1:10:271:10:28

And I don't want to ask her is that all her hair.

1:10:281:10:31

And I don't want to fool around and rub my fingers through it,

1:10:311:10:34

and say, "Wait, wait, wait, wait."

1:10:341:10:35

That "wait, don't do that."

1:10:351:10:38

I don't want to ruin the rhythm,

1:10:381:10:39

so I've been waiting for a period

1:10:391:10:42

where I ask her, what are the rules and regulations

1:10:421:10:44

of messing with your hair and making you feel sexy?

1:10:441:10:47

But I haven't got there yet.

1:10:481:10:49

I'm still waiting for that moment.

1:10:491:10:52

Hold up there. Hold a minute.

1:10:541:10:55

I was making love to this woman one time, right?

1:10:551:10:58

And I was, you know, gettin' it from the back.

1:10:581:11:01

You know what I mean, right?

1:11:011:11:03

You was getting it from the back?

1:11:031:11:04

Doggy-style!

1:11:041:11:06

And she told me...

1:11:061:11:09

She told me to pull her hair.

1:11:091:11:11

And when I pulled her hair...

1:11:111:11:12

it came off.

1:11:121:11:14

I said, "Uh-oh.

1:11:141:11:16

"I think it looks like a man."

1:11:161:11:18

-Oh, no!

-But it wasn't.

1:11:181:11:20

-We ain't talkin' about that.

-But it wasn't.

1:11:201:11:21

Baldheaded as could be.

1:11:211:11:24

So, you cannot touch a black woman's hair.

1:11:241:11:26

You can't. Wrong. You can't do it.

1:11:261:11:28

Understandably so.

1:11:281:11:29

If you paid 150 for a haircut,

1:11:291:11:32

you wouldn't want people touchin' your head.

1:11:321:11:33

You can't touch the weave?

1:11:331:11:36

When was the last time you touched a woman's hair?

1:11:361:11:38

1986, before the market crash.

1:11:381:11:40

The market crashed in '87, October 19th.

1:11:401:11:43

The last time I was allowed to touch a broad's hair was...

1:11:431:11:46

'86, somewhere in there.

1:11:491:11:50

White women love you to touch their hair.

1:11:501:11:52

Pull it, yank it. Twirlin' 'em around by it.

1:11:521:11:55

Jump off the ceiling with it.

1:11:551:11:56

Jump off the cliff and hang-glide with it.

1:11:561:11:59

Is this why black men... some black men favour white women?

1:11:591:12:01

-Yes.

-No!

1:12:011:12:03

I don't favour them, though.

1:12:031:12:04

But some black men... not you...

1:12:041:12:06

some black men do favour...

1:12:061:12:09

-White women.

-Yes.

1:12:091:12:11

Do you feel a level of intimacy with a white woman

1:12:111:12:14

that you cannot feel with a black woman?

1:12:141:12:15

-Yes, I do!

-I'm not going to say that.

1:12:151:12:17

I'll speak up myself! Hell, yeah!

1:12:171:12:19

Because there's no rules.

1:12:191:12:21

I can do things with a white broad that I can't do with a black, yes!

1:12:211:12:24

Not true. You got to find the right black woman.

1:12:241:12:26

It's no secret that some of the best conversations

1:12:401:12:42

happen in barbershops and hair salons.

1:12:421:12:45

While the big hair business,

1:12:451:12:46

like manufacturing and distribution isn't in black hands,

1:12:461:12:49

these barbershops and hair salons

1:12:491:12:51

employ thousands of black men and women all over the country,

1:12:511:12:54

feed black babies,

1:12:551:12:56

and send thousands of black kids to college.

1:12:561:12:59

And they continue to act

1:12:591:13:00

as social centres in their communities.

1:13:001:13:02

As the barber, what is your role in the community?

1:13:021:13:05

I'm the doctor. I'm the psychiatrist.

1:13:051:13:09

Whatever it is you need,

1:13:091:13:11

if I can help you, I'll try to help you.

1:13:111:13:12

It's still an industry

1:13:121:13:14

where somebody can go into business,

1:13:141:13:16

make a lot of money, not have a college education,

1:13:161:13:19

be able to do something wonderful for themselves

1:13:191:13:21

and for their families

1:13:211:13:23

and maybe even their communities.

1:13:231:13:24

But there's this expression,

1:13:241:13:25

this creative expression of black people

1:13:251:13:28

that I think is shown when we see

1:13:281:13:30

all of these amazing individual hairstyles.

1:13:301:13:34

But what's the definition of style?

1:13:341:13:36

Right there, that's style. See that?

1:13:361:13:37

It's like a sculpture.

1:13:371:13:39

Hairdressers are superstars.

1:13:391:13:40

Barbers are superstars

1:13:401:13:42

that are bigger than doctors, lawyers.

1:13:421:13:45

What are your hair dreams?

1:13:461:13:47

I want to own a whole chain of salons.

1:13:471:13:50

-Like IHOPs.

-Right.

1:13:501:13:52

What's your hair dream?

1:13:521:13:53

What's my hair dream?

1:13:531:13:55

To own my own salon and be a platform artist.

1:13:551:13:58

Platform artist? At the Bronner Brothers Show?

1:13:581:14:00

Right. Like at the Bronner Brothers Show.

1:14:001:14:03

So here we are in Atlanta.

1:14:041:14:06

After months of rehearsals in the heat,

1:14:061:14:08

fish tanks, Botox clinics,

1:14:081:14:10

churches, and day spas,

1:14:101:14:12

we finally made it to the Bronner Brothers hair competition,

1:14:121:14:15

all in the pursuit of good hair.

1:14:151:14:18

Now let's break it down.

1:14:181:14:19

We have Jason,

1:14:191:14:21

the self-proclaimed Rosa Parks of good hair,

1:14:211:14:24

the favourite to win

1:14:241:14:25

even though no-one has seen him practise.

1:14:251:14:27

I told everybody to be here around 3:00.

1:14:271:14:29

It's 3:05. It is what it is.

1:14:291:14:32

We've got Tanya and Kevin,

1:14:321:14:33

who have some beautiful models...

1:14:331:14:35

Oh, God!

1:14:351:14:37

And the Heavenly Father in their corner.

1:14:371:14:38

Victory, Lord,

1:14:381:14:39

in the name of Jesus and the Father,

1:14:391:14:41

let Your will be done.

1:14:411:14:44

And then there's Freddie,

1:14:441:14:45

the old pro with the tragic history of elaborate themes gone wrong.

1:14:451:14:48

Are they connected, they set up OK?

1:14:501:14:52

And then there's Derek,

1:14:521:14:54

a guy who's all about the hair.

1:14:541:14:56

Have you seen the boots?

1:14:561:14:57

Wow! That is some boot.

1:14:571:15:01

All of them as representative of the black hair industry

1:15:011:15:03

as anything the Bronner Brothers put on their shelves.

1:15:031:15:06

Yes, folks, this is the alpha and omega,

1:15:071:15:10

where it all begins and some of it ends,

1:15:101:15:12

where the weave monster sleeps and the world of curl leaks.

1:15:121:15:16

It's the Bronner Brothers Hair Battle Royale.

1:15:161:15:19

Now let's get ready to do some really good hair.

1:15:191:15:22

Hair is a woman's glory.

1:15:221:15:25

And that you share that glory with your family.

1:15:261:15:29

OK, before we start, let's meet our judges.

1:15:311:15:34

First up, the beauty surgeon, Dr Dave Ray,

1:15:341:15:37

internationally known weaveologist, Sammy Jones,

1:15:381:15:42

hot comb expert Britannica Stewart,

1:15:421:15:45

and, of course, former champion,

1:15:451:15:47

the legendary Patrick Antonio Bradley.

1:15:471:15:50

Welcome to the Hair Battle Royale.

1:15:551:15:57

Here are the basic rules.

1:15:571:15:58

There are four categories

1:15:581:16:00

that each contestant will be judged on -

1:16:001:16:02

originality, creativity,

1:16:021:16:04

hairstyles,

1:16:041:16:05

and audience participation.

1:16:051:16:07

There's a mandatory three-cut.

1:16:071:16:08

Three heads of hair must be combed and styled.

1:16:081:16:11

They have fifteen minutes to complete a look...

1:16:111:16:14

a fantasy look or an avant-garde look.

1:16:141:16:16

And finally, they must present a central theme on stage with music.

1:16:161:16:19

Tanya Crumel was born in New York

1:16:221:16:25

and raised in Birmingham, Alabama.

1:16:251:16:27

Tanya has been doing hair for 12 years

1:16:271:16:30

under the instruction of Kevin Kirk.

1:16:301:16:33

She gives total thanks to the Lord every single day.

1:16:331:16:35

Ladies and gentlemen, give Tanya a great big round of applause.

1:16:351:16:40

# Can you feel the flows? #

1:16:501:16:53

Tanya came to hit hard!

1:17:041:17:07

Don't hurt her.

1:17:091:17:12

She don't want no split decision.

1:17:271:17:30

She wants a knockout.

1:17:301:17:33

Tanya Crumel.

1:17:361:17:39

How'd you feel?

1:17:411:17:42

I feel good!

1:17:421:17:46

Is there anything you would change?

1:17:461:17:49

Just when we were all certain that Tanya couldn't be topped,

1:17:491:17:52

Jason's models arrived...

1:17:531:17:56

with 700 carats of diamonds.

1:17:561:17:59

Even our own camera crew was taken by surprise.

1:18:001:18:03

Would this be the deciding factor

1:18:041:18:06

in the 60th Annual Bronner Brothers Hair Battle Royale?

1:18:061:18:10

Let's see.

1:18:101:18:13

I was having the most amazing dream.

1:18:241:18:27

Oh, well, it's time to go to work!

1:18:271:18:30

Time to get that work done.

1:18:371:18:40

Exercise.

1:18:431:18:46

Getting in shape.

1:18:461:18:49

Now we know why Jason didn't rehearse.

1:19:011:19:03

No-one needs to choreograph hot women with no clothes on.

1:19:031:19:06

If you like what you see,

1:19:061:19:08

let me hear some noise out there.

1:19:081:19:11

CHEERING

1:19:111:19:13

Jason Griggers.

1:19:371:19:40

Will it be a knockout?

1:19:451:19:48

You're the best, Papa.

1:19:481:19:49

Thank you. We'll see who's best, Mama.

1:19:491:19:52

With such a hard act to follow,

1:19:531:19:54

I could see that Freddie was cracking down on her team

1:19:541:19:57

and internalising the pressure.

1:19:571:19:58

Make sure when I cut you or curl, you work the judges.

1:19:581:20:01

Work the judges. Smile.

1:20:011:20:04

Seductive. Smile.

1:20:041:20:06

There's no question that Freddie is a brilliant mind

1:20:061:20:08

in the hair world,

1:20:081:20:10

but after the failure of Broke Front Mountain,

1:20:101:20:12

her success will depend on her ability

1:20:121:20:14

to translate her concept into good hair.

1:20:141:20:17

It's obvious at this point that Jason's styling ability

1:20:221:20:25

is a thorn in Freddie's side.

1:20:251:20:27

Freddie will have to harness her amateur models

1:20:271:20:29

and rely on a complicated concept to earn the belt.

1:20:291:20:32

All right, make some noise

1:20:361:20:38

for Freddie J., ladies and gentlemen.

1:20:381:20:41

Freddie had her whole camp out there exercising.

1:20:501:20:53

The judges have no idea what's goin' on.

1:21:121:21:16

Freddie really made it simple this time.

1:21:161:21:19

Freddie knows how to handle it.

1:21:201:21:23

Oh, my goodness, what are they doin'?

1:21:271:21:28

She tryin' to cut her hair in there.

1:21:281:21:30

She's cutting that hair underwater.

1:21:301:21:33

I think they threw her in. What's goin' on?

1:21:371:21:40

I need some help. Get the lights on.

1:21:401:21:43

Freddie had a secret move.

1:21:451:21:48

Freddie J.

1:21:501:21:53

Come on, Atlanta, give it up for Freddie J.

1:21:531:21:56

Aquarium, aquarium!

1:22:011:22:02

Freddie!

1:22:021:22:04

You did great.

1:22:041:22:06

How'd you think it went?

1:22:061:22:07

I didn't even know what was going on.

1:22:071:22:09

While Freddie and her team were still catching their breath,

1:22:091:22:12

scores of dancers and models began to amass around Derek J.

1:22:121:22:15

He is Bronner Brothers' current Male Hairstylist of the Year.

1:22:201:22:23

He will radiate his greatest potential to the world.

1:22:261:22:29

So you're closin' the show?

1:22:311:22:32

Yeah. They opened for me.

1:22:321:22:33

Now it's time to have the all-time headliner.

1:22:331:22:36

So you going to take this to the next level.

1:22:361:22:37

Yes.

1:22:371:22:38

Good luck.

1:22:381:22:39

Ladies and gentlemen,

1:22:391:22:41

I know you are ready to see the Battle continue.

1:22:411:22:44

He is Derek J.

1:22:481:22:51

He's in the house.

1:23:121:23:15

Oh, my goodness!

1:23:211:23:24

Remember, the maximum number of people

1:23:241:23:26

allowed on stage is ten.

1:23:261:23:29

Anything more should result in an automatic disqualification.

1:23:291:23:32

Uh-oh.

1:23:511:23:53

I think...

1:23:531:23:55

he wants...

1:23:551:23:58

to knock out.

1:23:581:24:01

Ladies and gentlemen...

1:24:321:24:34

Derek J.

1:24:341:24:38

That was way more than ten people.

1:24:381:24:40

-And nude.

-But they was not on the stage.

1:24:401:24:42

You know what I'm sayin'? So he found a loophole.

1:24:421:24:45

You can have 20 dancers on the side of the stage,

1:24:451:24:49

but they can't be on the stage.

1:24:491:24:51

Yeah, but if I get two plane tickets to go to New York,

1:24:511:24:54

and I show up with ten people

1:24:541:24:56

and go, "Well, they're not going to sit,"

1:24:561:24:58

they don't let me on the plane.

1:24:581:25:00

I understand what you're sayin', but...

1:25:001:25:02

So this man brought 70 people?

1:25:021:25:05

It's a band.

1:25:051:25:06

Earth, Wind, and Fire don't got 70 people.

1:25:061:25:09

Even though the judges have not deliberated yet,

1:25:091:25:12

Heavenly Father, we're going to stand in our faith

1:25:121:25:14

and claim victory right now, Lord.

1:25:141:25:16

Who do you think won?

1:25:161:25:18

We did! Of course.

1:25:181:25:20

All right. Take care.

1:25:201:25:22

-OK.

-Stay off the pipe.

1:25:221:25:24

You guys still think you're going to win?

1:25:241:25:26

Of course.

1:25:261:25:27

There's no question.

1:25:271:25:29

We're more about the substance than the show.

1:25:291:25:31

They need to bring it back where it's about hair.

1:25:311:25:33

Jason's assistant was right.

1:25:331:25:35

At the end of the day, it's all about hair.

1:25:351:25:39

And even though none of them cut that much hair,

1:25:391:25:42

one of them was about to win this contest.

1:25:421:25:45

Ladies and gentlemen,

1:25:471:25:48

we've got a champion.

1:25:481:25:51

Our winner is...

1:25:551:25:57

Derek J.

1:25:571:26:00

Did you all have Derek winning?

1:26:081:26:11

Yes.

1:26:111:26:12

Bringing out the marching band

1:26:121:26:14

actually used more than ten people at one time.

1:26:141:26:18

But they were not on the stage.

1:26:181:26:20

To be honest with you, he was brilliant.

1:26:201:26:21

Everything tied in for him.

1:26:211:26:23

Jason was number two,

1:26:231:26:24

but he was actually first in the hairstyles.

1:26:241:26:27

But just like in basketball,

1:26:271:26:28

you have to play offence and defence.

1:26:281:26:29

Freddie's I didn't quite get it.

1:26:291:26:32

I was like, "Well, where is the connection here?"

1:26:321:26:34

You know, these people are in the club.

1:26:341:26:36

Is there, you know, a fish tank in the club?

1:26:361:26:39

It didn't congeal.

1:26:401:26:42

So, Tanya lost.

1:26:421:26:44

What advice would you have for her?

1:26:441:26:45

Originality.

1:26:451:26:47

Now, if she had did her homework

1:26:471:26:49

and realised that cutting upside-down...

1:26:491:26:51

some of the other competitors have done that years before.

1:26:511:26:54

She's new to this,

1:26:541:26:55

but maybe by the third time, she'll be all right.

1:26:551:26:57

This is our Hollywood.

1:26:571:26:59

Competing has literally become a profession in itself.

1:26:591:27:03

In trying to understand the world of black hair,

1:27:051:27:07

I've been all over the world,

1:27:071:27:10

and I've talked to all sorts of people.

1:27:101:27:12

I've seen sodium hydroxide in its rawest form

1:27:121:27:15

and in the heads of four-year-old girls.

1:27:151:27:18

I've seen some people pay thousands for hair

1:27:181:27:20

and others give it away to God.

1:27:201:27:23

I've learned that the black hair industry

1:27:231:27:25

generates billions of dollars...

1:27:251:27:27

mostly for white people and Asians.

1:27:271:27:30

I've hung out with the best hairdressers in the country

1:27:301:27:33

and watched a thrilling hair competition.

1:27:331:27:35

I've seen black women work hard in their own businesses

1:27:351:27:39

to give other black women straight hair.

1:27:391:27:42

So what do I tell my daughters?

1:27:421:27:45

I tell them that the stuff on top of their heads

1:27:451:27:48

is nowhere near as important

1:27:481:27:50

as the stuff inside their heads.

1:27:501:27:53

Once we realised and identified who we were,

1:27:551:27:58

then it became personal.

1:27:581:27:59

Now I am also free to be who I want to be no matter what.

1:27:591:28:03

So my relaxed hair is just, to me,

1:28:031:28:05

as African-based as an Afro,

1:28:051:28:07

because all of that came out of black culture.

1:28:071:28:09

But I don't think it should be...

1:28:091:28:10

I don't think this is... I'm not my hair.

1:28:101:28:12

You know, it's just like putting on clothes.

1:28:121:28:15

It changes, it alters your appearance.

1:28:151:28:17

And it also alters the way

1:28:171:28:18

that you are perceived to the world.

1:28:181:28:21

Hair's very strong.

1:28:211:28:22

There is no good hair. Hair is hair.

1:28:221:28:24

You have to embrace what God's given you naturally

1:28:241:28:27

and keep it moving.

1:28:271:28:28

You got to work with what you got.

1:28:281:28:29

Or weave in what you don't got.

1:28:291:28:31

Or weave in what you don't got. Hey.

1:28:311:28:34

This is like soul music crossing over, this weave thing.

1:28:341:28:36

We don't even know how many white girls

1:28:361:28:38

really got weaves.

1:28:381:28:40

We should look at that, Chris.

1:28:401:28:41

We should find out which of these girls

1:28:411:28:43

that we think got long, wavy hair really got a weave?

1:28:431:28:46

Black hair care manufacturers

1:28:481:28:51

have turned the black hair care industry

1:28:511:28:53

into a chemical waste dump.

1:28:531:28:57

Who cares?

1:28:571:28:58

Not one piece of research have gone on in America,

1:28:581:29:02

while we have gone to the moon

1:29:021:29:03

and walked on the moon,

1:29:031:29:06

when our scientists have not even walked

1:29:061:29:08

on a black woman's head.

1:29:081:29:10

Natural hair is freedom.

1:29:101:29:12

Black women, yes, we are high-maintenance.

1:29:171:29:20

But with us, you get so much.

1:29:201:29:25

I just think that women

1:29:281:29:31

shouldn't point fingers at other women

1:29:311:29:33

for whatever they're doing to enhance their bodies.

1:29:331:29:36

Other than that, do whatever makes you feel good,

1:29:361:29:39

because, trust me, if a woman ain't happy with herself,

1:29:391:29:41

she going to bring nothing but pain

1:29:411:29:43

to every fuckin' body around it.

1:29:431:29:45

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