Advertisement
Last updated: 29 october, 2009 - 17:46 GMT
Is straight hair 'good hair'?
Whoopie Goldberg wearing her hair in dreadlocks and Beyonce Knowles with straightened hair
Billions of dollars are spent each year by black women in America, Africa and elsewhere, to make their hair do what they want it to do.
The strong chemicals used to straighten hair can cause damage and the treatment can be expensive, so is straight hair really "good hair"?
To play this content JavaScript must be turned on and the latest Flash player installed.
A new film by the American comedian Chris Rock reveals the extraordinary lengths some women go to.
The BBC's Christine Otieno, who does not straighten her hair, went to a hair salon in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, to hear why some women do.
To play this content JavaScript must be turned on and the latest Flash player installed.
Hannah Pool is a journalist of Eritrean origin who had not straightened her hair until recently and Margot Rodway Brown runs an organisation called Adornment, which advises black women on how they can wear their hair natural.
In conversation with Newshour's Robin Lustig, they describe how they are wearing their hair at the moment.
To play this content JavaScript must be turned on and the latest Flash player installed.
First broadcast 28 October 2009
related bbc links
~RS~a~RS~worldservice~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~13~RS~){kind=small}
© MMIXThis page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.