# Re Obama's daughters how involved is it to straighten a black kid's hair? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 21, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237 "2009-01-21T00:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/1 "2009-01-21T00:57:34Z")
Just out of curiosity[re his daughter’s hair](http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/11/10/michelleobama_wideweb__470x318,0.jpg). How often does this have to be done (on average) and what’s involved maintenance-wise in keeping a black person’s hair straight? ---
**Author:** ![MightyQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@MightyQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MightyQ)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/2 "2009-01-21T01:01:36Z")
Is it like teeth? I had my kids’ teeth straightened. Just once, but man, it took a lot of time and $$. ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/3 "2009-01-21T01:07:17Z")
depends the hair. I had a black girlfriend for awhile (she was actually half black half korean but had inherited that very thick, curly black hair). She chimically straightened it for awhile, and it would have to be done once every couple of months and took several hours each time. When it was curly it was even more rugged, she’d spend over an hour in the shower EVERY DAY doing her hair, combing it out and such. I watched the process a few times, it was crazy (I just wash my hair, dry it and run a brush through it. She always hated me for that 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/4 "2009-01-21T01:14:36Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Just out of curiosity[re his daughter’s hair](http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/11/10/michelleobama_wideweb__470x318,0.jpg). How often does this have to be done (on average) and what’s involved maintenance-wise in keeping a black person’s hair straight? It’s about the same as a perm for a caucasion. It just straightens rather than curls. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/5 "2009-01-21T01:25:34Z")
You can also do a temporary straighten with a flat iron or a straightening comb (oil hair, heat metal, fine tooth comb on a stove, then carefully comb hair). Some people also wash it, then brush it straight while blow drying. That lasts until it gets wet. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/6 "2009-01-21T01:33:13Z")
A friend of mine, Indian father, English mother has yet to find anything that will straighten _her_ hair… ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/7 "2009-01-21T01:38:54Z")
> [@Stuffy](#): > > It’s about the same as a perm for a caucasion. It just straightens rather than curls. that’s called a Straight Perm and it doesn’t always work on real thick hair. My friend here in Japan (a white dude) has hair that is naturally kinda curly gets a straight perm every couple months ETA: that is to say black people usually have thicker hair than white people ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/8 "2009-01-21T01:44:23Z")
ETA: Nothing of substance to say! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/9 "2009-01-21T01:44:51Z")
What about Japanese straightening? I know someone (white) who had pretty curly hair who got that done, and it apparently lasts for up to a year. Can that work on black hair? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/10 "2009-01-21T01:51:19Z")
Don’t forget, the Obama kids had a white grandmother, so their hair might possibly be straighter than you think. ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/11 "2009-01-21T01:51:52Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > What about Japanese straightening? I know someone (white) who had pretty curly hair who got that done, and it apparently lasts for up to a year. Can that work on black hair? japanese… straightening? They all do the straight perm, AFAIK. I’ve never heard of Japanese straightening (and I live in Japan…) ETA: THat is, those who actually do straighten their hair. Most Japanese people have very straight, black (or sometimes dark brown) hair. The very stereotypical “asian” hair ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/12 "2009-01-21T01:54:35Z")
> [@PopeJewish](#): > > japanese… straightening? They all do the straight perm, AFAIK. I’ve never heard of Japanese straightening (and I live in Japan…) > > ETA: THat is, those who actually do straighten their hair. Most Japanese people have very straight, black (or sometimes dark brown) hair. The very stereotypical “asian” hair [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese\_hair\_straightening](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_hair_straightening) I don’t think it’s called that because Japanese people do that–it’s because people who don’t have straight hair want their hair to be as straight as a Japanese person’s might be. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/13 "2009-01-21T01:58:50Z")
I’ve heard that Japanese straightening is too harsh for most black people’s hair. Even with the white grandmother, you can tell that their hair isn’t naturally straight. They might have a finer grade of hair that’s easier to straighten, but then again, they may not. ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/14 "2009-01-21T02:05:39Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese\_hair\_straightening](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_hair_straightening) > > I don’t think it’s called that because Japanese people do that–it’s because people who don’t have straight hair want their hair to be as straight as a Japanese person’s might be. gotcha, my mom does that, she just calls it “chemical straightening.” I think they used to call it a “gonk” or something like that back in “the day” (she talks about it, I dunno). SHe has to get her hair done once a year if I remember correctly, but it’s a pretty harsh treatment from what she tells me (but it saves her the time and hassle of dealing with curly hair every morning) ---
**Author:** ![EpiGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8c91f0/32.png) [@EpiGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EpiGirl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/15 "2009-01-21T02:50:28Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Don’t forget, the Obama kids had a white grandmother, so their hair might possibly be straighter than you think. Eh, having a white grandmother isn’t going to give someone’s hair the look the Obama ladies have in the photograph above. To the trained eye, it is obvious that all of them have had some kind of straightening done. The two ways most black women straighten their hair are through permanent chemical relaxers or application of heat (flat iron, hot comb, blow drying with a comb). Which choice one makes depends on a variety of factors including hair texture, required maintainance times, and willingness to damage hair. Relaxers are permanent straighteners that utilize some form of alkaline chemical. They usually have to be applied every six weeks in order to straighten new growth. They are very damaging to the hair, and when misapplied often result in hair breakage and very dried out looking hair. Using a hot comb or flat iron is temporary. Once any kind of moisture hits the hair it will be returned to it’s original state. If one can avoid humidity and water, the hair can remain relatively straight until the next washing. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/16 "2009-01-21T14:47:54Z")
> [@PopeJewish](#): > > I think they used to call it a “gonk” or something like that back in “the day” (she talks about it, I dunno). [Conk.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conk) ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/17 "2009-01-21T14:52:52Z")
My goddaughter is adopted from Brazil and as a child her hair brought her to tears. Was going the chemical straightening route for a while, but it was extremely harsh and damaging. Now she lets it go natural and it’s so beautiful. But I can just imagine trying to get a comb through it. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/18 "2009-01-21T15:29:17Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese\_hair\_straightening](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_hair_straightening) > > I don’t think it’s called that because Japanese people do that. Just for the record, it is called Japanese hair straightening because Japanese people did it. That’s where the technique originated and it was done by women there who didn’t think their hair was straight enough. When it first started being done in the US, they highly advised against using it on black women’s hair because it’s too harsh, even compared to lye-based relaxers. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/19 "2009-01-21T17:26:09Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Just for the record, it is called Japanese hair straightening because Japanese people did it. That’s where the technique originated and it was done by women there who didn’t think their hair was straight enough. > > When it first started being done in the US, they highly advised against using it on black women’s hair because it’s too harsh, even compared to lye-based relaxers. Wow. They must have seriously straight hair after that technique. I’ve heard people say it can be harsh and damaging even to white people’s hair, too. Not as bad, but not good for your hair in the long r un. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237/20 "2009-01-22T08:12:09Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Don’t forget, the Obama kids had a white grandmother, so their hair might possibly be straighter than you think. Last summer and fall, the Obama daughters were frequently photographed with their father on the campaign trail. They wear their hair natural for everyday and both have extremely curly hair. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-obamas-daughters-how-involved-is-it-to-straighten-a-black-kids-hair/482237.md?page=2)