Ten years ago, I went to my hometown salon and got my last relaxer. It was my last because my scalp burned so badly that when the appointment was over, my scalp vaguely resembled a slab of beef carpaccio. Today, @_CollieBibs, a tweeter from repressed-memories heaven, perfectly captured that moment with this tweet that made me choke on my Coke Zero with laughter:
And so began my deep-dive down the #BlackSalonProblems hashtag hole, which perfectly articulates the agony and ecstasy of the black salon experience. Here is a sampling of some of the best tweets from the hashtag, which as of now has garnered over 150,000 tweets.
The threat of excessive heat:
The humbling moment when you run out of extension hair:
The realization that your hair appointment is a daylong commitment:
The fear of death by fire:
The inevitable weave-unveiling:
The moment when you realize you should have brought a snack:
The dude invasion:
The unexpected big chop:
The LOL sensitive-scalp treatment:
The "ain't got time for this" affront:
The undercover haircut:
The physical endurance of the wash bowl:
And the bottom line: