Chris Rock's Good Hair
Photo: Getty Images
Chris Rock is an Emmy-winning comedian, devoted husband and loving father—but it's time to get to know a new side of this funnyman. Meet Chris Rock, hair expert.
It's a detour he took after an innocent carpool ride left Chris with an idea he just couldn't shake. "I was with my daughter one day, and we're in the car and she's with one of her friends in the back seat, a little white friend," he says. "She was just kind of raving about her friend's hair a little too much for my comfort [saying]: 'You've got great hair. Oh, your hair's so good.'"
Not wanting to make her comments a big deal, Chris says he tried to play his them off. "[I said]: "Oh, baby, your hair's beautiful. Come on,'" he says. "If I would have really reacted, then she would have a complex about her hair."
Still, Chris couldn't let it go. "It sparked something in me," he says.
Watch Chris reveal his funniest dad moment.
So Chris set out to do something he's never done before—a documentary. In Good Hair, Chris travels from beauty shops in Brooklyn to sacred Indian temples to get to the root of why African-American women place so much importance on their hair.
It's a detour he took after an innocent carpool ride left Chris with an idea he just couldn't shake. "I was with my daughter one day, and we're in the car and she's with one of her friends in the back seat, a little white friend," he says. "She was just kind of raving about her friend's hair a little too much for my comfort [saying]: 'You've got great hair. Oh, your hair's so good.'"
Not wanting to make her comments a big deal, Chris says he tried to play his them off. "[I said]: "Oh, baby, your hair's beautiful. Come on,'" he says. "If I would have really reacted, then she would have a complex about her hair."
Still, Chris couldn't let it go. "It sparked something in me," he says.
Watch Chris reveal his funniest dad moment.
So Chris set out to do something he's never done before—a documentary. In Good Hair, Chris travels from beauty shops in Brooklyn to sacred Indian temples to get to the root of why African-American women place so much importance on their hair.
What Chris discovered is a $9 billion industry that affects the daily activities, wallets, self-esteem—and even the sex lives—of black women. Because women spend so much time and money on their hair, Chris says men are forced to adopt a hands-off policy. "You cannot touch a black woman's hair. You are conditioned not to even go there," he says. "When I was a dating guy, I dated women from different races. Anytime I was with an Asian or a Puerto Rican girl or a white girl, my hands would constantly be in their hair. Like my hands were thirsty."
Watch Chris run his hands through Oprah's hair!
One of the first lessons Chris learned on this journey was that women do their hair for one another. "They say it's for the men, but it's really for the women. Because guys don't care," he says. "There's no point in the history of the world where men were not sleeping with the women in front of them. We take what we can get."
Actress Nia Long, who Chris interviews in the film, agrees. "There's always this sort of pressure within the black community like, if you have good hair, you're prettier or better than the brown-skinned girl that wears the Afro or the dreads or the natural hairstyle," she says.
Watch Chris run his hands through Oprah's hair!
One of the first lessons Chris learned on this journey was that women do their hair for one another. "They say it's for the men, but it's really for the women. Because guys don't care," he says. "There's no point in the history of the world where men were not sleeping with the women in front of them. We take what we can get."
Actress Nia Long, who Chris interviews in the film, agrees. "There's always this sort of pressure within the black community like, if you have good hair, you're prettier or better than the brown-skinned girl that wears the Afro or the dreads or the natural hairstyle," she says.
Chris found the biggest moneymaker in the hair business to be weaves. Black women can spend six to eight hours getting their hair braided into tiny sections. Stylists then delicately attach tracks of hair—which can be simple extensions or full wigs—to the braids. "If you've got a weave, your scalp's like a beat up highway," Chris jokes.
Women who wear weaves stop by the salon for regular washes, conditioning and tightening, but the real expense lies with the hair itself. Chris says he was shocked to learn that regular women spend thousands of dollars on weaves—and even put them on layaway. "Janet Jackson spends $5,000 to go to the Grammys on her hair. I didn't know Kiki was spending $5,000 to go to AT&T and answer the phone," he says. "That was disturbing."
Chris discovered the hottest hair on the market is found in India, where human hair is the number two export behind software. "This is some of the worst poverty in the world," he says. "I don't think [people] know they're walking around with $1,000 on their head."
While in India, Chris witnessed a tonsuring ceremony at the Venkateswara Temple. Every year, more than 10 million people cut their hair off as an offering to the Hindu gods. "In India, hair is considered a vanity, and removing hair is considered an act of self-sacrifice," he says. "These people have no idea where their hair is going or how much it's worth. The money made at this temple is second only to the Vatican. The hair collected here is auctioned off to exporters who distribute it around the planet."
Women who wear weaves stop by the salon for regular washes, conditioning and tightening, but the real expense lies with the hair itself. Chris says he was shocked to learn that regular women spend thousands of dollars on weaves—and even put them on layaway. "Janet Jackson spends $5,000 to go to the Grammys on her hair. I didn't know Kiki was spending $5,000 to go to AT&T and answer the phone," he says. "That was disturbing."
Chris discovered the hottest hair on the market is found in India, where human hair is the number two export behind software. "This is some of the worst poverty in the world," he says. "I don't think [people] know they're walking around with $1,000 on their head."
While in India, Chris witnessed a tonsuring ceremony at the Venkateswara Temple. Every year, more than 10 million people cut their hair off as an offering to the Hindu gods. "In India, hair is considered a vanity, and removing hair is considered an act of self-sacrifice," he says. "These people have no idea where their hair is going or how much it's worth. The money made at this temple is second only to the Vatican. The hair collected here is auctioned off to exporters who distribute it around the planet."
Photo: Roadside Attractions
Another staple of the industry is relaxers—also called "creamy crack" by some. While women of other races use perms to add curl, black women use them to straighten their hair. "You name a black woman, any black woman," Chris says. "They've either had their hair relaxed, or they're having their hair relaxed right now."
The active ingredient in relaxer is a substance called sodium hydroxide. The chemical is so strong it can burn a woman's hair off—which is why Chris is urging parents to stop the relaxing addiction now. "This kiddie perm has to stop, okay? They shouldn't have to worry about that till they're in their teens," he says. "Putting those chemicals in that child's hair is just not cool."
Chris says he tells his own daughters they're beautiful every moment he can—and has only one answer when it comes to questions of having good hair. "Whatever makes you happy is good hair," he says. "Do your hair for you, and you will be happy."
The active ingredient in relaxer is a substance called sodium hydroxide. The chemical is so strong it can burn a woman's hair off—which is why Chris is urging parents to stop the relaxing addiction now. "This kiddie perm has to stop, okay? They shouldn't have to worry about that till they're in their teens," he says. "Putting those chemicals in that child's hair is just not cool."
Chris says he tells his own daughters they're beautiful every moment he can—and has only one answer when it comes to questions of having good hair. "Whatever makes you happy is good hair," he says. "Do your hair for you, and you will be happy."
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