As a teenager I can remember the “Ultra Sheen” brand of relaxer and I can vividly see the box, the blue and the green hair grease however until then I remember my mom using a brand called “Dixie Peach” and a red smooth heavy cardboard round container with a light metal silver top called “Royal Crown” for pressing hair. Wow how I hated the process but what else did I know about at the time.
The process was after school on a Friday evening hair was shampooed, scalp oiled lightly and combed into plaits for the next morning to be pressed with the hot comb. My mom would say: “go get the pillow and the bucket” (that was for us to sit on) and she’d have a chair high enough and sit it next to the stove and in the middle of the stove was two pressing combs, a pair of marcel curling irons, all laying on a white towel and the pressing oil on the back of her hand and let the pressing begin!
As I would feel the heat coming my shoulder would raise up as if that would make the heat go away. “Hold your ear and put your shoulders down” my mother would say and “hold your head down so I can get that kitchen” LOL Once the hair was pressed, if it was Easter season there was a round two where the hair was put in candy curls (spiral curls in today’s terms) and I loved it! My mom would put the top portion up and into a ponytail with pretty satin ribbons that I would change colors daily from my drawer full of other types of ribbons, barrettes and bows. I loved the results!
But this day I guess my mom and her friend decided to become “Kitchenticians” and made a decision to relax my hair with a super strength relaxer! They read the directions, I sat down and she got started. I don’t remember basing (I’m sure she did) and I don’t remember the burn but I do remember bending over the kitchen sink getting my hair rinsed and I’m sure with a neutralizing shampoo. My hair was so slick, smooth and silky but little did I know my hair was over processed and all I could think about was I can get it wet in the rain and in the pool and it was still going to be straight when I got out.
The one thing that I would hate was the hair drying process but in my young mind I was gonna have “curls” and no pressing comb!
Brings back memories of when i got my first relaxer. We also had thick long hair. Pressed. Holding ears. Hot heat. Those was the days. Tu for sharing
This brings back such memories. I made peace with my curls, but used to love my straight-esque hair!