by
Black Girl With Long Hair
President Barack Obama and a young Malia
Six guests recently had the opportunity to share a private dinner with Barack and Michelle Obama, as part of the Obama campaign’s President’s dinner contest. During dinner discussion Mr. Obama spoke of the time when it was up to him to style older daughter Malia’s curls;
My favorite story out of this is Malia, when she was 4, she had a little dance thing. Well, Michelle was gone that weekend so I’m taking her to ballet. And I get her in her little leotard and her little stuff. I did her hair, put it in a little bun.
We get to the dance studio and one of the mothers there right away comes up to Malia – she thinks she’s out of earshot of me and she says, ‘Sweetie, do you want me to redo your hair?’ And Malia who she’s 4 says, ‘Yes please, this is a disaster’ you know, she didn’t want to hurt daddy’s feelings.
So adorable!! Ladies, has your dad ever had to tackle your kinks and curls? How did it turn out?
123 Responses
Momma said, “no pool.”
That’s ok, I’ll ask Daddy.
Parched grass, wet tangles
Towels dry in the breeze.
Poor Daddy’s “rag roll curlers,”
Tube socks in my hair
My dad once did my hair in single plaits, took AGES but he did a great job!
Daddy never styled my hair but when I got older and began to experiment with color and length and texture, he would look at me and ask, “now, when you walked into the beauty “parlor” and sat in the “hairdresser’s chair, what did you tell her you wanted?” I still laugh about that. He also used that line concerning my fashion choices. “When you walked into the store and the salesperson asked if they could help you, what type of outfit did you tell them you were looking for?”
My dad cut my hair into an afro when I was about 7…. I still have not forgiven him to this day! Everyone thought I was a boy 🙁
I loved my dad to do my hair it was funny because he made sure the part was correct to the point did not care how the part was
When I was about 7 or 8 my Dad had to wash and comb my hair because my Mom had a project due for school (She was in Uni) and my dad held my hair and washed it like you would a blouse and scratched my scalp so hard (I think it stayed squeaky clean for like a month after) Lol and proceeded to try and plait my hair. He called it the “3 ones” but couldn’t do it so he proceeded to do the “2 ones, where yuh (you) turn dem (them) roun’ (around) each oda (other)” or as we know it twists. My aunts laughed so hard and combed my hair after. But I was very defensive of my Dad saying he did a great job and all.
My parents had 3 girls and Im the baby so he was a pro by the time I came along!! My dad did my hair every morning. He taught me how to use a curling iron!! I would go to him to part my hair or help curl it because mom never did it right!!! He could do the best ponytails!!!
I loved when my dad did my hair. He would style it in a bush ball on the top of my head. He used water and a little castor oil,Lol.
My dad did my hair TWICE in my 21 years and both times I had to get someone to fix it without him knowing. lol Hey at least he tried taming my 4c hair! lol
This is precious! I got in trouble one morning because I told my mother that she didn’t do it right (how my father did it) Still laugh at that!
Same thing happened to me!! Dad could curl like nobody’s business!!!
It wasn’t for ballet, but yeah, my dad could have told the exact same story.
I loved when my dad did my hair, he did it better than my mom lol
My dad used to love tackling my waist length 3A/B curls. He can plait my hair pretty good.
When mom couldn’t do my hair, my dad did it. I loved it, he would part zig zags and braid it. After a while, I just ask daddy to do it before school.
I have a very vivid memory of how my Daddy managed the hair of myself and two sisters. Mommy was in the hospital. So, he took us to the barber shop! I was in grade 5, I believe. That was my very first ‘twa’. There was a biracial boy in my class. He complimented me on my new hairstyle. I’ve never forgotten him for that. He made me feel beautiful.
These stories are so funny, I guess because my story is nothing like them. I grew up with my dad being a single father, and when I started school every morning I sat at our dining table and he would do my hair himself and he continued to until I was about 8 or so and by that time I had salon type hairstyles that I could manage myself. Thankfully my hair never looked a mess, my parts were straight, and my hair was moisturized. Love my dad
My mom tells me this story all the time. She worked nights and I had sand in my braids from the playground. I cried and begged for my dad to wash my hair because it itched so badly. He called my mom at work and she told him to just wash it and braid it. Easy right…nope. That man washed my hair with a bar of Dove soap! So there I am 6 years old looking like I’d been caught in a dusty tornado. My mom had more than enough to deal with when she saw my head the next morning.
My Daddy hair stories are just the opposite. My dad had this really long, very straight, very fine hair. like a whip. lol…..he never did my hair because, of course, I had my mama’s hair, but we (my two sisters and I) did his hair whenever he napped. So he had three little girls, ranging from 2 to 6 years old putting all kinds of pins and everything on his hair. he would wake up and boy, was my dad a sight!! barrettes all over his head. I think it was calming to him. 🙂
My dad did my hair sometimes when my mom had to work late at night or when she wasn’t there in the morning. Those were the best times because he would give me bangs or some asymmetrical ponytails that made me stand out and all my friends comment on how my hair was so fly. Then my mom would see it and put it straight again. My dad died, but I always remember this when I see dads combing their daughters hair.
Aww these Daddy hair combing stories great.
my Mom was working on her masters in Memphis when I was 6. So daddy, the former bruising college football player had to do my hair. All I remember is being amazed that it didn’t hurt when he combed my hair.!! Not only that, but I could turn my head to talk to him, lay down I. His lap Nd reach down to pick up a toy without hearing, “Hold your head up!” “Quit moving around!” I thought “This is great” … Then I saw my fuzzy headed, one sides braided one side Afro puff with a crooked part and I understood why.
My head was a mess.. But this is a perfect memory
I really enjoyed reading all of the post. I don’t have any daddy-hair-stories like yours. I was raised by my mother who was raised by her father. So I got the bad-daddy-coiffeur by proxy.
My childhood was spent rocking the three doo-doo plaits and permanent crooked parts.
Nice can he now fashion Shakira’s hair?
He blasted her with his drone attacks
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I am so veery very sorry BUT she is still BEAUTIFUL !!!!
my dad used a razor blade to cut out my hair bows. Luckily for me i had long thick hair, so it was no big deal
These are such cute stories! Wow!
So Daddy has never tried to fix my hair, but even to today, he remains a bonafide back-seat stylist. Always commenting, always with his tips on how I should style my hair. He does so in jest, of course, but I love it when he go, “Cee, now if it was ya daddy doing your hair, I would style this side up…” and etc, etc. It’s always cute. The last time, he jokingly offered to go with me to salon and give the stylist tips… you know, since he is such a professional.
Dad’s cool like that 🙂
LOL! This is so cute! I’m loving all of these stories.
Yes, my dad did attempt to do my hair, but it was a one time only type thing. I was about six or seven and my mother had to go to work early, and she asked my dad to wash my hair for her. That night he did, but after wards he didn’t know how to braid and was not very sure how I was supposed to have my hair dried. So he just grabbed a towel and tied it over my hair. The next morning, my mother was shocked at the sight of my hair and let me tell ya: I never hated the comb more than that morning.
I love you dad, but hair just isn’t your thing, lol.
My mom was away at a pharmacy directors meeting, so my dad had to do it…
Rubber Band, knotted hair, and a comb full of hair.
You get my point!
The whole chee-bang!
I just discovered this post…however I have a story. My parents divorced when i was very young, but I always spent every other weekend at my dad’s house. One time, my mom went to a conference…so i had to stay with my dad for a week. Since I decided that I wanted to not tie my hair up before going to bed, my dad was stuck styling my poor 6 year old hair. Daddy didn’t know how to work the ponytail holders so he used the thick rubberbands that you used to secure mail and some speaker wire…and put an old sweatband on my head and off to school I went. Thankfully, my teacher was one of my mother’s sorors and saw my hair that morning and knew what happened…she re-styled my hair and managed to snag some ponytail holders and barrettes from the lost and found hair accessory drawer she kept in her classroom.
I remember my dad doing my hair once when my mom was on vacation and people complimenting him on doing a good job on my braids 🙂 Love my daddy!
When I was a kid my mom worked third shift at the town nursing home so she wasn’t always able to help me get ready for school. Occasionally, my dad would try to help me, and it would usually end up with us running late, and him roughly towel drying my hair. Sometimes when my mom wasn’t home he would give me haircuts, and once he tried to give me a rat tail and my mom FREAKED OUT! It was so hilarious, and I had to try to tell my dad that I liked it when he was cutting it off, because I didn’t want him to feel bad.
Thank you so much for this! This is one of my all time favorite childhood memories. My dad had off for work one day while my mom went to work.I was in first or second grade. As typical I had huge, thick long-ish hair as a child. My dad thought just blow drying it “out” would do something. So he yanked and pulled with the blow dryer and evil comb attachment. It looked half way decent for about 20 minutes. By then I was at school. I remember at recess that day a white girl asked me why my hair was so big. One of the first days I realized I was “different” than the others. As I got older he learned to just take me to the salon. Please repost this on Father’s Day! My dad has since passed away and this post is bringing tears to my eyes.
And I’m loling over President Obama’s story about Malia @ 4yrs old throwing shade over his lack of hair styling abilities!
It makes me remember a story of when I was a little girl and my mom gave my dad a hard time for NOT combing my hair and sending me to school…imagine her shock and horror when he told her he HAD combed my hair! After that whenever she had to do a double shift at the hospital, she would ask my neighbor to make sure my hair was combed and looked alright before we left for school! Poor Daddy…he never lived that down.
Your mom should have just shown him what to do – he seemed willing – unlike my dad who never once touched my hair or my sister’s.
When I was about 7, my dad took me to Canada while my mom stayed at home with my toddler sister. It was our first trip without mom and we went to stay with family friends, an interracial couple. I had super-thick hair that was also pretty long and difficult to manage. The wife of the couple was white and she did not have much experience with our type of hair and so my dad chose to help. My father is from Monserrat, a small Caribbean island, and in order to inspire confidence in his potential as a coiffeur, he told me that when he was a little boy he used to plait grass mats, so my hair would be a breeze. Needless to say that experience converted to horizontal pigtails a la pippi longstocking and me in tears. In despair he took me and my naturals to a hairdresser and put me on the creamy crack much to the dismay of my Mom when I returned home. ahh the memories.
Not the creamy crack. My best friend is from Monserrat. All her kid pictures have big fat plaits.
@ Zina de Bermuda My mom is from Montserrat as well as my Grandmother on my fathers side. It’s so small its always nice to hear other people from there.
When I was 8yrs.old my mom was in the hospital having my little brother.My dad kept popping the rubber bands so he put clothes pins on my & my sisters hair the old wood kind.It was hilarious & a fool!!OMG I’m still ROTFLOL!!!
Now that is freaking hilarious. I couldn’t imagine coming home from the hospital and seeing my babies with clothes pins in their hair. Lol.
The Daddy-doing-hair memories I have are all of him combing one or another of my brothers’ hair (I have five of them) when it was at that last minute right before we had to leave for church and they hadn’t done it to his satisfaction, if they’d even done it at all. He would always grab the victim by the head with one hand, pull out a black, small-toothed comb with the other hand, and rake it thoroughly through their very tiny, very tightly balled-up curls. It sounded like popcorn going off on their heads, and it hurt. They dared not scream, squirm, or put up a fight. My fifth-born brother recalled this vivid family memory over Christmas a few months ago, and Mama reminded him how she had already repeatedly warned them to comb it themselves before Daddy saw their hair nappy: “Now boys, y’all need to coomb y’all’s head fo’e yuh daddy see yuh, cuz y’all know if he see it, he gon’ coomb it hisself, an’ yuh know yuh don’ waunt him to do it!”
Right around the time I was born my older sister (half sibling) had just moved in with my parents. At that time my mother could not even twist hair (shameful) so my dad was the one who had to plait my sister’s hair for school. Daddy can plait!
The majority of my childhood memories are of me and my Papa (grandfather). I remember one in particular where he did my hair. I had alot, and I mean alot of hair when I was little, it was thick and massive, and my grandmother worked nights and my mom was overseas working. When the ladies (my aunts or grandmother) would do my hair it hurt like all get out they were all very heavy handed and did the pink lotion, water and hard brush and plaited or twisted my hair in sections. But this one morning my grandmother wasn’t home yet and my aunts weren’t coming by anytime soon but we had places to go, after my Papa let me pick out my own clothes (which of course didn’t match, but I liked it), he got out his brush (my grandfather had silky wavy silver hair Portuguese and Jamaican man) super soft bristles and his hair cream wild root and brushed my hair seemingly into one place smack dead in the middle on the top of my head and manage to push it all into one ponytail holder and tied the ribbon I wanted from the candy box around it. It felt so good and though my aunts and grandmother laughed later when they saw me I felt I look so good with my hair done by my grandpa.
i love it! this made me say “Aww”
well being that it was just me and my father growing up so there really was no woman/mother figure to do my hair…but my father was great at doing my hair because he also had long hair and as a multiracial child and still i have that thick curly hair he would always say its a hassle to do…but my father would do my hair every morning he would always tell me to say my step mother did if anyone ever asked lol…
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This is a cute story. I’ve had years of the men in my family doing my hair – my father didn’t work in the winter, so he’d put my hair in pigtails with barrettes before school. Daddy did a great job. My older brother did the same when my parents weren’t there, which served him well for when his daughter was born and her mother wasn’t around to do her hair.
My younger brother would help me put my crochet braids in his teenage years and now my husband often does or helps me with my two-strand twists. I’ve been blessed with men in my life that were taught how to take care of home as well!
Well I do not have a story about my dad doing my hair but my husband will do our daughter’s hair from time to time.
Our little girl is 2 and like most busy mom’s, I assume, we try to give our little girls styles that are not only pretty but functional. After a busy day of work I really try not to have to come home and do her hair every night. I will usually try to make her styles last a full week with either box braids or cornrows. Well some weeks are better than others for ol’ girl and I’ve learned that it really bothers him when her hair gets too “fuzzy.”
I usally come home to find that he has taken the style out and given her a, suprisingly, neat smooth ponytail. Complete with plat and barrette at the end. Never fails he does it everytime.
Thankfully, my Dad never attempted to do my hair. I could only imagine how much it would have hurt and how awful the style would have turned out. LOL!! My mom does tell me of times where my dad would get up early and take us to Disneyland just to give her a day to herself (nice husband. I only hope mine will be so charitable when I’m at my wits end), and I would invariably return with a sky high mass of tangles (partially because he didn’t bother to do my hair before we left the house, and partially because it was a day at Disneyland…what more could you expect?) She remarked she was always shocked to see my hair all over my head at the end of the day. Haha!
This is a cute story. I guess President Dad gets a few points for trying. 🙂
I remember when I was 7 & my sister was 6 that my dad had to our hair because my mom was in the hospital. Let’s just say we ended up with afro puffs!
Yes, lol I remember my Dad used to braid my hair sometimes to get me ready for school. But Daddy used to call them “Plaits” and they used to be so pointy,lol. Good post, brought back alot of memories.
I just remember my stepmom being in the hospital after giving birth to my younger brother and my dad had to get me ready for school. Daddy has these HUGE hands (or maybe I just had a little head!) and mercy me, I just remember a bunch of pulling and heavy handed attempts at smoothing all while I sat there smiling because “my daddy” was doing my hair. I didn’t even look in the mirror, I was three and not so vain, unlike my own 3 year old is now (“I don’t like it Mommy. Fix it”). I went to school and my Pre-K teacher took one look at me and said, “Hon, who did your hair today?” I looked up beaming and said, “my daddy!” and went on ’bout my business. I didn’t know what was going on up there, but I had, and still have absolute trust in my father. What’s funny is when I watch my husband now when he tries to do our daughter’s hair. Same huge hands. Same heavy handed attempts at smoothing. Such beautiful (and at times, comical)sight. Awww, thanks for allowing me to share that.
Such a sweet comment!
What an awesome story! I loved this! There are three girls in my family. I don’t remember my dad doing any of our hair, not even once! LOL. My mom was a mean with a cornrow though;).
Shelli
beautiful story. wonderful imagery. thanks for sharing 🙂
Awww that is so adorable of president Obama and malia and a lot of the comments are too. My dad did my hair for a wedding reception when i was like 6 or 7 and i remember squirming between his legs because he was heavy handed and i was tender headed but after all the fuss my plaits turned out nice surprising! My mom left great instructions…lol
My Daddy did my hair once to my memory. I think I took my plaits out b/c I told him I wanted him to know how to do my hair. It was a struggle for him and oddly enough he went to cosmetology school for a little bit.
YES!! My dad did my hair when i went to visit him. I had three braids sticking up on my head bless his heart. Luckily he was dating my stepmother at the time.
I love these stories. My mom was also in the hospital and so my dad attempted to do our hair. I have very thick curly hair so my dad was loading my hair down with product and attempted to braid it. I remember this so vividly because I remember him yanking my hair and me trying to get away.
I ended up with this half braided half puff action thing going on so needless to say I was not a happy camper. When we went to visit my mom she said that it looked like I was from outer space. One of my ponytail/braid puff things was sticking straight up like a TV antenna. Now that I’m older kudos to him for trying! LOL
All of your stories are so touching. They show us that many Black men have been very involved in raising their children. This is priceless. I am pure-dee jealous of all these wonderful recollections! My dad never touched my head. But he was always there and spent time with us, and I know he loved us and still does.
Maybe the “Courageous” film should have included a scene of the black dad doing his daughter’s hair — lol!
I remember a time as well, my mom was in the hospital having my younger sister and my dad put my hair in one crooked pony tail. Not even sure he brushed it. It looked a mess but he tried. Why do I see such a theme of some dad’s doing hair when mom’s in the hospital? Lol.
I had a super thick head of hair as a kid and typically my mom was in charge of keeping my hair groomed during those early years. Anywhoo, mom usually picked me up from Grandma’s house after work, but once my Dad had to pick me up from Grandma’s the same day I had a big ol birthday party to attend. Unfortuanately for my Dad, I had fallen asleep after having fun times outside with friends, and the nice neat hairstyle my Grandma had given me was all messed up. My Dad, bless his heart, tried his best to give me two braids, when that didn’t work b/c they remained uneven, he tried a french braid, but my hair was so thick it didn’t lay right. Finally, he parted my hair, albeit crookedly, and settled for two ponytails on the side, two-strand twisted the remaining hair (we didn’t call it that then) and pinned those on top of my head. I remember this experience vividly, sitting btw his legs listning to Marvin Gaye as he wondered how much TCB lite and pink moisturizer he should use. My Dad falls in the 3b/c hair category, and since he wore it short, wash n go’s were all he knew. He had no clue how to handle my thick 4abc…z mane, but he tried anyway =)Thanks Dad!
Off topic: But, my Dad never wanted me to perm my hair. I cried and begged and my mom talked him into it so I could fit in with the other kids. I sure wish I had listned to my Dad from the jump! Nevertheless, it’s natural now, and Mom, Dad, brother, and even the dog are just fine with it=)
Fortunately for me and my sister, my Daddy never had to do our hair. We lived two doors down from our grandparents who had foster children and one of the girls was always willing to cornrow our hair in some spectacular style she saw at school or on tv for just a few dollars.
I’m guessing if my Daddy did do our hair, it would have been very regimented and exact considered he was a scientist with a degree in math. And probably pulled too tight. lol
Still need to read article, but had to comment on the utter adorableness of this picture!Love to see a man being a real father! Shout out to my awesome Dad!=)
My Mom never let my Dad do my hair because he had arthritis; but he would shine my school shoes and do a spot check of my uniform everyday. I miss him :'(
My bf is adorably clueless, he is fascinated by my changing hairstyles
My dad did my hair once, that I can remember. He was off from work that day, my mom went to work and instead of taking me to daycare, let me stay home with him. He went fishing and took me with him, and of course, I needed my hair combed so I would look decent for our day out together. It’s a vague memory, but what I do remember is my ponytails were baggy and puffy, not tight and neat like when mommy did them. I remember him bragging to his fishing buddies about having to do my hair that day as well. I can’t say that he ever combed my hair again after that time. Knowing my mother, she probably shot his work down and he was discouraged from touching my hair ever again.
My dad has never tried to do my hair. He had six sisters for that, lol! But my husband has done our daughters hair from undoing, to washing and redoing. He’s very gentle as both are very tender. He takes his time and usually puts in some type of puff. I actually got the spraying water on the hair from him. He just can’t cornrow.
My daddy use to wash me and my sister’s hair to help my mom out (we and ALOT of hair between the two of us)and he also did my hair before school if my mom had to work. But I can remember a time when he braided my pigtails so tight they stuck out on both sides of my head and he would not let me take them down lol, talk about embarrassing. But he did his best and eventually became pretty good at doing hair. He is an AWESOME daddy!
My daddy was great at doin my hair. He worked nights when I was little so he would do mine and my cousins if they were over. He could braid and twist and I was always cute. When I spent my first summer at my grandparents house, I waited the whole day looking crazy that he was coming to get me bc I loved him doin my hair. He was always so patient
I remember my dad would do my hair often. My mom would rarely even be concerned with my hair – she would resort to putting braids in and leaving them in way too long. My dad would often put in about 5-8 plaits with no bows and crooked parts but at least he would try to make us look decent, I’ve seen so many pictures of my hair looking crazy while I was dressed very nicely and just think my mom did give a d*mn about how we looked! I guess that is how I learned to do my own hair from 7 years old.
Love these daddy-daughter stories!! Thanks for this and the story/photo above, BGLH.
I howled laughing at these responses, so cute! I’m totally a daddy’s girl but his old fashioned ‘women’s domain’ mentality and my mother’s perfectionist syndrome kept him away from my and my sister’s hair which was probably best, Lol! Love ya Pops! BTW, that picture of the POTUS and Malia is just gush-worthy!
OMG yes one time when I was about 7 i stayed the weekend over my father’s house, when I woke up and was getting ready my dad and his Armenian girlfriend was getting me ready and they were so confused on what to do with my hair, they turned on the shower put my head in the water took a brush while my hair was being submerged in water and tried to put it in a bun when they noticed my hair was shrinking they took a whole glob of gel and eventually plopped a bun on my head….yep yep yep lol
Such a sweet story! I remember the few times my dad did my hair, he would brush HARD with a nylon brush, attempting to smooth the edges, but ended up “brushing” my ears and forehead along with my hair!
My dad did my hair in what is notoriously known in my family as the Princess Leia buns. I was the spitting brown image of her for days… because I loved the fact that my daddy did my hair and didn’t wanna take them out! I’m forever a daddy’s girl.
My Dad did my hair once that I remember one morning before school while my Mom was out of town. He put it in the one pony tail that I asked for every morning. (When I’d ask my Mom for the one pony tail hairstyle she always would say “your hair is too thick to pull into one ponytail”.) After all of the brushing, pulling, tugging and figuring out how to attach the holder, I got my one ponytail. Before noon the holder broke and my hair was all over my head and a tangled matted mess by the time I got home from school that day. lol…
I had long, thick hair as a kid with the nerve to be tenderheaded to boot. My dad used to threaten to cut it when I cried and screamed when mom did it… until he had to do my hair. When I was about 7, my mom had a series of surgeries, leaving my dad to do my sister’s and my hair in her absence. He acted like he was scared of a comb, or rather my reaction to the comb. Therefore, my dad was the king of the crooked ponytails that were so puffy its a miracle the hair balls didn’t get lost. Then, bless his heart, he would “twist” them, with the only twist being seen at the bottom of the hair adorned with a barrette. Because I loved my daddy so, I would proudly wear the styles and tell everyone who did it. By my mom’s third surgery in a year, the teachers would kindly ask “Oh, is your mom back in the hospital?” LOL. Thankfully I was too young to take the hint. Now, when he looks at my four daughter’s hair, he asks my husband “have you tackled that yet?” LOL!!!! Love you daddy… you tried.
Second grade picture day. My mother was out of town at a conference. Dad, who tried his best, was on hair duty. Not the master of braids, he somehow got my ends to turn up, Pippy LongStocking style. And he was never able to manage flyways like my mother did…
my dad did my hair once while my brother and i were staying with him for the summer. i had to be 10 or 11 years old very well capable of doing my own hair. PLUS I had a perm and good length i just needed to style it. He treated me like he had to do my hair as if my mom did my hair when i was with her. so he gave me two long pigtails. i remember looking into the mirror like what in the world, im too old for this crap! that was the last time i wore pigtails the next day I told him I could do it on my own. smh.
my dad actually did my hair every morning before school and it was always cute. it was because my mom worked the graveyard shift so she’d be asleep by the time I woke up. of course, my mom did the best styles, though, when she was awake to do it.
My mother worked nights and on most weekends and my dad who didn’t grow up with any sisters did the best he could. Most of the time I would change my hair on the bus to school thought! lol He still jokes with me, “Who do you think taught you to do your hair?”
this is very sweet and kind of wierd at a time… ever since Obama was elected and even before he’s like idolized for many things BUT politics. i know this is a hair and beauty blog, but this blog keep bringing “style” stories about the presidential familly very candidly. i mean i love this blog and i keep learning that natural hair comes with a certain consciousness, still all articles i’ve read here about the us president (and familly) are completely non politics subjects. you can talk about his policies with any point of view, but i think we should stop personnalizing him, he is the PRESIDENT and we are supposed to juge if he is representing american people like he should or at least said he would
Before he is a President to us he is a human, man, husband, father, etc! With all the negative feedback black men get, I think it’s refreshing to see and reflect on stories of any father taking the time to spend with his daughter. This feature is not partisan at all so I don’t think it’s that serious!
i know that but i am not talking of that particular story about a black man, i am talking about the general way the us president is pictured in most medias (even political)… i am african and in many contries, mine inclided (burundi), people often apretiate government representatives to their personal link with them (family, ethny, village of origin, etc) instead of watching their politics and that’s one of many reason institutions are weak… i think we could find many role models for black men and young men, but this particular man is not any other black man he’s the president and we should look at him as such and not as a black man. i don’t mean to offend anyone i just wanted to share this feeling. talking of american role models, i am still very impressed about the chicago urban prep and the amazing work Tim King is doing 🙂
As a hair and beauty blog we have no interest in discussing politics, and never will. Barack and Michelle Obama are recognized style & beauty icons, and that’s why they often come up on beauty and fashion sites.
thank you for your answer, and, with all respect i have for this blog i was just sharing a thought. you do talk politics sometimes, like in the arcticle about that brezilian student that was denied access to her school because of her hair being natural. and i have absolutely nothing against that… i will have to live with my time and accept that political actors amongst the most important are widely perceived as beauty and lifestyle icons.
That is definitely true, but that was a story where there was a direct relationship between socioeconomics/politics and hair. So that’s why we addressed it. But you can’t expect to find us talking about political topics unrelated to hair. I mean, this is a hair and beauty blog.
Also, I don’t assume that readers of BGLH aren’t politically engaged. But I DO assume that they engage with politics elsewhere. There are many amazing black sites, like TheRoot.com, Jack and Jill Politics and The Black Snob that are dedicated to covering politics and challenging Barack Obama’s stance on various things. But you’re just not going to find that here. This is not the appropriate forum.
thank you for the web sites
I understand what you’re saying, but his being featured on the blog does not diminish his status as POTUS. He’s still as dignified as ever. I think there’s been an overall shift in the media to show politicians as “regular” folk; and social media has been particularly instrumental in promoting that shift. Even in jolly old England the queen “crashed” a wedding while in town (Manchester?) on official business. Unheard of in another era.
The above was a reply to Jasmine.
thank you for your understanding, that shift you point out is exactly what i am talking about and i fear it serves to depoliticize people… i am not blaming bglh at all of course, it’s a worldwide phenomenon in which everyone participate. i guess we’ll have to find a way to deal with it.
Oh, gosh, lol. I remember my mom had to go on a trip when I was 4 or 5. My dad tried to style my hair, and he gave me all these little ugly, frizzy braids with big barrettes at the end. I made my big sister lend me a hat so I didn’t have to go to church looking crazy.
These stories are great!
My nephew was the first child adopted by my brother and his husband. Tradition in our family is not to cut a boy’s hair before he starts school, so that means the hair gets very long. Neither of them had any experience braiding hair so my brother went through a mini obsession with experimenting on me. He also got really offended when people would give him “looks” if my nephew’s hair wasn’t perfect. And my brother is very competituve. He will get it right or die trying.
By the time my niece came around three years later, both my bro and my bro in law had become experts in braiding and twisting.
Now THEY are the ones giving the “looks”…
these stories are great! i busted out at the comment about the “forehead puff”! whenever my mom had to go out of town, it was all on my dad, as they lived no where near any family who could do this for him. once my mom went overseas on military duty, and he managed pretty well with the typical black girl ‘do (2 or 3 braided/twisted ponytails at varying locations). but one day some woman in the neighborhood convinced him that a perm would be better and easier for him to manage. so he took me to a salon and that was that. unfortunately, he had no idea how to care for this new hair and it ended up breaking all off, so he had to cut it. apparently i had my first BC when i was 4! he always felt really bad about that, even though i don’t remember it at all. he absolutely gushes over my kinks 20-something years later though. love my dad ^_^
Love all these stories!
Unfortunately I don’t have any to share, as I don’t even remember what I had for breakfast this morning lol
Lol!! Ditto! I’m tying to remember, but I don’t know if I’m planting false memories! My dad’s just as bad. Wish my mum was still alive to ask her some questions. 🙁
‘This is a disaster’ – hilarious! I can just imagine it!
LOL these stories are all great! My dad tried his hand at doing my hair a couple of times when my mom was out of town at conferences and things like that. He would say “one bun or two?” and then gather it all up into a puff (or two) with bubble ties. There was no real detangling involved haha… just a couple of spritzes of Sulfur 8 or something like that and a few comb-throughs with his old black power fist afro pick (which we still have lol) and I was good to go!
This is so heart-warming and precious!
My daddy used to do my hair when I was little and my Mom didn’t have time to attend to it. He cared for it and styled it pretty well, according to my Mom, and was very proud to do his first child’s hair.
My dad had 3 daughters so had to learn how to at least make a ponytail, but will, to this day, swear he’s an expert. I believe his specialty was 4 jumbo twists and I will say they were cute. But thank goodness I learned how to do my own hair or I would have worn those same 4 jumbo twists to the prom or something.
My hubby did our daughter’s hair in two massive afro pufsf once when I was working long hours and didn’t have a chance to do her hair before I left in the morning.
I met them after work for dinner with friends and was mortified at the kinky mess but he was sooo proud of his handy work I didn’t have the heart to redo her hair!
Awww… I’m so glad you didn’t. That would have deflated his spirit some.
Omg!it’s so amazing…
Yes! My mom would go out of town and my dad would struggle my sister and I both had hair down our back so it didn’t turn out well . My mom eventually started getting our hair braided or had our dad take us to school early so a friend of the family who worked at the school could do it before class.
I love these stories, I had to lol while reading. My sisters and I use to scream so loud that my dad got fed up and started doing our hair every once in a while. Mom was just frustrated because it was a few of us and we all had a lot of hair. So my dad would take over by using mainly his fingers to smooth and detangle our hair and only used the comb when needed. We use to fall asleep when he did our hair, it was so soothing. He was horrible at styling though but the detangling process was awesome, he always took his time.
I miss him 🙁
This was a really nice blog post.
Your story made me tear up! So beautiful…
My dad was actually pretty awesome at doing my hair. He had a lot of brothers and sisters and the older ones helped with the younger ones(he was somewhere in the middle) it didn’t matter if you were a boy or girl everyone had to know how to help. So when I came along he actually taught my mom(who was the second youngest in her large family) a lot about how to take care of a child. I did get the cute beads when my mom did my hair though…and my dad braided a little tighter 😛 but I always got compliments when my dad styled my hair…wish I could talk him into helping me out now!
My dad attempted to do my hair a couple of times when I was a little girl. In the end, I ended up with bushy and frizzy hair! LOL!!! Hey, he tried! 😀
Yes! My mom head in the hospital and we were making our way to church. My dad picked my hair out in a ‘fro, stuck a barrette or “clip” in the front, and we were off! I was mortified. Couldn’t wait until my mom was released the Monday. Lol
When I was going through my cancer treatments, my husband had to take care of our daughter’s hair. He would use the juice pitcher and have her kneel on a chair with her head over the kitchen sink and wash it. Sometimes the parts for her ponytails were a bit crooked, but I was surprised at how well he managed it. Fortunately she had hair that could just be hand-twisted into little curls, so he didn’t have to tackle braiding it.
I love this post about President Obama. This story is truly a snippet of life as a family of people of color. Anybody who says that the President isn’t Black enough or in touch with his Black identity should really step back and take a look at this.
When my mom was stationed overseas. Even the white teachers pulled me to the same side to redo my hair. It was horrific. I quickly learned to do my own hair. My hubs can do my daughter’s hair but I rather him stay still so I can comb/brush his….that man can duck a comb like a cat to a bath lol
My dad worked nights and my mom worked days so he had me during the day when I was little. He used to take me on walks. He would do my hair in a puff. But he used like the whole jar of grease and he would brush all my hair forward and make the ponytail right at my hairline…like on my forehead. He used to be so proud of himself too! There are still pictures floating around somewhere lol…
LOL! That’s a cute story!
Lol I can never remember a time my father did my hair. I know my husband on the other hand is going to have lots of experience with our children. He loves curly natural hair and expresses his concern often about parents putting relaxers in children’s hair. He’s actually better at doing my hair than I am. His parts are always straight and when he does my twists they last weeks. Lets just hope he isn’t too good and they don’t prefer him doing it over me. haha.
I love this. Put a smile on my face.
I love this too!!!
When my mother went to the hospital to have my brother, my dad sent me to school with to ponytails so tight, I could barely close my eyes. LOL, Love him
Your comment made me laugh so hard because I can totally relate. My mom’s job sent her away for six weeks of training, when I was about 8, so that left my dad to comb my hair! Oh the horror! He used to grab my hair as if it was a piece a rope he was braiding into pigtails – it was so tight!
Omg YES!
I used to rock braids and cornrows and my dad would brush those fly aways down. I loved it, because he was soft with it unlike my mother who knew kinky hair needed a little more force 😛
I can so relate!
My dad straightened our hair once or twice. He was always gentle and unlike my mom, he NEVER burned my scalp. My hair was never BONE straight but it looked just as good.
My Dad did my hair when I was 6 years old. My Mom had just given birth to my younger sister so she was in the hospital. He didn’t comb it out or detangle it or anything. It was in this knotted, tangled fro, and he just took three bubble hair ties, unevenly divided my hair into three and tied it up. Then he twisted the still un-detangled sections. When I arrived at the hospital to meet lil sis for the first time my mother looked horrified, lol!
ahaahaha so funny.
my dad could do my hair the hair very well (twists, braids or cut it).
he’s my hero ^^
Picture day at school, second grade. Mom in the hospital having my younger brother, a month early. Off to school I went, with three(!) afro puffs and a silk flower comb planted in one, courtesy(?) my Dad.
OMG I was laughing out loud at the three afro puffs imagery! I have a very similar school photo but the expression on my face was so cute it took pride of place on the mantel even though my hair was a hot mess!
OMG, I’m cracking up about this one. Lol.
I’m still trying to figure out where the third puff goes!