Thursday, January 03, 2008

Ethnic Hair

Got soul like that Afro pick with the black fist!
My mellow, my man - The Roots

So yesterday I went into Shoppers Drug Mart to do some shopping; grab some cold meds, some cheap nobody loved me enough to purchase me so now I'm on discount chocolate etc etc.

I didn't really have no list with me but since I go there so infrequently by the time I hit the door
I had like ten things I needed to stock up on. One was some hair grease and by grease I mean well lets just say that I using that term loosely cause my family duz refer to almost any product ya duz put in ya head as grease even if it aint suh greasy. We doan moisturize, condition, nor gel we duz grease! Ya understand?

'Looka try an grease ya scalp boy!'

Anyway so I walk into Shoppers, see the sign for the hair products and walk downed the aisle, which I should probably refer to from now on as the "regular hair products" aisle, but didn't see anything at all that looked familiar to me. Seeing all sorts of mousse, conditioner, holding gel and shampoos, VO5s, Garniers, Pantenes, Herbal Essences and other generic products that may be grease-like but don't really correspond to my needs in term of hair grease.

PhotobucketWhere the TCB at son? Where my Jeri juice, the curl activator? What no Lusters Pink? no Sta-sof-fro. Doan even think bout open ing wunnah mout to tell me wunnah aint got nuh Sporting Waves or I gone den!

Wait wha kinda stupid store wunnah could be doah? Chupse! Wunnah mekkin sport den! Wunnah gine mek me have to go an check someplace like Novellette shop down on Eglington West (anybody see that Kink in My hair sitcom yet? Trust me is nice.)

So I was thinking to myself maybe these guys dont carry any black hair products although this is Scarborough and I know some of the other Shoppers Drugs I've been in do carry them.

It was then as I walked down another aisle searching for the cough medicine that I butt up on the sign saying "Ethnic hair products" and the corresponding products which in my opinion turn out to be mostly black hair products with a few items made in Greece and Australia thrown in. (Grease made in Greece aint that ironic somehow?)

PhotobucketNow before I say anything else let me mek it clear I not making any big issue out of this I just find it funny so I commenting. I got some questions for these ethnic hair people.

Why were those hair products separate from the other hair products? Ok I can see putting all of the black hair products together or all the hair product produced a foreign together but did they really need a separate aisle? Couldn't they keep them together but within the same aisle as the "regular hair products"? It wasn't a space issue cause the store could have rearranged things to do that.

I mean it was a little confusing. Confusing as hell actually cause if I walk in and just see the sign for Hair Products where logically all hair products should be and not see what I looking for in that aisle then odds are I would take my business elsewhere cause I normally wouldn't be looking for a sign saying ethnic hair products.

PhotobucketI mean logically one would think you would keep all hair products together and not scatter them around. Wha happen dem frighten de ethnic hair products taint de regular hair products so dem segregating the hair products. Cuhdear!

(And for the person who will say but in the supermarket they separate out the foods and have aisles with imported foods etc is not the same thing.)

Secondly what really is with the ethnic hair products designation? What exactly is an ethnic hair product? Y'all got some Russian hair grease in deyso? New Delhi mousse? Scottish gel? Or is that short form code for products imported from outside North America or products for people whose hair is not naturally straight or products that regular people who duz shop in the "regular hair product" aisle don't use?

I feel to solve all this wunnah need to put all the hair products together and just put up one big sign saying hair grease.

Anyways that is all I got to say I gine an mek myself useful an grease my head.

16 comments:

Dee said...

I don't know what to say
black hair is truly unique
I have seen ethnic body products in a different aisle at the supermarket--lots of products from Mexico and my beloved Castile soap.

Campfyah said...

At least they had the products... cause you know in days gone by, they won't be on any shelves atall.. So wha kinda grease yuh get?

Lola Gets said...

I LOVE castille soap!

Here in the States, most stores have a smaller "Ethnic" hair care section within the overall hair care aisles. I dont know whats wrong with the store you were in, lol.

L

Lola Gets said...

PS
I just wrote a post about my "Black/White" hair experience - come check it out!

L

bitchdoctrine said...

it's so true. at my shoppers, its separate from the other hair products. it's in the aisle with the cosmetics for some reason. LAME. I was looking for the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Stick, but they were sold out of them.

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

I sometimes use 'ethnic hair' moisturiser that a local, white hairdresser recommended and it works darn good. After he left the country I got a new hairdresser, not white, who was appalled about my use of the 'ethnic' hair 'grease'.

"That is for black folks hair, it is too strong," she protested.

That surprised me. Black hair is delicate, fine, super-soft that's why it curls; of course, the product has to be gentle or should be. How come she as hairdresser didn't know that? When I read the 'ingredients' of the hair moisturiser, it's the SAME as the non-ethnic.

Abeni said...

You mean petroleum jelly doesnt work on all hair types?

Unknown said...

I don't notice hair products when I'm out shopping because all i put in my hair is some Dax hair oil and I'm good!

Anonymous said...

In some instances, the manufacturers and the suppliers of the product specify how they should be displayed in certain stores.Hence, at times the possible reason for separate aisle.Interesting post. RESPECT!!

Melody said...

Dem separate but equal -- de drug store can bus dem to de hair-oil aisle, an' use de cough syrup fe smooth out any congestion along de way. Luv, peace, an' hair grease!

Unknown said...

Can't you tell? The "ethnic hair products" are for n*ggers, so they're placed at the back, out of the way of the glorious white people.

Anonymous said...

I've always wondered that as well. Segregating the hair products. What's that all about? Although on one hand, I'm kinda glad that they do have an "ethnic hair" aisle, because I know just where to go for what I need, depending on which store I'm in.

Amadeo said...

I have so many issues with hair products it's not funny.

aquababie said...

pretty much every store here has an "ethnic " section. but most times i will go to the neighborhood sally's hair store.

Anonymous said...

oh ya, shoppers has done that for years. i remember that it always used to be seperate and that more recently, they started amalgamating us with the 'regular' hair products. hmm... it's as odd as by hair products, braids and weaves, from asian store owners. this is the world we live in.

Anonymous said...

To make our lives easier, they might as well put up a sign at the front of the store that say "looking for hair grease? This way" Then they'd have to explain to all di white people dem what is hair grease, and we would get even more stupid question about hair grease, and all this because we just want to look like smaddy pickney...This is the racist crap we live with everyday, and most of it makes not a damn bit o' sense. So don't try to find any logic in it other than chupidness. Great post.