Tame your tresses: How do biracial hair products hold up?
theGRIO REPORT - As the country's population grows more diverse, so have the kinds of varying hair textures and the types of hair products dedicated to maintaining multiracial hair...
When it came to the morning routine, Lizette Cruz found that getting her children ready for school was often a difficult task. Cruz’ children, Areanna, 8, and Eryn, 2, are Puerto Rican, Haitian and Dominican, and each has varying degrees of curls, some tight springy coils and some looser waves. And because her kids’ tresses required a different technique to tame and maintain, this meant, of course, more time spent primping and rushing around, and less time spent on things like breakfast and getting to work or school early.
Tired of the constant struggle, Cruz did some research and discovered Mixed Chicks products, a hair care line aimed at solving the problems of multiracial hair. She ordered the line’s shampoo, conditioner, and shine serum, and she saw good results. She even tried it on her own hair, and found that it was one of the best products that she had ever used.
Cruz’ hair dilemma is not unique. As the country’s population grows more diverse, so have the kinds of varying hair textures and the types of hair products dedicated to maintaining multiracial hair. According to the Census 2010 figures, the multiracial population of American children is the fastest growing youth group in the United States, having grown to 4.2 million, an increase of approximately 50 percent, in ten years. Multiracial people now number 9 million, about 2.9 percent of the total U.S. population, and 1.8 million people of all ages identify themselves as both white and black, a 134 percent climb from 2000 census figures.
“My two children’s hair textures are significantly different from each other even though they have the same parents, and their curls tended to get easily tangled if not properly maintained,” Cruz said. “What I learned is that I just needed to figure out which products worked best and would keep our hair healthy. Although there is not one miracle product that works for every hair texture no matter what Melissa Gilbert claims in her infomercial, I really liked the results of Mixed Chicks, and I even recommended it to my sister.”
Mixed Chicks isn’t the only product line out there for biracial women. Curls, developed by Mahisha Dellinger, Hair Rules, Mixx Chicks and Miss Jessie’s are just a few of the items available for curly hair types. They have filled a gap created by women who needed an alternative to the painful straightening processes available to those with curly hair in years past.
When Maureen Graves, 41, was growing up, there were very little products out there for biracial women with curls. Graves and her three other sisters had varying hair types that ranged from wavy to curly, and each had unique problems maintaining their curls. One year, her mother Joan Davis, and one of her sisters decided to use a chemical straightener to change up their looks. What they found was that straight hair came at a painful price, and after that ordeal, they chose to keep their hair curly. They say that they if they had access to products like Mixed Chicks, things might have turned out differently.
Mixed Chicks, a product line launched by Kim Etheredge and Wendi Levy in 2005, two biracial women who couldn’t find the right blend of products to maintain their curls, has seen its sales figures double each year since they’ve been in business. Recognizing the changing face of America, the two women set about creating hair care products with the right blend of healthy ingredients to control and style curly hair.
Levy was familiar with the process of combining hair ingredients. For years, she had been trying different products, and found that the items in the European aisle, as she calls it, would dry out her hair because they contained so much alcohol. The products for black women’s hair that she bought were too oily. She would often find herself mixing together several products to achieve the right ratio, and even though it helped define her curls, it was never the perfect combination.
To create a product that would help others tame their curls, the two women did extensive research and found the most natural ingredients they could find. They later met with a chemist and came up with a mix of healthy ingredients that would nourish and not damage curly hair. They launched their business independently soon after without the help of a major distributor, and just six years later, their products can be found in more than 3,000 salons and beauty stores across the country. “What makes our products work is that they contain the right ratio of moisture control and fixative ingredients that don’t leave the hair stiff, and hold without the crunch,” said Levy. “Taming multiracial hair is really about having the right ratio of ingredients, and that’s what has led to our success. Our name doesn’t hurt either. Since we started, our sales have doubled annually and we know that we will remain on that path because as we continue to blend as a society, there will be more and more mixed chicks of all glorious races with different hair types out there who will need this product.”
Ruben Torres, who works at Salvatore Mindardi Salon in New Jersey, says that products like Mixed Chicks are great but not completely necessary, and just because they are geared towards multiracial hair does not mean they will work for everyone that uses them.
“They’re just like any other product on the market today and what works great for one person may or may not work for another,” he said. “Ordinary products do not cause damage, however, they may not contain the correct ingredients or components that are needed to replenish moisture in biracial hair in order to achieve healthier looking hair or a desired look. And while biracial hair does require more attention because it is often coarser, more porous, weaker and drier, and in need of more moisture, these characteristics can also be found in Caucasian hair.”
Jodie Patterson, owner of Georgia Salon in New York City, says that while products like Mixed Chicks aren’t the only products that can help curly hair, they have filled a niche, and the products’ affordable prices have helped propel their popularity.
“Mixed Chicks works because it fortifies, nourishes and repairs overly processed curly hair,” said Patterson. “Biracial people with curly hair have the same issues that most people with curly hair have, as curls come in a variety of shapes and textures, from really curly to wavy. There is really no difference. What products like these do is relax the curl, and add volume while preventing the curl from frizzing, and the reason why they are selling so well is that they have filled a huge demand.”
Celebrity hair stylist and co-owner of Styles New York Salon Carla Gentry Osorio says that while products like these have always been out on the market as hairstyle trends have evolved, she has also seen an increase in the use of products for textured and curly hair.
“These products that tame and smooth texture have always been on the market,” she said. “We just see more products like these advertised, as more and more people start embracing their curly hair.”
Veronica Wells, the associate editor at Madame Noire, a black women’s lifestyle guide, believes that the increased demand and availability of these products speaks to a larger issue.
“Just like hair of all races, texture, thickness and curl pattern and the products the hair responds to vary with each person,” she said. “And while knowledge about biracial hair care has increased, knowledge about all ‘black’ hair has increased. I think this has more to do with black women wanting to learn about their hair in its natural state than it does with the numbers of biracial children skyrocketing. With tutorials, blogs and natural hair care conventions women are armed with knowledge and options when it comes to their hair. And that is a powerful thing.”
