5
Richard von Busack from Metroactive.com
"Good Hair" is a genuine work of journalism. And it's a risky story, too, all about the time and treasure that people of color spend in search of “good hair”: lank hair that behaves like white people's tresses. Chris Rock shows the political side of the fashion: “Hair relaxers relax white people.” But Rock doesn't harangue, either. He is, needless to say, funny as hell, even when dealing with the prickly subject of how much beauty products cost. It's staggering. A weave can cost $1,000 or more, and it won't last for more than a few months. Rock gives all due respect to the importance of the beauty salon and the barbershop as small businesses that are centers for the black community. But Rock also wonders about the caustic chemicals that, if trends continue, will one day be sizzling the scalps of his own two daughters. The film nears investigative status when Rock explores the hair market in India: a profit maker for a huge temple where the poor get their heads shaved to pay off promises they made to God.
