Unhealthy Hair In The Dominican Republic

This ideal has been passed through generations and has influenced hair businesses run by Dominican women here in the United States. There have been several reports of women who would be kicked out of these salons because their hair was “too hard to handle”.
This has created beauty shops to be considered as sites of both cultural and identity productions. As Dominican Republic was once imperialized by European colonization and slavery, the view on African-origin bodies have been stigmatized to be the opposite of societies beauty ideals. Dark skin, kinky hair is a representation of the side of the beauty spectrum. On the other hand, white female bodies are associated as what is correct and beautiful. These ideals have therefore created a resource
The salon has been a creation to dismiss the idea of African ancestry within the Dominican race. Anti-Blackness has taken over these business in which women could once have a place to come together. With harsh-chemicals and extreme heat temperatures, hairdressers will do the most to remove any trace of the clients kinky and curly hair, hoping to straighten their identity as well. The term “whitening” is a word that comes in mind of the outcome hair salons has on Dominican women, as Dominican journalist, Roberta N. Feliz provides an insider of the possibly intensifying the ideals of “whitening” within this society. Feliz believes, “The salon, as a place where pelo malo can be converted into pelo bueno, is an ideal catalyst in this process.” Recent reports have shown that these salons have forced women to add chemical straightener without the consent of the costumer. With this small act of culture, denying the connection to one’s African blood has impacted more than just beauty ideals, surpassing themselves to government
The use of social media in contemporary society has created a source for many women to help each other out in their journey to creating a safe platform for women to learn and love their natural curls. Blog post such as Vivala.com, includes the story of Latina women in the United States who discover their natural roots, many who since a young age first-generation mothers would straighten their hair from a young age and later come into realization of their curly