Relaxer boxes are nostalgic pieces of cultural importance that have graced the shelves of beauty stores for years. The stunning Black girls on the relaxer boxes are an ode to an era in Black hair history and culture that still gives us nostalgia.
The Thread
It looks like the beautiful Black girls who once graced the cover of relaxer boxes have all grown into stunning women. It all started when a Twitter user shared her sentiments about the boxes, and several other Twitter users responded as they reminisced on the past.
i remember wanting to be the face of a hair relaxer so bad pic.twitter.com/T0HxnO9EZ2
— 𝓢. (@prettiestluxury) October 2, 2022
BROOO GOOD TIMESS FR. they all ate tho🤷 https://t.co/ChUQGuojLb
— brooke (@bloodedspit) October 4, 2022
The conversation inspired some of the girls who had graced the boxes to show reveal themselves now.
oh we outchea…taller, blonder but the sass is still the same🙋🏾♀️ pic.twitter.com/oPDpAoiHat
— stfu, nat. (@nataliegithu) October 3, 2022
then vs now, yes I went natural 😂 https://t.co/qUgD52hfft pic.twitter.com/UWbxus7BzN
— Jaelyn Evans (@j0evans) October 3, 2022
my mom told me to add this photo so y’all can see I still got this modeling thing down pic.twitter.com/MXTSBd0IYF
— Jaelyn Evans (@j0evans) October 3, 2022
The conversation inspired other people to chime in and make an observation about Black hair in general: many of the girls who were advertising relaxer products were now clearly rocking their hair in its natural form. This observation challenges the notion that many women are perming their hair.
ALL the girls from the relaxer boxes of our childhood are natural now. WE WIN!!!!
— Gabrielle Perry, MPH (@GeauxGabrielle) October 4, 2022
Others were less excited about the trending topic, and pointed out some of the marketing tactics that were used to target Black women to conform to Eurocentric standards of beauty specifically.
When you realize the intentional marketing they used on black girls and women and how the chemicals are directly linked to our reproductive ailments. https://t.co/V34d3pislx
— Iyanu (@TheConsciousRN_) October 4, 2022
And these girls never permed their hair for their ads but were marketed to millions of black girls and women to destroy their bodies. Wild to see https://t.co/mlhhHzlKaq
— Iyanu (@TheConsciousRN_) October 4, 2022
Fascinatingly, in the midst of the buzz, the thread also prompted some people who were featured on the box to share that they did not actually use hair relaxer on their hair for the ads, but rather, straightened and used mousse to achieve the sleeked, relaxed look.
and the brand manager going to hell for advertising 3c/4a hair with a silk press as “miracle relaxer” bc wtf 💀 https://t.co/Fk89UWMT7S
— ki 🦕 (@__akiyah) October 4, 2022
the gag is the majority of the girls on these boxes now are ✨o’natural✨ https://t.co/KVWt7holVK
— leo’s rising sun (@krissykremeeee) October 4, 2022
They took little girls with soft hair and flat ironed it to sell PERM? You guys should riot https://t.co/DT1Snn8pKH
— CreoleSauce (@itsKatouche) October 4, 2022
it makes 100% sense but the girls on the relaxer boxes revealing they actually had unrelaxed hair that was just pressed or mousse'd for the photos has spun me 😭
— no (@zedonarrival) October 4, 2022
Other Twitter users could not help but add a humorous spin on the whole feed.
All these girls ruined my 8 year old life lmaooo I wanted hair like that so bad and got this instead smh https://t.co/4rZsYPcvXT pic.twitter.com/LDXDMKYe8L
— uncle johnnycake ✨ (@laugh_track_nat) October 3, 2022
What I thought I’d look like after my relaxer vs what I actually looked like… https://t.co/a2T6kDtaAi pic.twitter.com/ilT5KFkzVt
— 🌸Nebby🌸 (@f4twhorse) October 3, 2022
You see that girl in the top middle yeah I almost lost my two front teeth because I tried to give myself a gap tooth trying to be her 😂 I never forgot that day I got a knife and hoped for the best. Thank God I didn’t chop my tongue off or worse 🤦🏾♀️ https://t.co/YRpl0aY4rL
— MÈGUE💋 (@Megababe_x) October 3, 2022