Natural Hair Memories: Baby Hair

I just finished reading this article on Clutch Mag about the whole "Baby Hair Obsession" pop-culture had in the 90s, with stars like Chili who rocked it frequently. For those of you who don't know when we (mostly black woman I imagine) say "baby hair" we're talking about the waves you may have (or create) at your hairline. I have no idea where this term came from, but I have a hunch as to why we want it - to look "mixed," which is an indicator of having "good hair," which is hair that should have the least amount of kinks/coils as possible. It's ridiculous and I say this as a person who has "baby hair."

As a kid my hairline was never brushed down - on day one of neatly done braids the hairs along my hairline and the back of my head was straight without coaxing, and then by days two and three it was frizzy because no one cared about keeping my baby hair in check. It wasn't until I got to junior high school when I started noticing girls in the bathroom using gel or Vaseline and a comb to smooth down what they called "baby hair." Suddenly I noticed that I had it too, and my friend insisted I start taming my hairline to show off how "good" my hair was. Wanting to fit in, I started  slicking my hair down with water. I didn't have any gel in my house and Vaseline didn't seem to work that great, so my hairline still frizzed up. I gave up on looking "mixed" and as an adult, while I'm amused by my "baby hair" I can't say I work towards keeping it sleek. Day one and two it's always wavy/straight but by day three it's fuzzy and I'm over it. I don't care for the sleek look anyway as evident by my hairstyle choices (read: big and poofy).

How do you guys feel about baby hair? Do you know where the terms comes from? Let us know!