The Girls On Those At-Home Relaxer Boxes In the 2000s Didn't Even Have Relaxed Hair

Dark & Lovely, Just For Me, and Kid’s Organics — these are just a few of the popular hair relaxer brands you may remember from childhood. Whether it was for picture day at school or Easter Sunday at church, a perm worked almost as a rite of passage for little Black girls. You could wrap your hair up or put it in rollers, but one way or another, maintaining the style was a must; having one hair out of place was just not an option.

To help cut salon costs, at-home chemical straightening kits became a staple for those wanting to achieve loose coils without breaking the bank. The application process was an experience you could never forget: the foul, chemical odor, the vaseline placed gently around your ears and edges, hearing the phrase, "the burning means it's working," as the relaxer pierced through your scalp and tears poured from your cheeks.

Aside from the (literally) painful memories, you probably also remember the vibrant at-home relaxer boxes featuring photos of young, Black models, often with hairstyles like a blunt bob or cascading curls that we could never emulate no matter how much we tried.

After a tweet inquiring about updates on the "Hair Box Girls" went viral, some of the former hair models have re-emerged to offer updates on where they've been and let people revel in the nostalgia of it all. One of them was rapper Baby Tate, who confirmed that she's the model who used to appear on the Kids Originals box.

As was revealed on Twitter, some of the models on these boxes either had naturally loose coils or would use mousse to achieve the styles shown in their box photos. In some instances, the model's hair was silk pressed, a technique that involves straightening natural curls with a blow dryer or flatiron instead of a chemical relaxer. "Bgvs [background vocals] for Beyonce, 2 TV Shows, and still no perm," one former model tweeted. "But I kept the smile tho."

The pressure to have "good" — aka straight — hair proved all too much for many of the girls. Today, many of the models have since transitioned from getting relaxers and using heat to wearing their hair in its natural texture. Some Twitter users noted how they feel "bamboozled" that the models on these relaxer boxes weren't actually using the advertised products, especially because the use of the relaxer often leads to damaged, unhealthy hair (along with that aforementioned physical pain). Some have even jokingly called for a lawsuit for false advertisement.

For former models like 23-year-old J'Nai Jones, on the other hand, the tweet stirs up old feelings of excitement and brings her joy because she is still a recognizable face. She was only nine when she got the chance to model for African Pride's Dream Kids line after winning a local photoshoot contest. "I remember the photographer complimenting my smile and saying I was very photogenic," Jones tells Allure. "A few weeks after the photo shoot, my mom told me that I had won, and a few weeks later, we found the relaxer box on the shelf with my face on it. It was an amazing experience."

Jones is simply happy that she was able to provide representation for other Black girls like herself. "After seeing all the commotion on Twitter about how little girls wanted to look like the girls on the box, it makes me happy that I was one of those faces. Growing up, it can be hard to see models, TV shows, and commercials with people who look like you and are considered beautiful, so I am glad I got to contribute to that," she said.

After that photoshoot, Jones wasn't interested in modeling professionally. After participating in cheerleading and other sports in her youth, she went on to study psychology at Loyola University Chicago. She currently resides in Florida as a graduate student pursuing a degree in applied behavior analysis at Ball State University.

While some of the former models, like Jones, moved onto different paths, the opportunity opened many doors for those interested in making a career in modeling. Diamond Brock said her work as a hair box girl gave her opportunities to walk the runway for Gap Kids and even appear on television shows such as Barney and Prison Break. Since her hair box days, the 23-year-old has graduated college and currently resides in Dallas, Texas, where she is pursuing a commercial driving license. "Without Just For Me, those doors would’ve never been open, and I am eternally grateful," she said.

Ariel Binns still works as a model to this day while attending college full-time in New York City. The 20-year-old began modeling for Wilhelmina Kids at eight months old and would later participate in an advertisement for Dark & Lovely when she was nine.

Binns remembers the joy modeling brought her as a child and was honored to be a symbol to little Black girls everywhere. "I got to wear lovely clothes and get my makeup done. It was somewhat reminiscent of a glamorous game of dress-up," Binns recalls. "I didn't realize how significant and symbolic my appearance may be at the time because I was so young. However, witnessing the tweet's virality cemented the impact. Some people even expressed how they looked up to me. I am truly touched."

The legacy of Black hair products and the models who graced their advertisements will never be forgotten. While many of us, including the former models, no longer use the products, they will still forever hold a special place in our hearts.

More on hair:

• What Is K18, and What Makes It Different From Other Hair Treatments?
• After Hair Loss, I Learned to Love Myself Again
• 34 Fall 2022 Hair Trends We’re All About This Season

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