These relaxer boxes are reminding Black ’90s babies how far we went to straighten our curls

When Twitter user @AshTheDon quote tweeted a photo of an old-school relaxer box range with the million-dollar question ‘where are these girls today? show yourselves’, a wholesome moment on Twitter was born.

Ash’s tweet quickly hit over 37.9K retweets and 231.5K likes. As the tweet gained more traction, the ‘perm box girls’ themselves – who modelled on the relaxer boxes back in the ‘90s and early ’00s – checked in to flood the replies with before and after pictures of themselves.

The viral moment reminded me of my younger self, who used to look at a relaxer box and think, “I want my hair to look just like that.” These girls – and their silky-straight or perfectly wavy hair – were the beauty inspirations for many little Black girls all over the world.

Many of us recall the first moment we watched our tight coils transform into a looser, more straightened curl pattern. From the burning sensation and the irresistible urge to itch our scalps to hunching over the bathroom sink as we rigorously washed the chemicals out of our hair, those experiences continue to stick with us.

Alexis Davis, 22, and Shiyenn Scott, 20, are two of the most recognisable faces of Africa’s Best Kids Organics Hair Softening relaxer. The pair modelled together for the hair brand as children and gave us some of the most popular back-to-school hair inspo.

“It was crazy because everyone was like, you’re a part of my childhood. Someone even said, ‘I literally have that box in my bathroom ​right now,’” Alexis told GLAMOUR.

“I remember telling my Mum, ‘I want to be the girls on the [perm] boxes’, once I did see myself, it was a moment of reflection to me like, wow, is this what beauty is?” Shiyenn added.