According to Rock, he was prompted to make the movie after his 5-year old daughter Lola asked him, "Daddy, how come I don't have good hair?"[3] During the film, Rock delves into the $9 billion black hair industry, and visits such places as beauty salons, barbershops, hair styling conventions, scientific laboratories (to learn the science behind chemical relaxers that straighten hair), and India, where many of the hair weaves worn by African American women originate.[4][3]



Rock intended for the film to uphold a sense of seriousness, yet at the same time remain humorous.[4] The movie features interviews from hair care industry businesspeople, stylists and their consumers, and celebrities such as Ice-T, Nia Long, Paul Mooney, Raven-Symoné, Maya Angelou, KRS-One, Salt-n-Pepa, Kerry Washington, Eve, Reverend Al Sharpton, and Meagan Good[3][5] as they discuss their own experiences with their hair, and how black hair is perceived in the black community.