Long ago, our African American sisters kept the secret to themselves. The idea of weave and extensions was a noble possession in our communities. ELLE documentary, 'Braids and Appropriation in America' is a short film that covers the history of braiding from the discovery of a Nigerian statue from 500 BC 'where the hair was cornrowed'. From there, 'a world of weaves that were not called that using all these materials and different societies throughout West Africa.' These foreign twists were basically identified as their social security number. A hairstyle seen by a peer or bypasser could easily acknowledge that you were from a higher society or that you were a widow or a solider. 'The richer someone was in the society the more fanciful their hair was,' Dr. Shartriya Collier-Stewart, Associate Professor at California State University says, 'that's been a way in which African American women have expressed their own kind of beauty politics.'
When my mom would have me sit between her legs, I would so passionately imagine what it would be like for me to braid like her. Make them thin and glossy. I'd be smiling from ear to ear. Something about that experience always made me fall asleep and when I woke; my hair was done and forehead slightly greasy. I haven’t smelled Ultra Sheen hair grease in so many years, but if I were greeted with the scent today, I’d be able to name the product right away. I still remember that clear, round shaped bottle with white text.
Way back when many black mothers used it to care for their children’s Afro-textured hair and it’s a product that’s still sold online and available in stores today. Despite all the new products that are formulated with certified organic ingredients and created for natural hair, hair grease is still faithful to a lot of people and a must-have in their hair care regimen. My thoughts? I don’t think using hair grease like Ultra Sheen is something to be afraid of when caring for Afro-textured hair. Like any product, we just have to know how to use it. "In addition to technique, learning how to properly use products for our own unique head of hair is crucial, in my opinion," says paris@sassinahair.com, a blogger from Sassina.
From wigs to tape-ins, to clip-ins, to sew-ins, thousands of women around the world wear hair extensions. Everyone has their own reasons for doing so but while we’re wearing extensions, what’s going on with our own hair underneath? A lot of people don’t know how to braid, or find braids to be too "time-consuming", so they’ll do two strand twists, flat twists or buns. For many others, they don’t do anything special to their hair underneath; they’ll just throw on a wig and go on about their beautiful day. My thoughts? Braiding and or artificial hair used to be an aspect of an elite foreign society, and now in the 21st century, it's become a mockery to the world. It's played its role in both the workplace and on social media, I'm speaking in regards to the discrimination. *snicker* From my standpoint, we did better as a race when our hairstyles and set of circumstances weren't ridiculed 24/7.
What are your thoughts?
XOXO,
Personage