Have you noticed the staggering amount of sistas sporting weaves? It seems like there is a vast majority of women who are opting to sport weaves and wigs instead of tending to their own head of hair. What is equally amazing is that this trend is so pervasive and systemic, that it affects women of color from every socio-economic, age bracket, and educational background.
Chances are, if you are a female who wants to transform her appearance, then that transformation is more than likely to start with one’s hair. Some women have become so addicted to weaving, that they do not feel comfortable out in public unless they are wearing a weave (even if it looks shabby). They seem willing to endure whatever the implication or consequences for this universal look and a lot of them are very defensive with folks who oppose their choice.
That makes me wonder:
1. Do women feel that their own head of hair is less attractive without a weave?
2. Have they been properly taught to take care of their own hair, and by whom?
3. What is bad/unhealthy hair and what is good/healthy hair?
4. Is having short or kinky hair unattractive and unmanageable?
5. Do women feel that having long, fine hair is superior to all else?
6. Does hair type determine someone’s position in society?
7. Do women actually receive more recognition when they sport a weave?
8. Do women assume that men prefer women with weaves?
9. At what age is appropriate to start weaving?
10. Why are weaves considered so convenient?
11. What (magazines/media entities) & who (entertainers) is influencing this trend?
12. What factors makes it so challenging to maintain one’s own hair?
13. If the up-keeping your hair has always been both a challenge and labor intensive, how does one maintain a positive mind-set when its time to have it done?
14. On average, about how much time should you spend on your hair every day?
15. Do you have issues about exercising or swimming because of your hair?
16. Is beauty something defined within or externally?
17. How does the way you wear your hair define you?
18. Aside from the convenience, are there other benefits to having a weave?
19. Do women conduct themselves differently when they have a weave?
20. If an outsider objects to your hairstyle, does that have an impact on how you wear it?
21. Are women more confident (cocky) with weaves?
22. Are your expectations about your own hair realistic or idealistic?
23. Are you as comfortable without a weave as you are with one?
24. When men aren’t allowed to touch or play in a woman’s hair how can they sincerely bond?
25. What would it take for a woman to reduce how often she sported a weave?
26. Are women lazy when it comes to maintaining their head of hair?
27. Do women know how to seek out an experienced beautician who offers constructive hair care counsel?
28. What other hairstyles can women sport aside the weave?
29. Is having long hair attainable for all sistas?
30. Where do they go for quality advice about hair care?
Do you recall the time when black folks were wearing the infamous Jheri Curls? It was such a popular style back then because it professed to make hair more manageable by changing its texture. Nevertheless, the hidden truth was, maintaining Jheri Curls was quite expensive, time consuming, messy, and sadly, at the outset, it caused severe hair damage. Jheri Curls did not only ruin one’s hair, but it stained anything it made contact with. Until its decline, folks didn’t seem to worry about the damage this product caused. For many, it was a small sacrifice to pay for the illusion of “Good” hair.
Eventually, it went out of style because the product’s chemicals caused baldness and it severely robbed folk’s hair of its own natural moisture, and that caused much more harm than good.
Although weaves are different from Jheri Curls, the premise is strikingly similar, as are the consequences.
One common aspect involving hair weaves and Jheri Curls is that people are obsessed about having it. It’s a bit surprising too because in the past, weaves were chiefly associated with women in the entertainment industry, the sex industry and the wealthier types. Nowadays, everything is blending it is no longer restricted to them.
Overall, I think people’s objections towards weaves and wigs are derived from what it implies about the black woman’s sense of pride and beauty. Their objections also stems from the fact that not all weaves look good, and they surely do not fit every personality.
If women considered some of the questions listed above prior to their transformation, perhaps they would have a different relationship with their own head of hair.
But to each, their own… I guess.
Its unbeweaveable, yet true.
By Ernesto Johnson 5/2012
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Interesting read and provocative questions. You may be interested in checking out the trailer for a doc I co-produced on this topic. It’s at: http://vimeo.com/35237955.
PS Ask yourself why you praise Beyonce for straightening her hair and wearing a weave yet shame everyone else?? Oh cause that is a privilege only owed to Celebrities????? Either way you look at it. A womans’ choice for hair is just that her choice. Whether to go natural or not, is just a choice some people make. Men either love your for it or hate you for it but the right one will love you regardless of what you have on your head for. I have never seen Hair substitute for who a person is inside. I will state again, … You have brotha’s who love it and hate it either way there is someone who will find something great about you despite how you wear your hair.
I’ve always loved my own hair, even when I permed it. However for the last six years I’ve treated my natural hair well and almost weekly I’m asked what I use on it. Sistas rock your own….Go to a professional natural caretaker and you can learn to rock your crown as it was meant to be…..free yourself. Now I only see a professional four times a year for a trim and the growth and texture is amazing….Yours can too!
Zhana, thanks for your comments. I’d love if you could reply to the following:
Do YOU feel that your own head of hair is attractive?
Is having short or kinky hair unattractive and unmanageable?
Do YOU feel that having long, fine hair is superior to all else?
How does YOUR hair type determine how you are viewed?
Do YOU assume that men prefer women with weaves?
Is beauty something YOU define within or externally?
How does the way you wear your hair define you?
Are your expectations about your own hair realistic or idealistic?
Are you more comfortable with or without a weave?
What other hairstyles can women sport aside the weave?
You say its a personal choice, but you referr largely to the impression men have towards hair… as if that indirectly affects your decision.
First, I would like to say this article asked some good questions. Getting used to my natural hair was an adjustment. More so bc I did my big chop 2 weeks after I had my first born child. I had no idea how to manage my hair or my child
BUT. I was determined to tame the beast! It took 3 months of trying anything to make my hair work for me. Today, literally, I figured my natural hairstyle out and I love it. My waves r SICK and my hair feels healthy and beautiful. It took time to know my hair, which means I know ME better. I don’t follow trends. I follow my own heart that speak to my mind and shows in the way I present myself to society. I am not my hair. My afro or my curls do not represent my intellect or my outer being. My hair represents my freedom. My freedom to be me 
i recently decided to go extremely low and natural..on one hand i got several complements and some not so pleasing; i received mixed reviews from my brothas ( african american men)…beauty is definitely defined from within and what you do with your hair is a personal choice; you have to love who you are whether its natural or unbeweavable…whatever your choice work it!” I am not my hair”..(India Arie)….
Krissy…
Thanks for reading… You sound delighted about your new dew… and your new found freedom… Blessings.
Gee, I ask the same questions. I’m from the straightening comb generation (I’ve worn locs for 27 years). Sisters around me had so much more natural hair on their heads when they took care of it themselves, because creme perms were horrible. Now, everyone I know suffers from either Traction Alopecia (braids), or sports an Elizabethan Era hairline (perms and weaves). The worst, are our kids. I had a black girl about 9 years old, tell me I had hair like a WHITE WOMAN. After the initial SHOCK of the statement, I asked her what she meant. She explained that my natural hair was long (I had long locs until recently. Now I have a loc’d bob.) I realized she had never seen naturally long hair, as no one in her family ever exposed their natural hair; the reality was chilling!
Sahara,
How can we prevent this from happening in the future?
Thank you,
HW
Hi HW,
Gotta’ run to prepare for a rare class I’m taking. I’m going to give your question some serious thought, as the reply would be long, and involves male desire, laziness, time constraints, immigration, media imagery and health. I’ll holla’ back, believe me! Thanks.
Okay, cool.
Daniel
HW