My hairstyle causes a lot of confusion for people who don’t know anything about black hair. Even I am not an expert on black hair, despite having it on my head. The numerous styles and hair types that black men and women have are as diverse as the black people themselves. So, I’ve always wanted to share a little bit about my hair to help answer questions that I get on a regular basis. It’s important to note, though, that what I explain about my hair here is not generalizable to other black people. In today’s post, I’ll look at four of the common exclamations or questions I get about my hair. The first is a common exclamation I hear when I change my hairstyle.
Oh, Maxi, you cut your hair!
No, I didn’t. In my life, I have only had a hair cut twice. Certainly, I’ve had my hair trimmed, but only on two occasions have I had any significant length of hair cut off my head. So, even though I get this exclamation often, it’s rarely accurate. What I have done, is change my hairstyle. In the past five years, I’ve worn my hair primarily in two hair styles: box braids and two strand twists. Here are a couple of pictures to demonstrate the styles.
Box braids utilize three strands of hair braided together, while a two-strand twist only uses, you guessed it, two-strands of hair. The three strand braiding pattern will pull on the hair more, making it appear longer. The two-strand style will not do quite as much pulling and will curly up more. If I switch from box braids to a two-strand twist, it can look immediately like I’ve cut a significant amount of hair off of my head. The first photo, of box braids, was taken on September 3, 2016. The second photo, of a two-strand twist, was taken on July 26, 2017—10 months later. In those 10 months, I did not cut my hair once, but the second style barely touches my shoulders, while the first style goes past my shoulders.
Ultimately, how long my hair looks is completely dependent upon how I style it, which brings me nicely to the next question I often get.
How long is it?
I like to say that straight hair grows in length, while curly hair grows in volume. So, for my hair type, it would be more accurate to ask me how big my hair has gotten. Curly hair shrinks in a way that straight hair doesn’t. Any black woman with natural hair will tell you, “Shrinkage is real.” In order to see how “long” my hair is, one would have to straighten it, or take a strand of curl and pull it taut. Let’s look at two photos taken at the beginning of 2015 and the middle of 2017, respectively. How do I answer the question, “How long is your hair?”
Is it that in the first picture my hair is about chin length, and then about shoulder length 2.5 years later? Probably not. So, how do I measure my hair length? I don’t. I used to want to have long, straight hair. Then I went natural, and I wanted to have long, natural hair. Then I realized that trying to measure my hair in length was really a waste of time.
So, how long does it take you to do your hair in braids or twists?
Well, styling and re-styling my hair is normally a two-day process. On Day 1, I take out the hairstyle that I had in before, whether box braids or a two-strand twist. This normally takes me about as long as it took me to complete the style. In other words, taking out my hair normally takes around 4 hours. This is because I need to detangle as I take the style out. In fact, sometimes unbraiding my hair can take longer than styling it because of the detangling process. My hair tangles very easily.
It then takes me about 45 minutes to an hour to wash my hair section by section. I normally divide my big, curly hair into 4 sections when I’m washing or styling it. The hair is much more manageable in sections. However, dividing it does mean the washing process takes longer as I normally wash each of the 4 sections with shampoo at least two times.
After I finish washing it, I normally do the deep or leave-in conditioner part outside the shower. I again condition my hair in four sections. This takes another 30 minutes or so. So, you can imagine that just taking my hair out, washing, and conditioning it can take me about 5 – 6 hours to complete. That’s a lot of work for one day. It’s where most of the muscles in my arms come from.
Day 2 involves rinsing out whatever conditioner I left in overnight. I normally deep condition my hair overnight to increase the moisture, then re-style my hair the next morning. The rinsing of the conditioner can be as short as 15 minutes, but then I need to re-style my hair which again takes 4 or more hours.
Most people wonder why I do this. It’s actually because it is easier. I only style my hair about once a month. This means I don’t have to ask myself, “What am I going to do with my hair in the morning?” 28+ days out of the month. However, this normally leads people to the next question.
But how do you wash it?
In order to answer this question, you need to understand a little bit about different hair types.
I remember I very briefly dated a man of Vietnamese decent. On a date out once, he said, “You have to admit, black people’s hair is pretty oily.” I was very surprised by this. First, black hair comes in so many textures and oil levels that such a statement would be immediately false. However, the reason a black person’s hair may seem “oily” is often because black people have purposely added oil or similar moisturizers to it to make it shine. With straight hair types frequently being portrayed as the standard of beauty, people with curly hair may aspire to the “shine” that is, for instance, advertised in commercials.
Straight hair, which tends to build up grease faster as well as reflecting more light, has a “shine” feature that is viewed as the epitome of healthy, beautiful hair. It’s also the reason why people with straight hair may need to wash their hair every few days.
When people with straight hair (Type 1) utilize their hygiene and beauty standards to try to comprehend people with very curly or kinky hair (Type 4) like mine, they tend to come to really odd conclusions. I’ve heard, for instance, people saying things like, “They don’t wash their hair.” People also frequently assume my hair is fake. Others, still, think that my hair grows naturally in the form of a two-strand twist or box braid because I don’t use any rubber bands or other holders to keep the hair from unraveling.
In the pictures above about hair length, you can see what my hair looks like un-styled, or in its “natural” state. When my hair is styled, I do not use any rubber bands or clips to prevent the style from unraveling because my hair is very curly. I just twirl my hair around my fingers a couple times at the end, and it stays that way. Now, get this, it still does not unravel even if I go for a swim, wash my hair, or simply whip my hair back and forth.
That’s how powerful my curls are.
That being said, it’s also important to know that different hair types have very different needs when it comes to its care. You can follow this link to learn more about different hair types. On this site, they recommend the following for kinky, curly hair like mine:
The key to caring for very curly hair is moisture – start with a shampoo for curly hair and a heavy moisturizing conditioner. You should also use a moisturizing mask, as often as every time you wash your hair. Other products like hair oils and finishing creams can lock in moisture and add definition to your curls while a light pomade will help with styling.
This is very different from the recommendation for people with straight hair.
Many women with this hair type find it easy to grow out, and it often has lots of natural shine. The problem is that straight hair becomes greasy very quickly, so you may need to wash it more often and use products like dry shampoo on the days in between.
If I used a straight woman’s hair hygiene recommendations for my hair, I would be bald. My hair type does not, in fact, should not be washed as often as straight hair types. Using shampoo on my hair once a week, or even once every two weeks keeps it from becoming too dry, brittle, and easy to break. Even when I do wash it, you can see how much stress is put on adding moisture back to the hair with deep conditioning, masks, oils, and creams. So, when someone asks me, “But how do you wash it?” it’s often coming from the assumption that their hygiene practices applies to my hair too.
But to answer the question directly, when I un-style my hair, I normally wash it in 4 parts, deep condition it overnight, and then re-style it the next day. In between these monthly hair styling sessions, I can wash my hair with the style in. Even without taking the braids or two-strand twist out, water and soap can still penetrate to my scalp and down the strands of my hair. In fact, having my hair divided into so many individual parts may even make the washing process more effective, not less.
I know… mind blowing.
So, what have I learned from answering these questions over the years?
I realized I and my hair don’t need to be defined by how often I wash it, how I style it, or how long it is. When people ask me about my hair, I often give simple, shallow answers that will end the discussion quickly. It’s not that I mind talking about my hair, but I only like to do so in an actual conversation, not the interrogation-style Q&A that frequently occurs when the underlying assumption is the questioner’s hair is “normal” and mine is “unusual.” For instance, I once had a conversation with a male, Caucasian friend about my hair, and he told me about his hair. He told me why he decided to shave all the hair off the top of his head, and he talked about the hair on his face as well. It was a conversation where I learned a lot too. However, most discussions about my hair are not conversations. They are one-way questions that make me feel othered.
In order to truly understand my hair requires understanding that each person’s hair type is just one of many. It involves breaking down the assumption that one’s hair type and hygiene is the norm. And that takes a lot of time and work that I normally do not have available. Moreover, in truth, most people’s curiosity is also shallow. They aren’t looking for a lecture on the topic of hair or a four-page blog explanation. So, I appreciate those of you who bother to read the post in its entirety.
Before I close, I do again want to emphasize that what I’ve said about hair in this post is specific to my hair. I have skipped over Type 2 and Type 3 hair in this blog, and I have not talked about the breakdown of hair types within these categories. Beyond hair type, there are also differences in the thickness of one’s hair, the characteristics of one’s scalp, and just other genetic factors that make each person’s hair unique. So, it’s not surprising to find that one woman’s hair regimen is completely different from another’s. The shampoo that works great for one person’s hair may not be beneficial for the other. Even my nieces, who are only born 357 days a part have different hair types, textures, color, and thickness.
My hair is of a very specific type. Not all men or women who look like me have this type of hair. In reality, black or brown people’s hair can naturally range the spectrum of hair types. A dark-skinned woman can have naturally straight hair. Another’s hair might be wavy. If you see a black woman with loose curly hair and another with very kinky hair, it’s certainly not that one woman has “good” hair or is better at styling her hair than the other. One’s hair texture and type are genetic, and no type is superior to another.
Recently, many people have been exclaiming, Oh, Maxi, you cut your hair! For the first time in years, they are right. The images below are of the second time I’ve ever cut a significant amount of hair off my head in my life.
And I have to say, I absolutely love it.
**The featured image is of my hairstyle before the big cut at the end of May.
Kommentare