THE BLACK HAIR DEBATE

BY ZETHEMBE MASEKO

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARLOTTE CULLEN

A Brief History of African Hair

The history of African hair can be traced back to the Motherland. Before colonisation, African hair was a symbol of identity, social status, marital status, spirituality and even fertility. Hair was so important that tribes had their own specific hairstyle.

Hair styling was communication, an opportunity to socialise. Hair styling was done by close relatives only as people believed that if a strand of hair fell into the hands of an enemy, the enemy would be able to bring harm to the hair’s owner.

There was hair for everything. If a woman’s hair was thick and long, it symbolised that they were able to bear children. Soldiers going off to war, a mother about to give birth, the royal family – all had unique stylings.

These traditions were eradicated when slavery began: the first thing that slave traders did to the people that they captured was shave their heads. African hair was dehumanised and seen as animalistic; it did not fit European beauty standards.

Texturism is the belief that certain hair types are better than others. During slavery, the texture of a person’s hair determined their value and working conditions. White people described African hair as ‘wool’. Lighter skinned, straighter haired slaves were favoured and selected for more desirable positions in the house.

Today, African hair is a symbol of resistance and survival against oppression.

Hair Relaxers and Hot Combs

Before hot combs and relaxers were invented, black women used axle, grease, heated butter knives and homemade lye to straighten their textured hair.

Then French hair stylist Francois Marcel Grateau invented the first hot comb in 1872. This beauty practice comes at a price: in 1968, Dr Christopher Papa released a study stating that hot combs had caused inflammation and scarring to the scalps of most black women.

Relaxers are chemical creams used to permanently straighten afro hair; they have been a thing since the 1900s, the first invented by accident by Garrett Augustus Morgan in 1909. Morgan was experimenting with chemical solutions to help ease the friction caused by the needle of his new sewing machine against the fabric. One of his alkaline solutions caused the fibres of the fabric to straighten.

After testing the alkaline solution on animal fur and on himself, he noticed the same outcome. Morgan established the G.A Morgan Hair Refining Company and sold his hair cream to black women, marketing them toward afro-textured hair. Black women went from using metal tools heated in ovens to using hair relaxers.

Hair relaxers have changed from their original incarnations. In 1981, the Johnson Products Company introduced Gentle Treatment, the first no-lye hair relaxer, so that hair was not damaged or burned as easily.

Black women are not permanently straightening their hair because they are ashamed of their culture or trying to ‘act white’. More and more, women are relaxing their hair because maintaining an afro is very hard – and costly.

My Hair Experience

I am a black woman who has worn her hair both ways, and I can confirm that it is very hard to manage afro-textured hair, especially if you don’t have good quality products.

Growing up, my father refused to let me relax my hair. My afro was long and extremely coily, which meant that my mother spent more time detangling it. No one was allowed to touch my hair except my mother. She spent a lot of money on hair care products to up the moisture as my hair was very dry. Maintaining an afro requires a lot of patience; that’s something that my mother didn’t have. So, when I turned thirteen, my father finally allowed me to relax my hair. Getting my hair relaxed has felt natural to me for years. My hair continued to grow longer and was much healthier than when it was afro-textured. Personally, taking care of my relaxed hair is easier and requires less effort.

Pros and Cons of an Afro

❤ PRO: endless styling possibilities. The texture of an afro can hold styles and braiding patterns that other textures cannot.

☒ CON: maintenance! From the detangling to the steaming to the shampooing to the conditioning, all the way to the styling. An afro may also get easily tangled due to its natural thickness.

❤ PRO: stronger and grows faster than relaxed hair. Also has more volume than relaxed hair and is less prone to damage.

☒ CON: when your hair reaches a certain length, you want it to stay that length, right? Unfortunately, as soon as your afro catches some rain or water, that length shrinks.

Pros and Cons of Relaxed Hair

❤ PRO: convenience. Since your hair is straight, you don’t have to spend too much time styling it. Unlike afro-textured hair, relaxed hair does not get tangled while combing.

☒ CON: to achieve relaxed hair, you need chemical treatments – be prepared for damage.

❤ PRO: afro-textured hair has the tendency to shrink, which requires stretching in order to give your hair some length. There is no need to stretch relaxed hair as your hair is already straight.

☒ CON: using relaxers can increase scalp sensitivity, which may lead to severe irritation, scarring and chemical burns.

Afro Under Attack

Afros have been labelled too political, unruly and unprofessional. Derogatory terms such as ‘transparent’ and ‘see-through’ have been created to refer to a thin afro (that could be thin due to breakage, or it could be naturally thin). Afros have also been compared to animal fur, which is not only discriminatory but very racist.

One example of textured hair under attack can be seen in an online advert for TRESemmé products featured by Clicks (a pharmacy chain in South Africa). African hair was labelled as ‘frizzy, dull, dry and damaged’. Meanwhile, white hair was labelled ‘normal, fine and flat’. Many South African stores have removed TRESemmé products from their shelves as a result.

Unilever, the parent company of TRESemmé, added in a statement on its website in response to the ad: ‘We are very sorry that images used in a TRESemmé South Africa marketing campaign on the Clicks website promote racist stereotypes about hair. The campaign set out to celebrate the beauty of all hair types and the range of solutions that TRESemmè offers, but we got it wrong.’

Another example can be seen in the case of Zulaikha Patel, a South African anti-racism activist, and her fight against Pretoria Girls High School’s policy regarding black girls’ hair in 2016. Pretoria Girls’ Code of Conduct did not specifically mention afros but had rules for general appearance; teachers had told students that afro hair is ‘exotic’ and needed to be tamed. Patel refused this policy, saying: ‘asking me to change my hair is like asking me to erase my blackness.’ She was just thirteen years old when she and her classmates held a demonstration that led to a change in the school policy and inspired girls at other schools to do the same.

Luckily, there are other people like Patel pushing back against hair-related racism. International holidays such as World Afro Day have been created to celebrate the originality and beauty of afro-textured hair. Established by Michelle De Leon on the 15th of September 2017, this day is a global day of change, education and celebration of afro hair and identity.

No Chill About Relaxed

This debate has left many black folks feeling insecure. Although afro hair can be perceived in negative ways by some, there are those that think textured hair is natural and healthy and far superior to relaxed.

The natural hair movement has been growing more and more in recent years, inspiring a strong sense of sisterhood, and is a celebration of black women’s beauty, hair textures and hairstyles. Wigs, weaves, extensions or using a flat iron do not constitute being natural.

There is a strong sense from some groups that relaxed hair is giving in to European beauty standards and that these should be ditched in favour of natural, textured hair. Consequently, women have started shunning other women who choose relaxers. Black folks with relaxed hair can receive a lot of backlash, but no one should ever be bullied or feel bad about relaxing their hair.

Don’t Care. It’s Your Hair

My advice to black women is, do you. Do what makes you happy. Choosing to embrace your afro-textured hair does not mean that you have to shame women with relaxed hair and vice versa. Keep in mind, too, that how you choose to wear your hair is your personal choice. Just because your hair does not fit into society’s standards does not mean that it is not beautiful. If we let social media dictate how we should look, we are always going to be unhappy.

There is already so much struggle that the black community faces; we don’t need this ‘hair war’ dividing us. Black hair is beautiful, whether it’s relaxed or afro-textured. It is time to make peace and celebrate diversity in the community.

Black hair is beautiful, whether it’s relaxed or afro-textured. It is time to make peace and celebrate diversity in the community. ✦

MODELLING

‘I regularly have NO idea what my hair looks like –proper dysphoria.’

@jenisscreeching

‘My hair was the only thing I liked about myself growing up – sometimes, it still is.’

@itscarsha

‘I shaved off all my hair during my fight with depression. Now, as I heal, I’m letting it grow.’

@my_story_fj

‘I change it constantly, dyeing it bright eyecatching colours so that people notice my hair and not me.’

@kirtonkate

‘I have resented my curls for ages; I gave myself a buzz cut at the start of the pandemic. I loved the fact that I had no hair, but I have also begun to love the way my curls look regrowing. Now I love my curls! I wouldn’t change a thing.’

@alexagarzaa_

‘I’m a curly haired girl (4c). When I was younger, I didn’t appreciate my hair. I thought it was less beautiful due to its lack of representation in the media or external validation from the world. Now, many years later, I’ve finally grown to love my hair and relearn her on my own terms.’

@r0bynquincy

‘I didn’t like the attention my hair got from men, so I cut it all off. I love it long, but I’ve had more sexual harassment since growing it. I daydream about cutting it off again so that I’ll be left alone.’

@chaniaclare