(Hair) healing era

Two days after I got into college, I ended up in a salon chair, asking myself a critical question: Am I going to look ugly with blue hair? Dyeing my hair took almost four and a half hours, giving me plenty of time to consider whether it was a mistake.

But that night, my dream came true: I was finally the girl with blue hair. I was finally unique, and it only took four years to convince my mother to let me do it. Let me tell you, Amma was not into the idea of my thick, black hair turning orange and dead.

It was not that dramatic. My hair isn’t as happy as it used to be, but it did not fall off my head. However, it did get ugly far too quickly. The perfect dark blue-purple hair turned teal within a couple of weeks — then olive green, then yellow.

South Asian hair is considered a commodity. It has been used in wigs for thousands of years, and South Asians are damn proud of their hair. Hair oiling is a thousands-yearold Ayurvedic practice with a variety of benefits: hydration, dandruff prevention and, most notably, strengthening hair. Before white girls on TikTok called it “hair slugging” and complained that their hair couldn’t absorb the heavy oil, I was 13 years old, healing hair loss with coconut oil.

Growing up, whenever I lost hair or my hair didn’t look good, there was one response from Amma: oil it. She

Story by Kaavya Butaney Design by Ellie Siu

Photos by Valerie Chu

would take the little blue bottle of Parachute Coconut Oil and spend 10 minutes working it into my hair. Just like her mother, her grandmother and probably even her greatgrandmother did for their daughters.

At some point, hair is no longer just hair. At some point, it represents the history and culture embedded in every practice. No matter how much of a “coconut” I am, my hair keeps me tied to my heritage.

A couple weeks after the hair oiling trend emerged on TikTok following the release of Bridgerton and the iconic Kate Sharma hair oiling scene, I stared at my dying yellow hair and decided to go back to basics.

I heated the little blue bottle in the microwave for 20 seconds and oiled my hair for the first time in years. In that moment, despite being ushered back into the practice by fictional Indian people, I felt a real connection.

Last month, I cut off all my dyed hair and thought to myself, What now?

I’m considering going purple-red soon. Maybe one day, I’ll return to blue. But right now, I’m trying to keep my hair alive. Most weekends, I hop out of bed to have a hair oiling session, taking ample time to lather it onto my hair. After a couple of hours wandering around my dorm, I wash the oil off. Rinse and repeat.