I'm a White female. My hair is straight, soft (only a great conditioner is to thank for that), and cut a little bit below my shoulders. In terms of hair, I think I have it pretty easy. I could do nothing but my regular shower ritual (Pantene shampoo and conditioner) and let it air dry and I would be totally fine. Other White women have curly hair that they can't even brush for fear that it would just turn into a huge puff ball on their heads, and they struggle with almost impossible to tame frizz.
I recently read Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (pictured below) and my eyes were opened to the hair care of other cultures. The novel is about a Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who immigrates to the United States of America to complete her university schooling. It is told from Ifemelu's perspective and follows her as she experiences American culture. The story begins with Ifemelu traveling to a different part of town just to get her hair braided. Hair is mentioned several times throughout the novel and it often comes back to Ifemelu in the salon.
I've never been oblivious to the fact that American Blacks and Non-American Blacks have different hair than I do, except maybe in elementary school when I was oblivious to just about everything, but I never knew to what extent and I never really thought about it too much until reading Americanah.
The main character, Ifemelu, talks about having to go to a different part of town just to get her hair braided because in the majority white neighborhoods around Princeton, where she has a fellowship, there are not any good places that know how to do her hair. She talks about having to take her hair out of braids and putting relaxer in it so that she would look "appropriate" for interviews. She also talks about how the chemicals in the relaxer started to make her usually natural hair fall out.
Up until reading this novel, I never thought about these things. I was most shocked to learn that employers really think that braided hair is unprofessional. It brought back a memory of something that happened at the high school I attended. A short time after I graduated from my beloved high school, news started to circulate that showed my school in a negative light. The high school I graduated from is a traditional high school with strict dress code and hair policies. A controversy erupted over the policy that banned corn rows, twists, and dreadlocks. The school admitted that their policy was outdated and has since changed it to allow these hairstyles, but it was very important to address this policy because, as I learned, to American and Non-American Blacks these hairstyles are not only a part of their culture, but also for some they are essential to best taking care of their hair (see full story here).
What about other cultures? Hijab wearing Muslim women often avoid having their hair done in a salon because they must always be covered and wearing the hijab in the presence of non-familial men. If a hijab wearing Muslim woman was out getting her hair done and a man walked in, she would have to quickly cover herself in the middle of her cut or color. PopSugar covered a salon that wants to create a "safe space" for Muslim women (see video below).
Understanding cultures different from yours can be a difficult task and often times people just don't know where to start. One thing that women across all cultures can relate to is hair. Although hair care varies from culture to culture, all women love to do their hair and it's something we all do to embrace our femininity. So maybe the key to understanding differences in other cultures is to start with what we all have in common.
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