The Ugly Secret Under a Weave

Never in the history of black hair care have so many women taken hair growth pills, squirted on drops of solution, or poured on jars of gourmet mayonnaise to promote hair growth. The epic proportions of the state of black women's hair health is similar to what is described in Madame CJ Walker's biography by Tananarive Due titled, The Black Rose (a definite read).

During slavery, black women were removed of their indigenous hair maintenance regimens and the herbs and natural products that were used for their various hairstyles. While in enslavement, black women had to adopt quick and often unhealthy hair care techniques. Many wore pieces of cloth over their heads with small plaits or cornrows underneath. Some wore short hair, while others just did not care for much of it at all.

After centuries of not being able to properly take care of their hair black women’s hair culture became de-cultured. Black women used axle grease and lard to moisturize their hair. And some tried the new fad of a "heated fork" to straighten their hair, but it always resulted in bad breakage. CJ Walker, who was a washer woman had severe scalp itches such as bald patches, and what can possibly seen as eczema that often led her to scratch her head until it bled.

(Madame CJ Walker Advertisement of her hair care system)

Though CJ Walker, the first American woman millionaire and black millionaire, created an empire by developing a healthier hair care system (not the hot comb since it already existed), the hair care industry today in no way reflects her intentions. An old proverb would say, “She would be turning in her grave” if she saw the amount of damage of black women’s hair. And this is not just in the United States. Walker travelled throughout the Caribbean and Central America, training sales agents and hair stylists to sale and use her products.

Some years back, I spoke to a couple who were in the process of writing a book on hair that I guess they never published because I did not see it. The husband, whose name I cannot think of, told me that black women’s hair a century ago, was 6 inches longer than today! That’s hella shrinkage.

A while ago I blogged about synthetic hair and wanted to follow up with some of the ugly secrets that women who have them will never tell their friends, in particular, their boyfriends; and in the case of black women, especially, their non-black intimate partners, the headache, heartache, and expense of wearing synthetic hair for too long and/or too tight.

(Naomi Campbell's hairline is gone, a case of too much pulling of the hair from the roots due to glue-in weaves over the natural hairline, and probably sew-in weaves. )

The focus of this blog are weaves. I will talk about the predecssor of weaves, which are wigs, on another day.

From what I've researched (and know personally) it does not matter if you have a $5,000 weave/wig or a $5o piece, it is a damaging process in the long run.

I have heard people criticize those who wear locks with an oft quoted saying, "You just didn't want to comb your hair." Ha! Anyone who has locks and is conscious about maintaining them, knows that it is the most intensive hair choice and a spiritual experience that does not compare to any other hairstyle. I applaud the network of sister-lockers who understand the locks is a lifestyle the involves a reawakening and a community of support.

Anywho, let us get down to the weaves and wigs.

The more obvious effects of weaves/wigs is the stunting of hair growth, and in many cases the loss of hair due to the suffocation of the scalp. What makes the situation worse with a weave/wig is the scalp is not only smothered for long periods of time, but it is also slathered in synthetic products such as glue, dye, hair spray, cream, wax, gel, mousse, and all the other hair products that are used for "maintenance".

(Rihanna's short crop cannot hide the fact that her hairline has suffered from prolong usage of weaves.)

In actuality, while the synthetic hair is being "maintained" the real hair is dying a quick death.

To add injury to choking roots, many women get "addicted" to the way they look with long "luxurious" manes, and go for months, and sometimes years without giving their scalp and hair a break so it can breathe. This addiction eventually turns into a necessity because their hair is left in chunks of hair breakage, receding hairline, and in many cases, bald patches that seem irreversible.

Another issue is the pull that weaves do once applied to real hair. Be it a glue in or a sew-in, there is an element of a constant pull that gradually thins the hair. Similar to braids that are cornrowed too tight, weaves and wigs that pull on the hairline and the scalp damage the roots and thin the hair. And if you have a sew -in weave in which the cornrows underneath are extremely tight, followed by the pull of the thread of the weave, your hair will recede faster.

(Lala Vasquez's bold side-shave shows visible baldness from weaves.)

Lastly, women who process their hair then apply weaves increase the chances of loss exponentially than those who have natural hair underneath.

To give you an idea of the damage of weaves, I selected some "notables" in this blog to show you that the price of a weave does not matter.

As you can see, over time, if worn too long, weaves cause your real hair, a tragic death.

Please note: This is just a quick entry on weaves and not an in-depth article. There is much that I was not able to fit in this blog, but I encourage everyone else to do their research and find their own facts to add to the pot.

***Added footage! Our white brother in the struggle, Aron, did a documentary on synthetic hair. He focuses on the African-American hair, but this is a worldwide business of black hair. This is very informative. Please, check it out!***

Whose Hair is it anyway?

(photo: Beyonce's lace front wig gone astray, too tight of an application and too much facial expression)

A long time ago I stopped looking at hair magazines, and very rarely did I ever purchase them. In the beginning, most of the hair models were styled in hairdos that were permed, pressed, texturized, or some other type of processed state.

When braid magazines came in, the how-to section was even more disturbing because majority of the styles required that one’s hair had to be blow dried or pressed, or straightened some type of way. What made is worse was that almost all of them either used some type of hair product with a lot of chemicals or required fake hair.

Today when I look at these magazines, I ask myself, whose hair is it? What I mean is that many of these magazines sell all these shampoos and conditioners, and have these flawlessly styled hair models. But damn near all of them are sporting synthetic hair, wigs, weaves, or someone else’s hair, and in some cases, the hair of Shih Tzu dogs.

Are these products being sold for my real hair or my fake hair, or someone else’s hair? Then I ask myself, when people buy “human” hair (although many times it is that of an animal such as a poodle), do they ever stop to think who that person was who shed their mane for money. Were they happy, were they sad, or were they of another religion or culture than theirs? In all, what type of energy do they pass on with the hair that they sell?

Moreover, the weave culture has gone over-the-top among African-American women. Excuse my naiveté, but I was totally shocked the other day when I saw a “stylist” glue this black muck onto the hairline of a woman to apply her lace front wig.

My partner who is a cosmetologist says that he refuses to do weaves or take them out because of the molded and musty smell that occurs after a long period of time when your scalp cannot breathe by a glued or sewed in wig that has so much product guck.

STOP right there. This is not a bash on processed hair, though I think it is important we think about why we do these things in the name of beauty and in the name of “pretty hair.”

Honestly, I don’t care what type of floral, spice, or citrus fragrance that a hairspray has, it does not cover of the stink of the truth; we are indeed bonded to aesthetics that compromise our perceptions of beauty.

Now, now, this is not just processed hair, but this is also for “natural” hair as well. I know women who have dyed their locks every type of color, and in particular the blond-bleach, until they break off; or women who have sister locks would kill over if their edges were too bushy. Then there is this movement to style natural hair in the Euro-styles like chignons and updos, instead of creatively pulling our own ancestral fashion sense.

Though I know that styles are recycled, I don't see anyone (including me) walking into work with ochre-clay and cowfat rubbed into my lcoks.

Ho-hum, just something to chew on...blog on EcoSi

PS, beware of Yakki #10 synthetic hair, it is a hair killer