This weekend I had my hair braided by West African women at a salon in Virginia. In African and African American cultures, women express the beauty of black hair in so many ways: straight vs. curly; relaxed vs. natural; braided vs. locked; long vs. short, etc. While it is nice to have these options, I have worn the same relaxed hairstyle for most of my adulthood. I know…pretty boring. Thus, I was glad to go back to braids after not wearing them for several years.
African braiding, a true art form, is just one type of hair expression that comes in various creations such as cornrows, twists and individual braids and that can be worn in different styles such as a French roll, updo or ponytail. For me it took five long hours to have my hair braided individually. However, through the restlessness of sitting that long, I enjoyed listening to the stylists speak in Twi, a Ghanaian dialect, and to lively African gospel music. For a moment, it felt like I was in another country until I felt two women tugging on my hair in opposite directions. Ouch!
Nowadays black women are not the only ones wearing African braids. African American men and women of other races, including Asian, Caucasian and Latino, are also sporting these styles.
