Samone Shanyelle on Instagram_ “stronger together ✨🔮 @zavierdeangelo”.jpeg

Hair Care as Sisterhood

Hair care for Black women has never been just about hair. Our curls have facilitated countless unexpected interactions. Black women have both bonded and fallen out due to topics surrounding hair care. They’ve protected each other due to topics surrounding hair care. The topic of Black hair care and all that it can entail for Black women can’t be described as anything short of a love language.

Black hair care as sisterhood is prevalent in the everyday lives of Black women both covertly and overtly.

As you may know, the history of hair care in the community of Black women has been a rocky road. The slaves of the North Atlantic Slave trade who were kidnapped to America were eventually forced to cover their hair in headwraps and rags to hide their tresses. The slave owners of that time could not understand Black hair, and this was further exacerbated by the use of wildstock grooming tools by the Black women of that time. These women went through extremes to compensate for resources that weren't available to them; Their shared struggle led to the recognition of the uniqueness surrounding their hair. There was an understanding that it had to be cared for differently. This understanding brought Black women together and fortified their bonds.

Unfortunately, there have been few changes in the resources available to Black women surrounding our hair care.

Our grooming tools have improved to include tools such as detangling combs and diffusers, however, the sisterhood surrounding this aspect of our daily lives has remained intact and grows stronger over time. Friendships have been built, crises have been resolved, and memories have been revived and re-lived through the care of our hair. We’ve overcome pain and shared our joy in the same environments we care for our hair in.

Caring for our hair is a vulnerable experience!

The tresses the world hates are at their most exposed state. Everything society says hair shouldn’t be is realized in your strands, yet in that moment you are taking the time to still consider them, and treat them with some kind of regard the world often doesn't give you. It is an act of rebellion to treat those same strands with care, and in these environments you are acting in rebellion through caring for yourself. You are oftentimes doing so with others who understand the way you see the world because it is how they do as well. This bond, this sisterhood, is something that many have fought to prevent.

But we are still here.

Check out this video on Haircare as Sisterhood.