Decolonise your hair; free your curls
Over the last few years, there’s been a clear movement amongst black women to ‘go natural’. Motivations for going natural are as diverse as black women themselves. Three years ago, I jumped on the bandwagon with my own motivations being decidedly personal and brought about when I found myself unable to explain why I really wore weaves and wigs.Fast forward to the present day, and I barely ever have my own natural hair out. I convinced myself that looking after my 4c hair took too much time, effort and preparation, and it wasn’t worth it.My dad put it simply for me:
“ If you believed you looked nicer in your own hair, you’d wear it all the time. The effort wouldn’t matter.”
I mean it’s the same thing with makeup. It’s time-consuming and takes a lot of effort, but that really doesn’t stop me, because I love how I look in it. The truth is, if I felt like I looked amazing in my own hair, I would definitely wear it all the time.In my opinion, black women relaxing their hair, wearing weaves, wigs etc can have deep roots - if explored. I realised deep down, we are subconsciously taught to disappreciate our own natural aesthetic.Like most women, my serial use of weaves and wigs began as a simple desire for convenience and versatility—that quickly turned into a necessity.
Personal Empowerment
So for the last few months, I’ve made an active effort to have my own natural hair out or wear my hair in more ‘black’ styles, such as braids and twists. During the periods that I do wear wigs, I’ll try to go for ones with curl patterns closer to mine.
To me, embracing my natural aesthetic is about loving myself the way God made me, and choosing not to adhere to western beauty standards.
Does this mean you’ll never catch me in wigs? Hell n'aw. But what it does mean is that I will choose to look ‘more like me’ more often, now that I have a new knowledge and understanding of why I do what I do. I’m in the process of mentally shifting my idea of beauty and for the first time ever, I have a willingness to build a relationship, tolerance, and love for my curls. [gallery ids="510,497" type="rectangular"]
As the poet, Mawiyah Hai El-Jamah Bomani puts it;
"there's a revolution brewing within my hair and that's no lye."
What are your thoughts.. why do you think you wear wigs/weaves? Leave your comments below.