The black girl's receding hairline has become the punch line of many a joke, but is it really that much of a laughing matter?
Not too long ago I posted a link to an article by Dr. Susan Taylor on Twitter, titled "What every black woman needs to know about hair loss." [link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-susan-taylor/black-women-hair-loss_b_1457285.h. Now usually when you see a post of this nature, you half expect it to have negative connotations, to be humorous, a mockery portrayed through a meme or an attack on black women telling us to burn our weaves and emancipate ourselves from white imperialism. It was none of the afore-mentioned - in fact, it was an informative and factual take on the root (pun intended) causes of hair loss amongst black women. Dr. Taylor's intention was to make our women more aware of the fact that the very same hairstyles we pursue to salvage our hair are the ones that push us deeper into the hairline abyss. What stood out to me the most in this article was the part about hair loss support groups. Yes, chuckle, but for as long as a problem is a problem to one (wo)man, it ought not to be trivialised by the next. Hair loss may seem like a trivial matter to some, but when you've grown up aware of the "your hair is your crown" notion and suddenly when you look in the mirror, you see that some jewels have fallen off you crown, the gold is chipped and your reign is drawing nearer to an end, I can only imagine how much of a knock one's self-esteem must take in such a situation. At the end of the day, hair loss is to a woman in her prime what acne is to a teenager. Alas, we all have our insecurities.
As a matter of fact, my insecurity manifests itself in the hair department. First problem - I have my dad's hairline and it doesn't help that I have a big forehead to go with it - my dad started balding at the age of 35, does this mean I only have 13 years to go? Second problem - my hair lacks volume. Third problem - every other month I plant something new on my head. Recently I tweeted the following:
"Need a new hairstyle. Maybe I'll just go for my usual 'always-in-a-bun' twists. #blackgirlproblems #teamsavethehairline "
"Changing my hairstyle every month like I've been promised a new hairline."
The ugly truth here is that twists are not actually safe and easy on the hairline and yes, fact of the matter is that no one has actually promised me a new hairline, yet here I am defying such odds in the pursuit of fleeting beauty.
<<<March 2013I have long hair, jet black in shade (Mom's genes), silky in texture (thanks to my hairdresser's GHD), but I insist on planting extensions. Why? I believe in the bun and the myth that your hair grows longer if you keep extensions on for long periods of time. On the former, my staple hairstyle is the classic bun, because it suits the shape of my face and I don't enjoy hair in my face. The latter? I'm starting to believe that this statement may hold true to a certain extent. Last year I cut my hair in a pixie sort of fashion. Now before I continue, believe me when I say my hair was in its PRIME (the longest it's ever been) just days before I made this decision, but I still went ahead with it in pursuit of cultivating a new image for myself. I regretted it instantly. A week later I was standing in front of the mirror, pulling my braids up into a bun. I had gotten these braids done in an attempt to bide time until my hair grew back again. I did not look ugly, I had just grown attached to my long hair and was not feeling up to explaining myself to everybody who inquired.
My point is that as human beings, change scares us. We fear what others are going to say. We conceal our problems (I'm actually not opposed to that) - I concealed a pretty sick haircut with braids, a haircut which later grew out into an asymmetrical bob, so like a Phoenix, I rose from my perceived ashes. We put people in boxes such as this one; "girls who wear weaves are superficial." That is not a fact. Granted, we're not all bold enough to go bald, but one should not fear that their next hairstyle is going to make them fall prey to public scrutiny.
<<<June/July 2013You keeping your natural "nappy" hair does not make you more black than the girl with the Janet Jackson box braids or even the girl with a lace-front wig. We have been given these options, why not explore every avenue? My wallet. My hairline.
<<<April/May 2013India Arie aptly says, "I am not my hair," and I say, "It's just hair, it grows back."
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