It is very true that many individuals including me, desire long, thick and strong hair because I think that people associate "thick hair" with good health and more than that, I think people also look at the thickness of the hair as an indicator of prettiness.
As one that is of African descent, I was born with Afro kinky hair and though I was not born with a headful of hair (my own hair is sparse but healthy), I have honestly picked up a true appreciation for the beauty of the African hair, the texture being one of its defining characteristics.
Way back, we had our own hair care regimen which made our scalp and hair healthy. Washing with black soap along with using some natural oils like pure coconut oil, shea butter oil and Indian hemp oil could nourish the scalp and strengthen hair strands, potentially promoting hair growth and improving overall hair health. The hair was our crown of glory and we treated it as such.
In secondary school, biology taught me about genetics and how it was what was responsible for our features and attributes. Long, lustrous and thick hair is in the genes and not in all those products out there. So it would be foolish of me to crave for the kind of hair I know I can never have.
I learnt early in life to embrace my African-ness, my unique identity. I have a flat and wide African nose, brown skin and kinky curls, there’s nothing I can do to change any of these features and even if there was a way I could, I wouldn't change a thing.
Needless to say that I personally do not share in this perception of a global beauty standard, neither am I influenced by it because there can never be a one-size-fits-all. Global beauty standards are imposed standards which creates a false notion of uniformity.
I wouldn't want those global standards determining what is “beautiful or trendy” and"what is not" for me, from body shape, to facial proportions, to height and weight, to hair texture and clothes. Those standards are arbitrary, so why would I pursue them?
It is sick obsession when I see ladies spending loads of time and money, futilely applying loads of cancer-causing chemicals to their hair, thereby putting the health of their hair at risk. Do they achieve their goals? No!
The reality is this, the afro textured hair cannot be Caucasian or Asian hair. It is an impossible beauty standard for an African woman to have bone straight hair just as it is impossible for Caucasian or Asian to have a mane of African kinky curls. This was never going to happen! And this is the limitation of the so-called global trends.
In most of my posts, I refer to my ancestors a lot because they taught me well, to always be myself. I dont have a thick hair but I am satisfied with the way I have always looked. The only time I ever suffered hair loss was when I used some chemicals on my hair, but I quickly rushed back to the safety of my local products, the shea butter, the coconut oil and the indian hemp oil. Since then, till now, that's about twenty five years apart, I have never suffered a hair loss or hair thinning, despite my age ( I am in my fifties), I'm not talking of the occasional strands of hair one sees on the comb, I'm talking of serious hair loss, no for me.
Fortunately for me, I’ve never been one to be easily influenced by the views of others, especially about my appearance. For Africans suffering from hair loss, I would say, go back to the basics, our hair texture is different from any other, the products for them are equally different.
Asian, Caucasian, African hair types, They are all beautiful.....in their own ways. I also think that any hair...thick, thin, straight, wavy, any color, can look gorgeous if well-cared for, in the most appropriate way.
If only we can stop chasing after global standards and learn to be ourselves, if we can reject arbitrary beauty standards and embrace our heritage, If we can nourish our hair with natural ingredients, without altering its core texture, we would not suffer from hair loss, this is the simple secret to healthy roots. This is the most effective solution to hair loss and thinning.
In conclusion, chemical products alter the core texture of natural hair and once it is altered, it is destroyed, and hair loss eventually happens.
This is in response to a contest by Ladies Of Hive Community #202, you can find it
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