It's been pointed out to me by several folk (well, really, only one folk and she knows who she is) that this space has been rather quiet lately. There's a long, boring story about tenure and new responsibilities at work, coupled with my indecision about exactly what to do with this space that explains it all--but I won't bother you with that. Instead, I'll venture into the always fraught world of black women's hair.
Since May I've been sporting cute, shoulder-length single braids. I had braids in grad school and when I first got married and I loved them, primarily because I couldn't be lazier when it comes to doing anything to my hair. I stopped wearing braids for a number of reasons, including being too impatient to sit for the 8-10 hours it takes to do my hair, but also because I concluded (as does mainstream culture) that I looked less young and more professional without them.
My innate hair laziness took over this summer, though, and the braids returned. I loved them. I kept them in for our vow renewal in June and for the start of classes in August. And was all set to get them redone last week when a minor catastrophe occurred.
When I undid my braids, my hair was tangled at the roots, so much so that I became convinced that I would need to cut it all off. I have really thick, shoulder-length hair, so cutting all but an inch or two off is drastic. But I was willing to do it, reading the moment as the universe's way of telling me it was time to start growing a sweet Angela Davis 'fro.
The only problem was that I couldn't find anyone in Charleston to cut my hair. Admittedly, after the first two people, both black women, refused (both very matter-of-factly telling me I was mistaken about wanting to cut all my hair off), my resolve weakened. Maybe the universe wasn't telling me to find my inner Angela Davis. Maybe it was saying I needed to go back to my chemically-enhanced soccer mom ponytail.
Brian wound up having to untangle my hair. The third woman I went to relaxed and trimmed my hair, ooh-ing and aah-ing through the entire four hour process.
I wish I'd had the courage to cut it all off myself.
4 comments:
Did you have your hair redone when I saw you on Friday? Am I THAT oblivious to the world around me? (Apparently, yes.)
I'm all for a sweet Angela Davis 'fro, by the way. I would have great admiration for you if you cut your hair off, since I have always wanted to cut my own hair off (but I never will).
yes, my hair was redone on friday and yes you were oblivious. but i forgive you.
I would have gone with you and we could both have gotten bianca style haircuts -- I am ready, but totally chicken about cutting all of mine off (and then there is the vanity issue that all I will have left is a bunch of white hair). So what was the charleston hair cutting issue -- you shouldn;t have a 'fro? You shouldn;t have short hair? You shouldn't diagnose your own hair issues and you should leave that to the professionals???
I'm so sorry I didn't notice your hair! When I saw you on Friday, I remember thinking, "She looks nice. She must have dressed up for her interview." And I noticed that you were wearing the earrings you got for your vow renewal. Odd.
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