‘The hardest thing to be is the person you say you are.’
Teri Agins, The Cutting Room Floor
Kelis, in a cornrow straight back braids style. Recreate this style with our straight braiding hair texture, SOLANA in our blondes JAGGERY and DULCE DE LECHE.
When I think about my relationship with my hair as a black woman, I am often struck by the unevenness of my feelings about it. I wish I could open up the conversation with something more resolute and empowering, but in truth, my feelings about my hair change all the time. I have had great moments with my hair, and I have had pretty low ones too.
Beyoncé, in her signature pick and drop braids in honey blonde. Recreate in our straight bulk hair BLAIRE and BRONA.
My hair is a very coily 4c texture; it's a gift I got from my Khoi forebears. I have them to thank for my hair, my stature and dare I say, my curves. None of these gifts however, were received with gratitude. Every human takes a while to find themselves in their body and I struggled the longest to embrace my hair.
Khoi/San infant, Kalahari Desert.
I felt like it was the wrong texture, didn’t grow quickly enough, didn’t hold a perm well enough. Like a popular girl at a late night dance, it wanted to hold hands and tango with every fiber it came across, only to break too easily. While there was a world of beauty product ads that could do every conceivable thing to your hair, there never seemed to be a product that could do anything for my hair. No matter what I applied, 10 minutes later, it was back to being dry and brittle.
Dark and Lovely, hair relaxer.
The first phase of “dealing with my hair” was like most girls, a relaxer. I had heard and seen what it could do for others and wanted some of that magic for myself. My mother, a lifelong loc’ed natural, refused until she relented. And this would probably be my first hair low. Stringy, dead and brittle, my relaxed hair was awful and while I was regretful, I couldn’t show it. So I kept on experimenting and trying to make something of it. With heat, rollers, gels and holds, it still remained limp and lifeless.
Alicia Keys, cornrows with beads. Recreate with our straight braiding hair texture SOLANA in our dark brown shade LIQUORICE.
The second phase however, was braids and that is where my love affair began. I loved braids. I looked in the mirror all day, trying different styles and seeing how close I could get to Brandy’s in Moesha. I felt like my style options were truly limitless and I didn’t have to sacrifice my hair texture for it. Many, if not most, of my childhood pictures have me with short hair, looking rough from a day of what I assume was play and exploration. I was never a tea party kind of girl but with braids, I could continue to play and still have my original form to come back to.
Lauryn Hill, short bob braids. Recreate with our French curl texture SIMONE in our dark brown shade, LIQUORICE.
When I finally got to experiment with braids, I wanted all the textures and all the colours. My mother always says that I ‘always enter life through the back door’ and my relationship with my self-image is no different. I might arrive late to the party, but I am going to have the best time.
Jada Pinkett-Smith, chunky cornrows. Recreate with our straight braiding hair texture SOLANA in our dark brown shade LIQUORICE.
That love affair is why we’re here and why The Braids Company is above all else a love letter. The prestige owed to braids is long overdue. The pace and cyclical nature of black hair is not one too dissimilar from haute couture. Much like couture, black hair has its rules, its regional style signatures and it evolves at such a fast pace, that we can reinvent ourselves many times over in the course of a lifetime. Everything from the fibre, to the texture, to the pattern is an opportunity to explore a new ‘self’.
Ultimately, braids are a protective style that embodies love, care and patience and what a wonderful gift we’ve inherited.
To the black girl pioneers who dared to explore themselves and their style and inspire us all, thank you for being part of all our becomings.
