'Hairitage': The history behind black hair

There is a rich tapestry of history behind a black woman’s hair. Every strand, twist, lock, holds a sense of community, solidarity, and identity.

In pre-colonial Africa, hair was viewed as sacred. One could accurately discern anything from a woman’s tribe to her marital status just by paying attention to the design of the braids in her hair. A black woman would not let just anyone put their hands in her hair, a sentiment which still persists even today.

Many black women, across time and space, have lingering memories of their mothers doing their hair in their childhoods. Eyes heavy with sleep and sore hands, black mothers across the world sit with their daughters between their legs, cornrowing, twisting, braiding every strand to ensure their baby looks great for that picture day, that church service, or their first day back at school.

To this day, black girls across the diaspora share stories of the thrill of trying a new style, the heat of a hot comb on the back of her ear. A black girl in Sudan may not speak the same language as me, but it is likely that she too knows the pain of that first night sleeping with fresh braids.

As the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown are beginning to subside, many black women are returning to hair salons. Hair salons have always been a pinnacle in the black community, places where women under hooded dryers spread the word of the latest news in the community, such as the bus boycotts in Birmingham, Alabama, and Bristol, just to name a few.

Today in black hair salons, that sense of community continues to thrive. Walking into the salon, there is still a sense of kinship with women that you will likely never see again. Whether you are getting a silk press or crochet braids, the chair often begins to resemble that of a therapist’s office. Black women of all ethnicities, ages, and skin tones sharing stories of love, loss, and laughter.

Black women’s hair is so often politicized. But even now, black women are continuing to find new ways to love their hair and the communities that they have built around it. I write this article in honour of our shared hair-itage and the black women across the UK who add to it pridefully with their self-expression, innovation, and style.

Edited by Olivia Warburton