The Politics of Hair Weave

What does hair have to do with comedy? For years, “Black women” have had to endure being the punchline of countless jokes about wearing wigs and  hair extensions (weaves).  Cutting-edge comedy  addresses the social and cultural contradictions that occur in everyday life, making it inevitable that hair extensions would be regularly mentioned. There are psychological, social, and economic ramifications connected to wearing hair extensions.

In February  2019, The New York Commission of Human Rights issued a press release titled, Legal Enforcement Guidance on Race Discrimination on the Basis of Hair. The HRC proclaimed that, “Bans or restrictions on natural hair or hairstyles associated with Black people are often rooted in white standards of appearance and perpetuate racist stereotypes that Black hairstyles are unprofessional.”  The HRC went on to say that, “The New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) protects the rights of New Yorkers to maintain natural hair or hairstyles that are closely associated with their racial, ethnic, or cultural identities.” Corporate acceptance is a different story, but at least a basic level of acknowledgement has finally been announced citywide. Nothing is being said about the long-term damage that has already been done.

Everything begins with a people’s history. A definitive book about the history of hair is titled, Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, by Ayana Byrd & Lori Tharps. Hairstyles can be traced back to the beginning of time.  When we look beneath the surface, hair care in the United States represents a cultural journey. In the past, people came together in kitchens, back rooms, basements, beauty shops, and barbershops to share the common cultural threads that connect the past, present, and future of hair care.

Now, hair care in inner-cities is rooted in consumerism. Hair care is predominantly outsourced, allowing outside groups to come in and capitalize on market that was once controlled by “Black American-owned” companies. Hair extensions and weave products are mainly purchased from Asians and East Indians. Hair braiders and hair weave technicians are largely African immigrants, while inner-city beauty shops struggle to compete with incoming Dominican beauty salons.

Career pursuits are the reason why working women do not prioritize household hair care. Career and job-related tasks come first. Family time is second, and taking care of one’s own hair in the household comes somewhere after that. High numbers of women wear weave extensions, so that they can go months before needing to style their own hair. Two books come to mind, as a reminder for what was once common knowledge. They are, The Black Woman’s Hair Bible: Everything You Have Always Wanted To Know About Your Hair But Didn’t Know Who To Ask, by Lisa C. Johnson, and The Hair Braid It Manual: A Step By Step Guide for Popular Braiding Hairstyles, by Afiya Hopson. In failing to prioritize household hair care, something is missing culturally.

To gain more perspective, the book, The Devil’s Lane: Sex and Race in the Early South, and specifically, the article, A Chaos of Iniquity and Discord: Slave and Free Women of Color in the Spanish Ports of New Orleans, Mobile, and Pensacola, by Virginia M. Gould, discussed what are now known as the Black Codes and tignon (headscarf) requirements, which would restrict females, “… who had become too light skinned or who dressed too elegantly, or who, in reality, competed too freely with white women for status and thus threatened the social order.” Non-Caucasian women were required to cover their hair so that they did not disrupt Caucasian women’s place in society. Are current weave hairstyles a way to psychologically keep the tignon-mindset alive, by suppressing the ‘black’ woman’s natural ability to be radiant naturally? Corporate pressure is also applied, both directly and indirectly, discouraging ‘black’ women from wearing natural hairstyles in the workplace.

Not every hairstyle choice is motivated by political or cultural reasons, but some definitely are. Many Jewish women wear wigs to cover their hair for religious reasons. That wig is known to Jews as a sheitel.  The book, Kissu HaRosh: Properly Covering the Hair With a Sheitel, by Rabbi Sholom B. Wineberg, explains the reasons behind why Jewish women cover their hair.  Wineberg goes on to say how, “During the early years of the Rebbe’s Nesi’us, the Rebbe toiled long and  hard to make wearing a sheitel the norm that it has now become.” The religious aspects of hair are deeply rooted in faith and culture, and the issue of modesty plays a part in covering one’s hair in public.

The book, The Politics of Black Women’s Hair, by Althea Prince states that, “For many Black women, hair is just hair, and the choices they make are connected to convenience and ease-not to their politics or sexual preference. Nonetheless, they can still be judged with a social or political interpretation of who they are, based solely on their hairstyle.” Many people feel that a hairstyle is just a hairstyle, but the deeper significance, as it relates to hair, is firmly rooted in cultural history, whether we accept it or not.  

A pioneer in the ‘black’ hair weave industry is Alix Moore. She is a business owner who has a significant amount of influence within the hair extension weave industry.  Moore wrote the book, The Truth About the Human Hair Industry – Wake Up Black America!, where she explains that, “A hair weave is a very general term used to describe human or artificial hair extensions that cover the wearer’s natural hair altogether …The highest quality hair is REMY hair … Unfortunately today, Remy hair has an entirely different meaning with Asian Manufacturers. Their so-called ‘Remy’ hair is actually a 2nd grade hair that is chemically processed.”  Socio-economic factors surrounding ‘black’ hair styles say a lot of wealth and income. Few weave wearing women recognize the cultural costs of hair extensions. A hierarchy exists among the haves and have-nots, as it relates to the quality of women’s hair extensions and weaves. 

Dana Stevens wrote an article in Slate magazine titled, Chris Rock’s lighthearted documentary asks, What is Good Hair? The HBO films documentary, Good Hair, was an attempt to explain the impact of straight hair, the hair extension industry, and how the  hair extension industry affects the “Black” community. The motivation behind the documentary was Rock’s daughter once asking, “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?”  For those that are unfamiliar with Rock’s documentary, one might assume that he made a film that focused on insulting “black women,” but that is not the case at all.  Rock’s film addressed beauty ideals,  and the economic impact of the hair industry.

Nielsen published a report dated February 15, 2018 called, Black Impact: Consumer Categories Where African Americans Move Markets, which detailed the spending power of different consumer groups, specifically how, ” … African Americans have cornered the ethnic hair and beauty market, ringing up $54 million of the $63 million total industry spending in 2017.”  (Nielsen Homescan, Total U.S. sales for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 30, 2017 is the source of the information, which further explains how and where urban dollars are spent.) The question should be, does anyone need to wear hairstyles that come at such a high socioeconomic cost?  

Human and synthetic hair extension weaves pose a few different questions. So-called “Black women” and their self-esteem are questioned for wearing a texture of hair that is not naturally their own. So-called “Black women” are questioned for chemically straightening their natural hair with chemicals like sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, or guanidine hydroxide.  Neo-colonialism upholds European standards of beauty, and prompts other women to conform to those standards.

The human hair trade industry has many similarities to drug trafficking and human trafficking.  The financial rewards gained from human hair trafficking encourage unethical practices. The Guardian newspaper published an article on October 28, 2012 titled, The hair trade’s dirty secret, by Homa Khaleeli. From everything known about human hair extension (weave), it is impossible to know the exact origin of the human hair extension weave being farmed and sold.   Ethical standards surrounding the ‘farming of human hair’ can not be guaranteed.    The New York Times newspaper published an article on November 22, 2010 titled, For Russia’s Poor, Blond Hair Is Snippet of Gold, by Andrew E. Kramer.  The bottom line is this: human hair is farmed from the ‘poor’ and sold to those who can afford the luxury of purchasing it. Politics and socioeconomics surround the human hair extension/ weave industry.