The current situation: Braids

When you can’t cope with the lighting speed adulthood is pushing you along you get holiday hair aka braids.  You don’t worry about unread emails, meeting requests and rat racing through the traffic.

This hair has taught me that life is NOT that serious all the time, that’s it’s okay to take a break and some downtime. It’s become the hair every women wants to be and every man runs away from. I’ve had countless requests from woman asking me where I’ve done my hair and if I don’t mind if they copy it (which I’m flattered by and share because duh, I did not invent braids). Yet on the contrast I’ve had men (mostly coloured, this is a type of mixed race for my international readers) who were showing interest in me BUT stop speaking to me once I put them in. I even had coloured men calling me names like Boom Shaka (I quite liked this but I see myself as more of a Salt n Peppa girl, thanks).

The curly girl: Natural hair/Kroes kop

Once out university and freshly launched upon the “real world” of adulthood, you feel an itch to be who you really are and wear your natural hair. This hair is like having a boyfriend or child who needs your undivided 24-hour attention. You know those needy, can’t live without you, phone you 24/7 kind of boyfriends? Yeah that’s how this hair makes me feel. It needs so much TLC and you can’t run away from it (thus the reference to having children). Its stuck on your head, constantly asking for moisture and if you neglect it, you are going to look like a women who doesn’t have her priorities together. I guess its as high maintenance as a Sandton mall crawling, bodycon wearing,  self-centered 20-odd year old.

The straight hair

As easy as school was but as painful to as exams are to write, yip that’s straight hair. Getting your hair ‘brazilianed’ for 3 hours using chemicals unknown to mere mortals and fingers-crossed not to get any form of cancer by said chemicals kind of hair. Once your Brazilian is done for the next 3 months you’re go-getter wash and wear kind of girl (insert superwoman cape here). Accepted by society for looking ‘appropriate’ and gawked at by men. You’re the prototype. The standard of hair beauty that stood the test of time. 

I refuse to be made to feel less than or uglier by the way I choose to wear my crown and neither should anyone else. Your hair is a personal choice. People need to learn tolerance. And we as women of colour need to start setting our OWN standard of beauty.

That is all.

Dress: Shop Brett Robson

Shot by: Guido Griffin