People say that their hair reflects who they are from follicle to ends. My hair exemplifies my sassy personality. The fiery hue makes me feel dangerous. The short cut makes me feel sexy. The natural texture makes me feel closer to my soul. I’ve been natural for about three months now and my hair is all natural. So if my hair reflects who I am, then real would be the best word.
I am proud to say that I have never glued, sewed or laced a track into my head. Now, I know you ask why I haven’t, and I have an answer. It is because if I were to put some other woman’s hair into mine, it would make me feel like someone I am not. Weave and the accompanying products are a big time industry.
Some women will get their “hair did” before buying books for class. There are two popular types of weave and sometimes you can’t tell the difference between them. The first of the weaves is the long Milky Way Indian Remy that costs $500 an ounce. It feels and looks real.
It’ll last about 17 months if you really take care of it. The latter is the $12.99 synthetic weave on sale in a bin at Hair City.
Sometimes I wonder if women really know or care to know where their hair extensions come from. Weave is not always from a horse’s bottom, but rather it is often farmed on a non-African woman’s head. Their hair is cut off when it has reached its peak length.
The woman is left near bald, while Ms. Hair City walks around looking like an imitation Beyoncé. After the woman’s hair is cut off, it is then boiled and textured to fit the price and color of the latest trend, packaged and shipped across the Atlantic to the weave emporiums of America. So for all the Remy wraps out there and the milky ways floating by, does that REALLY reflect who you are?
For every pack of weave you buy, women go bald, and the more you keep wearing the weave, the higher chances of damaging your real hair. But hey, who am I to judge? The definition of me includes a picture of a nappy headed African American woman with all her glorious natural kinks.
I am also a woman free of guilt inducing weave because I don’t allow someone else’s hair to cascade down my back, while the original owner is left bald.
Donneka Green is a sophomore mass communication major from Gainesville, Fla.