“If you are a Black woman, hair is serious business. Your hair is considered by many the definitive statement about who you are, who you think you are, and who you want to be.”
— Marita Golden, from "Me, My Hair, and I: Twenty-seven Women Untangle and Obsession"

#BlackGirlMagic

[blak gur maj-ik] n. anything casting a positive or uplifting light on black women.

It’s used to celebrate anything inspiring, spectacular, or otherwise awesome about black women. First started by CaShawn Thompson’s use of #BlackGirlsAreMagic in 2013, the hashtag has gained popularity over the past five years. She started using the hashtag because she believed that sometimes the reason why black womens’ accomplishments might seem to come out of thin air is because the only people supporting them are other black women.  Their achievements are like “magic”. 

(Source: Thomas, Dexter, LA Times article “Why everyone’s saying ‘Black Girls are Magic’”, 2015)

 

"Hair matters because it's always around, framing our faces, growing in, falling out, getting frizzy, changing colors--in short, demanding our attention: Comb me! Wash me! Relax me! Color me! It's always there, conveying messages about who we are and what we want."

- Elizabeth Benedict, "Me, My Hair, and I: Twenty-Seven Women Untangle an Obsession"

"And so before they were staples of the multibillion-dollar hair-care industry, our dependency on tools and products, like the hair relaxer and the pressing comb, were more about our survival and advancement as a race in post-slavery America."

– Cheyenne Cochrane, "A Celebration of Natural Hair" TEDxTalk

"If you are a Black woman, hair is serious business. Your hair is considered by many the definitive statement about who you are, who you think you are, and who you want to be.

-Marita Golden, “Me, My Hair, and I: Twenty-Seven Women Untangle an Obsession

A salon is a community center. Just like a barber shop, ladies (and men, too) gather there not only to have their hair serviced by a professional, but to engage in what’s new and connect with other local women and young ladies. In the salons I’ve been to, everyone speaks to each other when someone new comes in through the door, sharing a smile and saying at least a simple greeting. Conversation ebbs and flows, rising for a hilarious re-enactment of getting tired while learning CPR, and slowing for news of a friend that had a death in the family. A supportive space where black women can relax, laugh, and freely share what’s on their mind, the black salon is an integral part of black communities across the US and to black culture.

“For black women, hair matters embody one's identity, beauty, power, and consciousness."

- Ingrid Banks, "Hair Matters, Hair Matters: Beauty, Power, and Black Women's Consciousness"

Barber shops have always been, and remain, centers of community. Back in the day, you'd hear all the news, get the stories, and the gossip at the barbershop. In smaller towns and neighborhoods someone would make their rounds to come to your house to cut hair. Or it could be that a friend or family member had a chair and some clippers and they would cut you and your siblings' hair before church on Sundays.

“That’s probably the uniqueness of a barbershop. At least this barbershop here is what I love. The conversation, the people. You never know who you’re going to see.”
— Trevon, client from His Image Barber Shop and Natural Hair Studio

"Being open minded, being humble, taking pride in what you do, and having some sort of accountability I think has been helpful to make what we have here now. And family. If I didn't have my family, it probably wouldn't be as good as it is."

-Will, Co-owner of His Image Barber Shop and Natural Hair Studio (pictured above)

Parts.

One of a few bold lines cut into the scalp to provide contrast or definition in a cut. Something so simple as three lines, three parts, inspires pride.

"That’s probably the uniqueness of a barbershop. At least this barbershop here is what I love. The conversation, the people. You never know who you’re going to see.”

-Trevon, client from His Image Barber Shop and Natural Hair Studio

"Coming to a work atmosphere that we have a lot of fun like this... We work, we cuttin' hair, but we playin' the whole time. That's real cool. You don't really get that everywhere."

- Jamal, barber at His Image Barber Shop and Natural Hair Studio

Adornments.

When Yolonda, the stylist pictured, asked the young man in this photo if he thought she'd put enough adornments in his hair, he smiled and asked for a few more.

Locs, also known as dreadlocks, locks, or dreads, are formed by parted sections of hair fusing together into rope-like lengths of hair. It is a common misconception that locs are somehow “dirty.” Locs can be styled, dyed, trimmed, and washed like single strands of hair can be. Like with any other head of hair, if you wash your hair and take care of it, it will be clean and healthy. 

Loss to Liberation

To stand in solidarity with her sister who was diagnosed with cancer, the woman pictured made the choice to shave her head bald. With permission to share her story, I photographed her progression from wavy locs to straight-razor shaved bald.

It was a few days before Christmas when she came into the shop. She took a seat to wait for Will, her barber, and recorded a message for her sister and family. She told them that what she was about to do was out of love for her sister. When Will was ready, she took a seat in his chair, removed her glasses, and said a prayer.

Then, small section by small section, Will used clippers to buzz off her locs. He handed each section to her and she collected them into a ponytail. While he worked, the Christmas music which was playing in the background slowed, the soulful voices of Luther Vandross, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey filling the shop. She sang along to them as she shed a few tears.

When the last section of locs were cut off, the music changed. Her tears stopped. No one changed the channel, but it was as if her loss had lifted and with it the tempo of the music.

At her request, Will took her hair down as far as he could with clippers and then down to the shortest possible length with a straight razor. When he was done, he handed her the mirror so she could inspect the cut. She touched the top of her head. “It’s so much colder now.” They laughed. She let out a sigh then smiled at her reflection, now liberated of its hair.

She recorded her "after" reaction for her family and gathered her belongings, tucking her ponytail of locs into her purse. She’d brought a hat to cover her head after the cut,  but said as she was leaving, “That’s all right—I don’t need it.” 

 

“My work is really about making people feel good about who they are and the hair that's growing out of their scalp as it is. It feels revolutionary to some people to just accept it as it is...I'm so grateful for the space and for people trusting me to partner with them in their own personal evolution journey.”

– Yolonda, Co-owner, His Image Barber Shop and Natural Hair Salon

“My work is really about making people feel good about who they are and the hair that’s growing out of their scalp as it is. It feels revolutionary to some people to just accept it as it is...I’m so grateful for the space and for people trusting me to partner with them in their own personal evolution journey.”
— Yolonda, Co-owner, His Image Barber Shop and Natural Hair Studio

"Like snowflakes, each dreadlock is different, has its own configuration, its own breadth and feel."

- Anne Lamott, from "Me, My Hair, and I: Twenty-seven Women Untangle An Obsession."

This is Leonette and she’s on her second loc journey. She started her first locs in 2006 simply because she wanted to go natural. She’d just finished college, moved to Charlottesville for her first job, and was living on her own, so she found someone to start her locs.  She remarked, “Even though I went to an HBCU, you would think that they are model naturals. But in the 2000s, not so much.”

Some of that influence she thinks comes from the older generations: the parents and the grandparents. For their generations, it was more common for black people to wear their hair straightened (for women) or in a short, modest cut (for men). For these generations, having light skin and straight hair was in higher regard both inside and outside of the black community, simply because white and whiteness was in the highest regard. Curly, kinky hair and/or dark skin made a black person seem unruly, uneducated, dirty or even savage-like. Toxic bleaching creams promised lighter skin and pressing combs straightened the tightest of curls into something more “manageable”. To survive as a race and to show our worth to a society that didn’t deem us worthy, we had to appeal to white people by looking like them, by looking white. Given this history, understandably, the older generations they might have a little concern or find going natural to be odd. Even though there are naturals down south, Leonette found herself getting curious questions like: “So what are you doing again?”, “How long do you need to go through with this?”, or “Is this just a little phase you’re going through?”

She had her first set of locs for 10 years and then something told her to cut them. She was natural for a year and started her second pair, the ones she’s pictured with, in December of 2016.

Leonette loves her hair in locs and she loved her curl pattern when she cut her hair, but her favorite thing about her hair is the one gray strand she has on the top of her head. “I would have never discovered it in my first set of locs, It wasn’t until I cut it and I was like, ‘Ooooh! It’s a grey hair!” She said with glee, pointing to the spot. “It’s my one grey strand and I check on it every day.”

“By the waning years of the Black Power movement, African Americans had been indelibly affected by the fundamental goal of self-love, radical pride, and community affirmation...Natural hair on black people was not viewed as bizarre.”
— Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar, from "Black Power 50"

Versatility I: Two-strand Twists Pulled into a Bun

"But there's nothing I can do, or wanted to do, about being a black female — I kind of like both of those things. So at the end of the day, the people who were around me had to do a little bit more adjusting than I did. ... And if you're faced with people who can't deal with it, there's not much I can do."

-Ursula Burns, Former CEO of Xerox and First Black Woman to lead a Fortune 500 Company

(Source: NPR Article, Xerox CEO: 'If You Don't Transform, You're Stuck', 2012)

Versatility II: Twist Out

At least a day in advance of a twist-out style, hair is twisted in two-strand twists and is put into a style, like a braid or a low bun, that allows the hair to gently stretch. Stretching the hair allows it to gain some length. Hair released from its twists creates the twist out style. Argan oil, or a similar product, is applied with care to protect hair from drying out and to provide sheen.

Versatility III: Straight

It can be a labor of love to straighten natural hair. With its extremely curly texture, straightening the entirety of the hair from root to end can take an hour or longer depending on length and thickness. The right oils and products must be used to keep humidity from frizzing the hair or making it poofy. But, if it's too humid, even the perfect concoction of products might not keep hair bone straight.

Versatility IV: Wash n' Go

The basics of a wash and go are simple: wash hair, apply product to allow it curl while it air dries, and go. The technique to get the "perfect" wash n' go varies with difference in curl pattern.

Versatility V: Bantu Knots (formed with pre-straightened hair)

The word "Bantu" is an all-encompassing word used to describe the 300 to 600 ethnic groups that reside in southern Africa. "Bantu" means "people". Bantu knots are a protective hairstyle that can be done with curly or straightened hair. Hair is sectioned, twisted, then wrapped around at the scalp until it forms a knot. The end is tucked into place under the knot and a bobby pin holds it in place. Bantu knots are also called Zulu knots, named for the Zulu people that originated the style. A Bantu knot is not a "mini-bun" or "twisted mini-bun", though sometimes referred to as such. Removing the words "Bantu", or "Zulu" and "knot" strips the hairstyle of its cultural background. 

(Source: ebony.com article "The History of Bantu Knots", 2016)

Versatility VI: Bantu Knot Out

Regardless of the style or frequency with which her style changes, it's the same woman underneath the curls, twists, straight hair, bantu knots, braids, weave, wig or other style. There's nothing to be mystified about. When a black woman changes her hair it's no different than another woman wearing a ponytail one day, french braid the next, wavy on the third day, or deciding to dye it purple. A compliment like, "Your hair is awesome today!" or "I love your hair!" is the perfect way to acknowledge her change in style. 

Versatility VII: Wig

You paid for it, right? Okay, then it's your hair. 

“Because this—this is more than about a hairstyle. It’s about self-love and self-worth. It’s about the pressure of others’ expectations. And about knowing that making the decision to stray from the norm does not define who we are, but it simply reveals who we are.”
— Cheyenne Cochrane, from "A Celebration of Natural Hair" TED Talk

Black women have a playbook of styles, allowing them to transform their hair from day to day if they chose. Some styles have to be practiced and sometimes, to score, you need an assist from a friend or stylist.

“Because this—this is more than about a hairstyle. It’s about self-love and self-worth. It’s about the pressure of others’ expectations. And about knowing that making the decision to stray from the norm does not define who we are, but it simply reveals who we are.”

-Cheyenne Cochrane, from "A Celebration of Natural Hair" TED Talk

While we might not have memories from the first time our hair was done, I like to think that the feeling of having our hair done by someone we love or look up to is engrained in us. We'll remember the curiosity we felt from watching bubble gum pink hair lotion go from bottle and into our hair. We’ll remember the distinct smell of Dax hair grease or Ultra Sheen. We'll remember the snap of colorful barrettes, securing our ends, and that soothing feeling when Mom scratched your head. We’ll remember the tug and pull of detangling and the constant struggle of keeping your head down or turned a certain way. Our hair is more than just hair. Memories and emotions are tangled in our locks. How we style it and why we chose to wear that style not only affects how other see us, but how we see ourselves. 

"Every night before I go to bed, Mama combs my hair. I sit between her knees, resting my elbows on her thighs, like pillows."

-Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, "I Love My Hair!"

 

A special thank you to His Image Barber Shop and Natural Hair Studio and Ebony Images Salon (both of Charlottesville, VA) for allowing me and my camera into your place of business; to the clients of both businesses that allowed me to photograph them and that shared their stories and experiences; and to my friends and family that modeled and reviewed early drafts of this project. THANK YOU!