Melissa Chekwa
TAKING note of the sudden short haircuts by many women, one would really assume they attended a ladies summit that told them taking it back to the roots was the new in-thing.
From Brazilian to cornrows to short haircuts over a short space of time is the trend that has taken over the city and most probably the whole nation.
The trend that has been adopted by most black women has seen some saying this is their time to embrace and appreciate their natural states while some say they got their inspirations from prominent celebrities who also have been embracing their short hair.
Girls are revealing that following celebrities like Nandi Madida, Pokello Nare, DJ Zinhle, Ranaka Manaka and Dawn Thandeka among the most who know how to rock short hair was one of the reasons they are opting for short and tinted hair for others.
One lady said she had been following Nandi Madida for long and she admitted that she had never seen a hairstyle so elegant and effortless.
Arguing, one may assume that the sudden trend is triggered by the sky rocketing prices of “decent hairstyles” that most ladies cannot afford to do and maintain. Most of the ladies do admit that the financial muscle does play a role in them opting for this hairstyle.
They listed that it is very cheap to do, very cheap to maintain and apart from finances, ladies are strongly going with this fever because most claim that it is saving on their time. So fitting it in their busy schedules was not really a hustle.
Meeting another lady who was rocking sassy bush locks with her short hair, she said she wanted to try out something new and explore the complexities of her kinky hair.
Although she had her wig snatched from her head by amapara (street kids who snatch Brazilian wigs from heads and sell them to buy drugs) in town, she could have entered the salon to relax her hair into something neat but she went into the salon for a haircut and bush locks on top of that.
Street corners are classified by all types of fade cuts these days. Like the ones I have been coming across, I have been noticing that some have simple cuts while some are rocking it in different cuts of fade. In all those different cuts, ladies are slaying in shades of blonde, platinum, ruby red, pink and purple. Perhaps more shades are yet to come up.
The perception that has always been embraced by most is that a woman’s beauty is identified by the type of hairstyle and hair that she has. As such, in the past, most females have been on a mission of hiding their kinky hair under Hollywood hairstyles that black females have been rocking.
But for these ladies who feel so much free and beautiful cutting off their hair has somehow contributed to a boost of their self-esteem. They said they feel beautiful. They feel like they can do and achieve anything.
The Conversation (an online journal) says today’s natural hair trend mirrors a rejection of post-racial thinking. Wearing natural hair allows upwardly-mobile black women to assert their identity despite white supremacist norms.
“You know that nice feeling of heads turning when you are passing by and hearing all sorts of beautiful compliments of how nice you look from people who are used to seeing you with plaited hair. Now that’s a very good feeling,” exclaimed one lady.
Leaving a word for most who have adopted the trend, ladies do not neglect yourselves. The fact that you now have short hair doesn’t mean you have to wake up in the morning and just dress up without giving your hair attention.
Your hair is your crown, give it the care it deserves, and apply chemicals like hair food and oils after shampooing it. If you won’t put a head wrap when sleeping (because those blankets have a way of misbehaving) then make sure in the morning you pay attention to that because the last thing you need is to have people giving you zombie stares.
It’s your birthright crown. Own it.
