Hair adds an essential beauty to your looks and brings them out because it is the first thing someone will see when they look at you. There are things that people don’t know about braids so I am here to tell you about it. First things first, what is a braid? How does it represent your culture? Where did it originate from? A braid is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing three or more strands of hair, braids originated from the Himba people of Namibia, Africa 5,000 years ago. They represent African-American Culture in their way of making their identity by expressing their beauty and resisting Eurocentric beauty standards.

My favorite quote about braids is “Braids are not just a style; this craft is a form of art” by Pace. My hair has been a daily life struggle and challenge for me because it needs to get braided or I won’t look neat, more like a scattered rat nest.  My type of hair is curly but very short and quite challenging to pack similar to an Afro. What my hair is to me is like a protection: it feels soft, thick, and hard. What my hair says about me is that I am weak, kind, amazing, shy, and strong. Nobody knows this because it is not discussed enough but Yes! Hair is a form of self-expression that brings out your facial expressions, the color of your eyes, your hair color, and the clothes you wear daily. Attachments are what hair stylists use to make my natural hair look longer. It is like an extension of hair from small metal rings or beads (usually aluminum) and can sometimes be lined with silicone. There are so many attachment colors. My top recommendation is mixing brown and white together. If the color of your braid is red, I recommend wearing brown, black, blue, and pink clothes. For blue I recommend blue jeans with a white tank top and a blue jean jacket maybe also a black gown etc.

C’mon, let’s dive even deeper into fashion! What my hair says about my culture is that it symbolizes resistance, freedom, hopefulness, love, power, and fruition. What I love about my hair is that you can style it in so many ways not only in braids but also in thread, Bantu knots, twists, dreadlocks, wool, cornrows, Jheri curls, and many more. People always ask me whether my hair adds more to my natural hair and the answer is very clear yes, 100% because without it we would all be bald under the hot scorching sun that almost reflects like a mirror. Why do you ask? Because it has always been with us since we were born, here are some very few things about my hair that I hate and love. When I get it done it is very hard to sleep because of the pain. It is expensive and also depends on your style. If the style you choose is hard to make, your wallet will decrease. It is very heavy the first three days and adding beads makes it more serious. It takes about 5 hours to get it done depending on how fast your hair stylist is and the style that is chosen. Lastly, a final comment I have is braiding your hair repeatedly and excessively can doubt hair growth by the slightest.

Thanks for reading!