What Spending A Half A Trillion Dollars on Hair Care and Weaves Says About Us

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Wright, stylist to the first lady Michelle Obama, Softsheen-Carson artistic style director and celebrity stylist doesn’t dabble in the controversy surrounding weave – he just creates. To him weave placement is just another avenue to crafting a clients’ look that best fits with her lifestyle.

When he works with weave what remains paramount in his mind is maintaining the overall quality and strength of the clients’ natural hair and scalp. Wright believes you should interview your beautician as if she were your doctor because improper weave placement can lead to baldness. Furthermore, he stressed that children should not be getting weave due to the pressure on the scalp.

“It’s not about how long a period of time (weave is worn). It’s more so if you are not taking care of your natural hair and scalp”, he said.

When the scalp is continuously irritated the hair follicles can break resulting in a form of baldness known as traction alopecia, a condition that causes the hair to break from repeated and severe braiding, weaving, extensions or tight ponytails.

Why you got a problem with my do?

Imagine what could be accomplished in the African American community with even half of the $507 Billion Dollars annually spent on hair care products. Now stop, because such fancy is just a pipe dream and unfortunately the real economic figures do not bode well for the African American community as critiqued by social scholars. For no matter how you try to spin the debate – fashion fabulous hair is connected to our need to be accepted by the dominate culture – as beautiful, as equal – as worthy.

“The deep seated psychological and social conditioning to see white features and light skin as the most desirable, and signature of beauty and acceptance has not diminished,” commented Earl Ofari Hutchinson, author and social commentator.

“If anything as we move further from the black pride and consciousness of the 1960s with an entire new generation, the psychic reconditioning toward a natural style of beauty has gotten further removed.”

 

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