No woman or girl child should ever be told to “fix their hair”.
This is according to Simone Thomas, the mind behind KroesRocks, an organisation based in Kuils River, and that is on a mission to dismantle the Western conceptions of what “beautiful hair” looks like.
MatieMedia spoke to some local businesses that are dismantling Western perceptions of beauty and helping women embrace their natural hair.
“I am working towards having a healthier relationship with my hair, no matter the comments [and] no matter what society believes hair should look like on a girl,” said Lebone Moiloa, a Stellenbosch University student. PHOTO: Andrea de Lilly
Beauty does not equal straight hair
Western conceptions of hair are still viewed as “ideal”, according to Thomas. “Chemical relaxers, treatments, and styling tools to alter hair’s natural texture and appearance still generate the highest profits in the haircare industry,” she claimed.
According to Thomas, hair straightening points to a standard that the previous generation aspired to and taught their children to aspire to. However, businesses such as Thomas’ are hoping to counter that standard.
Catering to different hair types
“The Western type of hair is certainly still seen as the ‘ideal’ type of hair,” said Hope Tladi, a Stellenbosch University (SU) student with a braiding business. However, she added that this ideal has relaxed over the years.
Tladi started her business in 2020, she said. “[It] started as a hobby to braid myself and friends [hair],” she said. However, due to financial constraints, Tladi decided to make a business out of it.
There are hair products for people of colour (POC), however, some of the products for type 4C hair (Afro kinky hair) are “super expensive and non-reachable to some POC”, said Cynthia Abrahams, another SU student who braids hair.
According to Princess Motloung, a Stellenbosch University student who runs a braiding business, it is important for those on a natural hair journey to find which hair products work best for their hair. PHOTO: Andrea de Lilly
Embarking on the ‘natural hair journey’
When people do decide to embark on their own natural hair journey, it is essential not to compare one’s hair – or hair journey – to that of anyone else, said Thomas.
For Tatum Dorkin, a BEd student with type 4B hair (curly hair), her natural hair journey was not without struggle. “My mother always kept our hair natural, but family members would always tell her, ‘you need to relax [chemical treatment] these children’s hair, their hair is too thick’,” said Dorkin.
Tatum Dorkin, a BEd student at Stellenbosch University, spoke about her hair journey and the route she took to begin embracing her hair. AUDIO: Andrea de Lilly
“Hair is beauty,” said Dorkin, recalling how her grandmother equated having “good hair” as being a symbol of beauty.
“I feel like I am still trying to be comfortable in my natural hair,” said Camryn Clutters, a BEng student at SU. She explained that there are days when she has to remind herself that her natural hair is not untidy.
“It’s not untidy. It’s just what society has made us believe; that big and curly hair is untidy.”
“I am glad that I am falling in love with my hair now,” said Dorkin.