What is “Black hair”? What makes Black hair so special? What is cultural appropriation? What’s the difference between appreciation and appropriation? Black hair is a category of hairstyles that are created and culturally maintained by Black people. Hairstyles such as cornrows, box braids, Fulani braids, and micro braids are all hairstyles meant for Black people due to the history of the hairstyle. But unfortunately, some people don’t understand them. More specifically, some white people’s use of these hairstyles is considered cultural appropriation. Some white people are fully aware that it is not okay to wear these hairstyles, while some of them think that they are appreciating the culture. And for the white people that believe that they are appreciating the culture, some of their excuses can be: “Well I grew up with Black people, so I believe I can wear my hair in braids,” or “I love the Black community so I want to show it.” But they never truly ask how Black people feel about it.

A Boston University undergraduate student, Janelle Williams, said she’s “not a fan” of white people wearing Black hairstyles. “I feel like Black hair is personal to our journey and our history. It's a way to protect our natural hair and be symbolic.” Williams had been dealing with personal racism herself as she had to drop her cross country team due to the racism she was facing as the only Black woman on her team. And during her time as a tutor for Upward Bound, a federally funded program where high school students can succeed in college, students and tutors spend a lot of time talking about hair and what different products they use, as everyone has textured hair. “I don’t want to hear excuses. You can appreciate it but not put it on your head.”

On social media, there have been thousands of Black women speaking out against white women wearing braids and calling out the women that are partaking in the appropriation, mainly on the social media platform, TikTok. Cailen Easely, a Black woman social justice advocate, called out a non-Black woman for wearing box braids. The woman in question was on TikTok live with a fresh new set of braids. Some of the viewers watching were commenting such as “That’s cultural appropriation,” and “Are you black?” The woman on live then said, “What the f-- does being black have to do with me doing braids?” She then began comparing her having braids to a Black woman going to the salon and getting a blowout. She claimed “reverse appropriation”, also dismissing commenters telling her that it is Black culture and saying, “Just because something is another culture, I can’t do it? That makes no sense.” Cailene Easely then came into the screen, after showing her audience the screen recording of the live, and corrected her statements, “You getting braids is not the equivalent of a Black woman getting a blowout.” The people [non-Black people] that are doing these hairstyles are doing it to look ambiguous. To make people question what their race/ethnicity is, “I can look at a Black woman with a blowout and know that that’s a Black woman with a blowout,” said Easely. Easely then went on to mention that the non-Black woman in the live show did not care about Black people. It’s more than just a “cute little hairstyle,” it has a history behind it and she did not have a care in the world to think about where she went wrong.

This leads to the question, what is the history of Black hairstyles? What are the cultural significance of Black hairstyles? Braids have been around for centuries, all the way back to even before 3500 BC. In a lot of African tribes, one’s hair was a marker of identity. Their braids would represent their age, their tribe, marital status, power, and much more. To them, it was art. It represented them, it spoke for them. According to Genesis Career College, cornrows started in Africa in 3000 BC. The style was used to show their status in society. During slavery, people used to braid rice into their cornrows to have food on their way to freedom. They even used cornrows to create maps to escape slavery. In today’s time, it can be used as a protective hairstyle, or be used as art on a Black person’s head. Ghana braids were first seen in sacred carving and sculptures in 500 BC. They’re pretty similar to cornrows but what makes them different is that they start in a small pattern and move into a larger pattern until tapering it off at the end. Fulani braids are made by the Fula people, also known as the Fulani people. They mainly reside in West Africa and include more than 250 ethnic groups. The hairstyle is typically styled with beads, shells, or even family silver coins. Dreadlocks originated in Africa, not Jamaica, as most people think. This style dates back to 2500 BC. Even mummified pharaohs have kept their dreadlocks intact. It represents different meanings in different cultures, but the original meaning was to represent the person’s age or marital status. The hair tied back was to show their face and that they were ready for marriage. Finally, box braids started back in 3500 BC. This style can “take up to eight hours to create.” The women with these braids were believed to be able to afford the time and cost of the braids–they were “women of wealth.” It represents their readiness for marriage, and economic status, and can be decorated with beads, shells, and jewelry.

Braiding is more than just pop culture. It’s history. Celebrities like the Kardashian/Jenner family who wear cornrows or what they like to call “boxed braids” are problematic and embarrassing. But of course, due to their dominance in society, huge fanbase, and numerous companies, clothing, and makeup lines they own, they will never be held accountable for it and will continue to wear cornrows, making other white women think it’s okay to wear Black hairstyles. They have deemed braids to be seen as “exotic” on white women but unprofessional on Black women.

The American government passed laws about Black women wearing certain hairstyles because it’s “unprofessional.” For example, The Tignon Law, established in 1786, made it illegal for Black women to show their natural hair in public. This law forced Black women to wear knotted headdresses to attract less attention. The beauty of Black women wearing their hair naturally and embracing an “exotic” appearance was threatening to white women, especially the women who were married to French and Spanish Creole men. Also, many Black women who wore their hair naturally were openly mistresses to French and Spanish Creole men, which is why it was probably threatening to white women. The point of the Tignon Law was to shame Black women for expressing themselves. But they fought back by making head scarves fashion statements by the use of different colored head scarves and different wrapping techniques.

Because of the Tignon Law, jobs could reject you because of your hair. Researchers at Duke University found that Black people with more natural hairstyles were “less likely to land job interviews than white women with straightened hair or Black women with straightened hair.” Sometimes Black women feel the need to even go as far as to perm their hair to align with more fundamentalist standards in their work environment.

School and educational environments are just as bad, as some school districts have banned Black hairstyles. Because of the ban, students are prevented or have to take an extra step to attend activities like prom, sports activities, clubs and extracurricular activities, and even graduation. Hair discrimination goes back as early as kindergarten, with some experiencing it as young as 5 years old. There have been circumstances where teachers and/or staff ask their students to cut their hair before coming into the classroom. To go home and come in the next day without the braids they had in with beads or even the afro and to tie it up. And when Black students simply say, “No” they get suspended for violating dress code policies, putting them in an environment where they are viewed as “a bad kid.” Because of the predicaments, they’re put in, researchers at Princeton University found that the punishments placed on students “on a trajectory towards poor academic performance, leading to higher dropout rates, gang involvement, and getting arrested before the age of 21.”

In 2019, the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act was created. The CROWN Act is a California law that prohibits discrimination toward hairstyles and hair textures. It is also the first bill in the United States that outlaws hair discrimination. The goal is to have all 50 states pass this bill, but only about 12-13 states have passed the bill, and Massachusetts passing similar legislation with slightly different versions. But there are still other states that still dismiss new employers or students because of their hair because “it’s too distracting” or “it’s unprofessional.” Or Black people having to hear at a job interview “I would hire you but…” and go on about how their hair is too unprofessional for the work environment. And statements like these and constantly facing hair discrimination can make Black women feel less than and affect their mental health.

Constantly facing hair discrimination can put societal and psychological pressures on Black women that won’t allow them to embrace their natural hair. Examples could be getting rejected by salons and getting made fun of in school or at work for embracing their natural hair. Also having to cancel on people because their hair is not done causes a lot of stress on them. All of these reasons can cause Black women to perm (or relax) their hair. Though there is nothing wrong with relaxing your hair, some Black women do it for the wrong purpose, stripping them away from a good relationship with their natural hair.

A good relationship with your hair means knowing the right products and keeping your hair healthy. Unfortunately, cheaper and Black-owned hair products are being bought by big companies owned by white people. With the dominance, these companies have over the products (products like Cantu, Shea Moisture, and Carol’s Daughter that were all formally Black-owned hair products that were then bought by companies like Unilever) the ingredients changed, making Black people feel like they cannot use their favorite hair products anymore, so they spend a lot more money each time they go to the store for hair products, especially because natural products are a lot more expensive, ranging from $5 to $50. With thicker and a lot of head hair, Black people go through these products monthly. And the demographics of least paid people in the United States are Black women.

Because of the stress of consistently buying good-quality hair products that are expensive, constant bullying about wearing their natural hair to school or work, and feeling like the social pressures of having straight hair, as Euro-centric features are praised, Black women take the easy route of relaxing their hair, as an ORS Olive Oil relaxer set is $8 at Target or their local beauty supply store. Some Black women are not doing it properly, causing their hair to fall out or receding hairlines. And some Black women put relaxers in their daughter’s hair as a child, meaning the child doesn’t get to choose whether or not they want the relaxer in their hair, causing their curl pattern to be messed up as an adult, especially if they want their curls back, again causing a lot of stress on trying to maintain their hair.

White people have so much dominance in society that they can braid their hair, steal the hair products that work specifically for us, and not be confronted about it. And when Black people voice how uncomfortable they are, they go unheard. Braids are not exotic. Not everyone can share the same hair products. White people can appreciate the culture by observing, complementing (without touching someone’s hair), doing their research, and learning more about the culture. But doing it and partaking in the culture as if it’s theirs, regardless if they grew up around it or not, is a problem. Not only is it embarrassing to their person, but it also contributes to white supremacy. Braids, hair products, edges, and Black hairstyles are all sacred and meant for them and it wouldn’t be fair for someone to steal them.