Subject Eye

A Short Hairstory

I was never one to fuss with my hair. I decided to wear it very short many years ago. Not because I felt politicized or wanted to make some sort of Afro-centric statement. I believe the short-cropped style I sport looks good with my head size and facial features, and hair care can take up quite a bit a time and money. I made a conscious choice to use my time daily for other exploits: clothing, art, food, daydreaming, books, skincare, music, and tending to my other various obsessions. I guess you have to choose your battles.

It is not a fluke that the first African-American millionaire in the US was Sarah Breedlove, who was known as Madame C.J. Walker. She earned her great profits by developing hair care products for women with high melanin content. I guess she figured out that women would pay anything to make their hair do something it was not meant to do. Like become straight. I knew after the hot comb experiences of my youth that I would try to avoid replicating any part of this activity as an adult. I also made a promise to myself avoid the advanced chemistry class that is the deployment of ‘relaxer’ on my hair. If I have to be high strung, I’ll be damned if I let my hair relax.

I did try to wear hair extensions. Once. I went on a dinner date, and one of the bolder extensions chose to fall off my head and onto the table, so I was done with that nonsense. I also wore a wig to a fashion event. Once. I thought I was channeling my inner Sophia Loren, but more than one person told me they were confused by my ‘Church Lady’ look.

People make the mistake of thinking that it’s easy to sport a shorter hairstyle. I can tell you it is not. While it may seem easier because I can “do” my hair in approximately 37 seconds, it is no picnic to hear the comments my hair seems to provoke. I cannot control random children from shouting “Mommy, Mommy look, that lady’s bald!” — which I am not, by the way (the little brat). I also have to find someone who can cut my hair every few weeks. It’s not an easy task: my hair grows in unusual patterns, much akin to crop circles.

The best person I found who truly understood how to cut my hair was from Uzbekistan. The first thing he said to me was, “You have nappy hair’. To which I answered: “That is not the kind of thing one says to ensure repeat business from me.” But as he clipped I had to ponder: “There’s nappy hair in Uzbekistan?”

I love my hair and I don’t think I’ll change its style any time soon. As long as my head remains streamlined, so shall my hair remain closely cropped. 

Sporting my short hair. Photo by Joshua Sobel of Buddhatron. 

I took this photo of my friend, model Fatou N'Diaye. She wears her hair short too.