ysabetwordsmith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2018-08-21 03:54 am
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2018-08-21 03:54 am
Entry tags:
Black Hair for Non-Black Creators
This is an excellent reference. It goes into detail about different styles with some tidbits of culture and history.
When I write black characters, I base their hair on what black people do. The ones who want to fit in wear a style with straightened hair or some kind of hairpiece which mimics that. Fashionable ones often go for box braids or twists. More expressive folks may wear cornrows, dreadlocks, a big afro, or actual African styles such as Bantu knots. People who want a no-nonsense style typically choose a short afro or shave it off. It's the expressive ones -- the things that make it obvious how black you are -- that tend to upset white people and thus are worn primarily by black people who don't mind sticking up for their own hair.
Now I have an ulterior resource; despite my pale skin, my hair is loosely nappy. It comes with a kitchen. It can break "unbreakable" hair equipment. I shop for hair care products in the ethnic aisle. When braided, it loses about a third of its wet length; when loose and freshly dried, it loses about half its length and forms a giant mane. I've had a lot of the experiences which come with nappy hair, and while my skin color has spared me the worst of them, I still sympathize. If my skin were darker, I'm sure I'd have the rest of those experiences. People just didn't know what they were seeing on me.
But anyone can do a good job of writing or drawing African-textured hair simply by using references that black folks use. There are lots of articles about how to wash, dry, detangle, moisturize, style, and otherwise handle such hair. Plus a lot of talk about what the styles tend to mean, who wears them, and the whole cultural baggage train of issues around it. Handle with care, but don't ignore it. Diversity matters.
I still think it's adorable that one of the whitest characters I have, Shiv, knows a lot about black hair care because he grew up in a lot of black families, at least one of which did not entirely suck. He actually puts a dab of shea butter on his hair to keep it from flying in his face all the time.
When I write black characters, I base their hair on what black people do. The ones who want to fit in wear a style with straightened hair or some kind of hairpiece which mimics that. Fashionable ones often go for box braids or twists. More expressive folks may wear cornrows, dreadlocks, a big afro, or actual African styles such as Bantu knots. People who want a no-nonsense style typically choose a short afro or shave it off. It's the expressive ones -- the things that make it obvious how black you are -- that tend to upset white people and thus are worn primarily by black people who don't mind sticking up for their own hair.
Now I have an ulterior resource; despite my pale skin, my hair is loosely nappy. It comes with a kitchen. It can break "unbreakable" hair equipment. I shop for hair care products in the ethnic aisle. When braided, it loses about a third of its wet length; when loose and freshly dried, it loses about half its length and forms a giant mane. I've had a lot of the experiences which come with nappy hair, and while my skin color has spared me the worst of them, I still sympathize. If my skin were darker, I'm sure I'd have the rest of those experiences. People just didn't know what they were seeing on me.
But anyone can do a good job of writing or drawing African-textured hair simply by using references that black folks use. There are lots of articles about how to wash, dry, detangle, moisturize, style, and otherwise handle such hair. Plus a lot of talk about what the styles tend to mean, who wears them, and the whole cultural baggage train of issues around it. Handle with care, but don't ignore it. Diversity matters.
I still think it's adorable that one of the whitest characters I have, Shiv, knows a lot about black hair care because he grew up in a lot of black families, at least one of which did not entirely suck. He actually puts a dab of shea butter on his hair to keep it from flying in his face all the time.
no subject
I used to get their emails because I wanted (Still want to) go to Essence Fest. Like that's a thing on our to-do list before we die. They used to pitch ethnic hair products all, the, time! in those. I just never knew which one to pick, and at the time Jay wasn't around enough to give me pointers.
-Fallon~
Well ...
The most recent round of my hair requiring extra attention, it started clinging to the styling brush I was using at the time, so I did research and identified products. I found a detangling brush which has widely spaced plastic bristles without knobs on the end, which works great. It took two tries to find a detangling spray that's slick enough. But none of that stuff was readily accessible when I was younger.
Also, there is now a lot more information about hair texture, behavior, and what that means in terms of shopping. Labels tell you what the stuff is supposed to do, and what hair types it's recommended for. I'm not sure if the category of butters and creams is labeled for making fine hair stop flying around, but at least the natural ones serve that purpose. *ponder* You might try detangling spray too. It weighs down my hair a bit the first time I put it on.
Also think about the type of control you want. Some products like hair spray, gel, and curling creams tend to make the hair "crunchy" and stiff. Others like moisturizing butters don't do that, but will make it heavier while still soft, so it doesn't break. That also makes it less frizzy and rambunctious.
One thing that I didn't think to try earlier: ask at a specialty hair shop or salon if they have sample sizes of anything. In a grocery store, the samples tend to be mostly for European-type products, not African ones. But I would bet that stylists and stores who specialize in African products are getting samples of those somehow. Even if it's just the kind that are stuck inside magazines, it might be useful.
If you can afford to pamper yourself a bit, you might even try going to a salon, showing them your hair, describing the problem you have, and asking them to try fixing it. That would let you explore different products and record the ones you like.