Djamila, student —> Wide Toothed Comb
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"You don’t just have one type of comb. I have three; a wide toothed, a bristly comb and a brush. My mother always did my hair. She worked as a hairdresser so I’ve never actually been to a salon. When my mum used to straighten my hair, it would sizzle and she would casually blow away the smoke. You know she did a good job when the fire alarms go off! I remember this one time in my playground, there I was, a Portuguese immigrant fresh off the boat, and all the girls were in a line braiding each other’s hair. I had to go to the back because no one could braid mine. Yeah, I’ve understood a lot going through school… the other day actually there was an incident in Spanish class where our teacher showed us a picture of a festival where blackface was involved. I had to call her out on it, but I also didn’t want to fulfill the stereotype of the angry Black woman. The teacher got defensive and made it out like it was my fault."
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#blackhairstories #afrohair #photography #heritage #visualart #blackwomen #girlhood #friendship #blackhair #walthamforest #blackgirlmagic #childhood #stories #natural #family #comb #blackbeauty #diversity #school #melanin
Destinée, student (left) —> Sports Medals
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"The main time you’ll see my hair out is when I’m doing sport. It’s kind of a difficult decision for me because I usually wear a scarf. Your appearance is key when you’re playing sport - it’s like Serena Williams, you’re not going to see her ever lacking when she’s on the field. The thing about girls who wear headscarves is that people think you don’t care about your hair because no one can see it, but there’s a big community of Muslim girls who care about their hair. I’ve done Brazilian blow dries, braids to my knees and I’ve dyed my hair too. The modesty around wearing a headscarf is also about showing your hair to the people you love. It’s sacred, and sports is sacred to me. My medals remind me of that. My main sports are cheerleading, basketball, football, running and athletics, badminton, netball, rounders, and I’m sports leader at school too."
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#blackhairstories #afrohair #photography #heritage #visualart #blackwomen #girlhood #friendship #blackhair #walthamforest #blackgirlmagic #childhood #stories #natural #family #bobbles #blackbeauty #diversity #muslim #hijaber #sisterhood #sport #thisgirlcan #serenawilliams #melanin
Asha, student (right) —> Bobbles
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”I used to love wearing bobbles in my hair. They hurt like hell whenever they snapped but it was worth it. They’re iconic! I used to have my hair in four braids, and the bobbles would be at the bottom of each braid. My mum did my hair mostly, and sometimes my dad did too. They taught me to always be proud of my Blackness. My mum has long, beautiful hair but she doesn’t really care about it much, she just says what will happen will happen. I think I’m like that too. My hair colour changes a lot—it’s been orange red pink, purple, blue, green, blonde, peach, and teal."
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#blackhairstories #afrohair #photography #heritage #visualart #blackwomen #girlhood #friendship #blackhair #walthamforest #blackgirlmagic #childhood #stories #natural #family #bobbles #blackbeauty #diversity #sisterhood #melanin
Dawn, MP —> Hot Comb
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The hot comb is symbolic of my journey; of spending years in the hairdressers, waiting the whole day to get my hair done because everyone was given the 10 o’clock appointment, wasting time and having my hair blow-dried to death. There was no thinking or reflecting time because of all the noise and the hustle and bustle. Since I’ve had my hair natural, there’s more quality time. It gives me more opportunity to talk, to spend time with myself and the people around me. It’s a time that often doesn’t exist in the family unit anymore...
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#blackhairstories #afrohair #photography #heritage #visualart #blackwomen #blackhair #walthamforest #blackgirlmagic #childhood #stories #politics #natural #family #dawnbutler
