This Week In The Khuta – The curse of the weave

Ever since I was a little girl, I was fascinated by how chic and glamorous black women with hair extensions looked. I remember watching the Miss Namibia pageants on television and seeing how glamorous some of the ladies who had long hair extensions – or horse hair as my father calls it – looked when strutting on stage.
As the years went by, most of my friends in high school had become fans of this “horse hair” to the point that some of them actually thought of it as their own.
I, for one, never had hair extensions probably due to the fact that I couldn’t afford it. I was happy to just tie up my hair or braid it.
By the time I reached university, extensions had different name tags. Different types of hair is now available; you get Brazilian, Indian, 100% human and even Malaysian hair extensions. These different hair types have become dominant amongst the ladies on campus. These days even girls as young as 16 don N$1 000 hair pieces on their heads.
Mind you, this is another human being’s hair that is being stitched onto your hair! If only a certain Maria Rodriguez (who has never cut her hair in her life) in a poverty-stricken town in Brazil knew how much a typical Namibian woman will pay for her hair, she would  realise that she’s sitting on a gold mine.
I should probably applaud whoever brought the weaving business to Namibia. Thanks to them, music videos have suddenly become more interesting to watch, with video vixens competing who has the longest Brazilian hair or the costliest. Business amongst hair boutiques is also booming, with some salons charging exorbitant fees to customers who want to have their hair weaved. These days, anyone who can get their hands on a couple of weaves can sell them and call themself an entrepreneur.
I always wondered why women want to weave their hair. Is short, ethnic hair no longer beautiful? I seriously think it is pathetic how people flaunt hair that isn’t even theirs. Some women even resort to dating older rich men who would offer them money to buy the latest, most expensive Brazilians on the market.You will find some girls changing weaves every second week whilst they can’t even afford to buy textbooks, let alone pay their rentals.
A friend once told me that in order for her to preserve her weaves, she usually just washes them. After a while she puts them back on and if she’s in need of quick cash, she sells them.While recycling is good, I still think recycled weaves can pose a hazard to one’s hair.
I once read of a woman who got lice because she wore a weave for too long. If that isn’t enough to put any weave-crazed lady off, then I rest my case.
Then you get women who end up loosing their natural hair because they are not taking care of it and when weaves are put in, the hairdresser also excessively pulls one’s hair, resulting in damage or loss of hair. Why spend so much on hair that will eventually make you loose your own hair? I understand that if your hair refuses to grow,you can always buy it, but if that’s going to cost you permanent hair damage, then rather settle for something less dramatic and easy to maintain like a simple rasta.Trust me, you will be surprised as to how fast your hair will grow in a short period of time.