I think probably the worst subject I ever took in school was Statistics. I hated everything about it, and what made it worse was that no matter what level of education I made it to, I always had that class and it was always mandatory.
Even though I hated stats, as I affectionately called it, I understood why it was necessary and I understood the premise behind all the drama of Standard Deviation. The thing is, the way our brain works is that we need to prove that a phenomenon exists by using variables and techniques to justify it.
So if you ask me, ‘Is hair important to black women?‘, my answer would be a firm yes. And if you asked me to prove it, well for that I would have to go to the stats.
Firstly it is well documented that the hair industry in general is a multi-billion dollar industry, and of that figure 30% to 34% of the spending is done by African American women. Yes girl, they been watching you and your pockets!
There are a ton of other statistics like, 65% of the weave industry is captured by African American women and also research done in the UK shows that black women spend up to 6 times as much on hair products than their European counterparts.
Now obviously black women are not the only ones who shop at Sallys (have they ever seen a loss?), and we are definitely not the only ones who think hair is important, people of all ethnicities as far back as recorded history will allow us to look have been obsessed with hair. Much like the acclaimed pop princess Brittany Spears and “miss popular” turned reality mogul Kim Kardashian, the ancient Greeks, Syrians and Egyptians also wore wigs* and hair embellishments.
Need more stats? Lets use YouTube for instance, Naptural85 a very popular hair guru has over 200,000 subscribers, and even though she has a beaming personality, let’s face it, that’s not why majority of them are watching her channel. There are over 200,000 people out there that wait for her next hair tutorial to hit their inbox, and she is just one of many. So yes, hair is very important to black women, the question is why?
There really isn’t one answer, but a pretty good reason is culture. African American hair has always been revered in many ways prior to slavery and before ‘good hair’ was considered a tell tale sign for your professional status i.e. where on the plantation you lived, the type of food you must eat and how pretty you must be because you have a bit of European blood running through your veins.
Jerome Styles Sullivan says
Informative.
Zion Flippin says
It’s our glory that God gave to us a gift. We are suppose to highly appreciate it, adorn it, and take care of it properly.
Linda Aunt Faye Pettis says
…I wonder that as well….
Niecy Harris says
The Bible states the woman’s hair is her glory. That’s why we will spend countless hours to make sure it’s perfect. 🙂
Muriel Oduro says
Your hair is a part of your identity. Blk people are very expressive and we can convay our musical cultural political stances through our hair. … your hair says a lot about u. For some its just hair..
Jaime Wilson says
This was a good read
Shanice Goodridge-Flemming says
I like to think its our historical development that makes our hair important to us.
Vivian Miller says
Because it’s our crown & glory and we can style it so many ways and we like to look fierce when we go out, it is who we are and black women command attention.
Devera Smith Robinson says
Hair is important to all women, not just Black women…
Vivian Miller says
We rock it the best and in any situation, poor, middle class, high society, we never let any given situation affect our hair. If we can’t afford the trip to the hair salon, we’ll find a friend and sit in the kitchen, by any means necessary……
Kerimah Rogers says
Because it’s hard to deal with
Frankye Stafford Campbell says
Very knowledgable!!!!
Blessedfrom Above says
It has always been important to us…I was taught its my grown and glory…I have seen some post stating we are into our hair too much…as for me its mine and I believe it should be taken care of just like anything else of value…growing my hair to the middle of my back…I have tips that will show u how to grow your hair and maintain the length…www.fabulousfashionz.com
Michelle Williams says
Its Important To Every Woman Regardless Of Race..Hair Is A Woman’s Crown And Glory Rather Its Long ,Short Etc…
Jamila Kelly says
It’s not..ugh..is anyone else sick of being stereotyped as hair hungry ? =_=;;;
Cadrina Williams says
Love this!!!
Taira Reed says
It’s your crowning glory. I can’t speak for everyone but I know if you didn’t always wear the best clothes or stay up on the latest fashions it wouldn’t be as bad if your hair was combed and your face was clean.
Sheryl Clark says
It should be our pride & joy for sme of us woman
Omada 'Abahi' Okpe says
Hair is important to all women…and some men. 🙂