There are so many different hair weaves on the market; Brazilian, Indian, Peruvian, Mongolian, etc. These come in various lengths and colours to suit the various complexions and needs of ladies all over the world.
For some, it’s a quick fix to getting long hair. For others, it is a means of beautification. However, there are some who do the extremely ridiculous things. I happened to be at the salon last week when a lady came in to have her hair done.
As she walked past me to have her old weave removed I realized one thing. She was rocking the whole “Naomi Campbell” hairline thing. As a result of an obvious overuse of weaves, she was going bald. The funny thing about it was that she was coming in to have a new weave fixed after keeping the old one for about four months! Guess what? In this hot Ghana weather she was about to put in four huge sets of the weave. How in the hell will the scalp breathe?
Ladies, let’s not forget that extensions, weaves, anything artificial hanging on hair, whether it’s attached with glue, tape or stitches eventually causes damage with continuous use. Not giving your hair a vacation from the extensions does not allow the hair to bounce back to its original state. Besides, wouldn’t it be fun to not have to tap your weave or stick in pen tops to stop the itching as a result of the heat terrorizing your scalps?
Dermatologists and hair specialists have stated that the weight from hair weaves extensions pulls on a person’s natural hair over time, causing it to rip out by the root. And let’s face it, when we try to force out those knots in our weaves, we do pull at our hair even if it’s braided underneath. This can damage or even destroy your hair follicle and once you go down that route the only option is a hair transplant, which involves moving healthy hair follicles from one part of the scalp to the damaged area. Seriously, is it worth all that trouble?
Ladies, please don’t let us lose our naturally beautiful tresses because of the supposed convenience or instant length that artificial weaves offer. A lot of people are rocking the natural hair look and I personally think it’s fabulous! However, if you really have to take the weave road, make sure it’s fixed by the right people and it is not too tight. Give it some occasional break too!
Sometimes I wonder how these girls do it in tropical Ghana, wearing those heavy weaves. At least out here, it is cold so the weave serves as a cover for the head. Even that, I give it a break all the time to nourish my hair and get it out of the weave stress. By the way, Naomi looks like a big mess
@akosuaghana, stop using the cold weather us an excuse,just use your own natural hair it can grow
@27cдгibre(Ф_ф),lol
me to and weave grows my hear. i dont glue my weaves, i just do sew in. and after i remove my weave, i proceed by having my natural hair for 5 weeks. the scalp needs to breath. its good to wear weave in a cold country. but i wear short weave to Ghana cause as you said the heat is terrible. i tried the long weave in Ghana and i said never again. the heat itches the hair so bad
@sarah, are you serious weave grows your hair??
I thought it destroys it !
I think this not a tangible reason for you to use weave whilst your natural hair can grow if it been kept neat n natural
@27cдгibre(Ф_ф), let me educate you, my conrows are not made that thight so it gives my scalp time to breath, and yes it grows my hair. it protects the hair cause you dont have to relax it all the time. also cold breaks the hair (you should know you live in England, but you are a man). And i dont want to go 100% (i have been there done that the transmission broke my hair cause that means that i wont be using relaxers). weave is also easy i wake up early in the morning and there is no need to do that much. so 27Caribe i think you should focus on your girlfriend. what black girls and some white girls (yes white girls use weaves to) is non of your business
@27cдгibre(Ф_ф), I understand your frustrations with weaves since when their not done properly, they come with a lot of issues. However, Africans have used hair extensions/ wigs since the beginning of time. Our ancient Egyptian/ Nubian ancestors used to wear wigs. The massai use red colored hair extensions for braids. I’m a fanti &my people have worn ‘tekuwas’ for centuries. There are a lot of reasons black women wear weaves 2day. 1stly, although our hair is beautiful & can grow well when taken care of, it’s the most fragile hair texture because our hair is prone to breakage & has less protein (naturally). Add the fact that chemical relaxers strip hair of protein & moisture & you’ll understand why a lot of us black ladies have issues with retaining length. All this can make a weave seem like an easier option. 2ndly, one secret to black hair growth is ‘protective styling’ ie: tucking hair ends away either by bunning, braiding, weaving etc. This prevents breakage & makes hair grow. That’s why it’s rare to see our grandmas in the village with afros but their hair is always threaded or under headscarves. This is where weaves can come in to help grow hair if done properly. 3rdly, black men don’t show a lot of appreciation for black beauty but rather promote westernized looks (fair skin, long, silky hair) & so black women also rush for these things. Eg: our men hardly rave about the good looks of dark skinned, natural hair celebs like like india arie, adepero oduye, ledisi but they’re always praising the weave wearing celebs like beyonce, kim k, rihanna & nikki minaj. What we can do is to encourage our women to nourish their hair & fix weaves well. We should also encourage our women to use more afrocentric weaves/ hair extensions like afros, twists, braids etc.
@Afia, my sister thank you for the info and the education and thanks for not insulting me,cos i did not said nun for Sarah to insult me…
Am just advising my black sisters keeping it real and natural is better than ….
Any way i don’t want to talk alot
@27cдгibre(Ф_ф), you’re most welcome my dear. We all learn something new everyday. & you’re right, natural hair is the best & the way to go!
My chocolate black women who have decided to stay in the shadow of white persons by refusing to use your own natural beautiful hair…some of you dont even look good in that …
Use your own beautiful hair you are far different from white person thats why you have your unique hair …
Stop degrading us
@27cдгibre(Ф_ф),why do you care so much. you only fall for white girls and you are here making a hypocrite statement saying black girls stop being in the shadow of white women bla bla bla if you dont know what you are talking about, ill advise you to keep your mouth shut. And stay with your white women.
@sarah,lol. He is such a sellout. Idiot
@sarah, you talking like i have never dated Ghanaian before…
For your info i respect black women alot …let not talk about race cos it ain’t healthy.
I have natural hair. If you know how to use weaves properly, it can be a form of protective styling & help to grow your hair. As an African woman, your biggest hair challenge is breakage & dryness. There is a lot of hair information on the internet & haircare forums, read & educate yourself. My advise for my African sisters is that we should learn to do our own hair rather than relying on salons all the time. Back in the day, our grandmas used to braid their own hair & we can do it too. If you know how to braid/ weave your own hair, you won’t do it too tight to cause problems. Just go to youtube, type in ‘how to braid’, ‘how to cornrow’ or ‘how to do a sew-in weave’ & learn from the videos. Buy a doll & practice on it. I came to t he US 1 year ago & taught myself how to do all kinds of hair using youtube videos & now I even fix people’s hair for extra cash (although I’m not a hairdresser by profession). I do my own hair now, I fix my own weaves, braid my own hair & people compliment my hairstyles daily. You can do it too!
@Afia, Thank you afia, and 27cabire is so ignorant on that. i can not stand hypocrirtie black men like you. why do you care so much. you only fall for white girls and you are here making a hypocrite statement saying black girls stop being in the shadow of white women bla bla bla if you dont know what you are talking about, ill advise you to keep your mouth shut. And stay with your white women. 27 cabrire do you pay my bills. you can give advice but there are boundries you fool
@sarah, you’re welcome. I sometimes understand our men (like 27 caliber) who complain about weaves since if it’s not done properly or not taken care of (& becomes smelly or ratty) ir it is worn by someone all the time, it might seem obnoxious. In my opinion though, weaves are not necessarily a bad thing because African women have been wearing wigs/ weaves for years (from the ancient Egyptians to the Fantis of Ghana & their ‘tekuwa’ which they wear on important occasions to our mums who used to rock wigs in the 70s). So we just need to encourage our women to nourish their hair so that it becomes long & they can wear it out more often rather than relying on weaves.
and 27cabire is so ignorant on that. i can not stand hypocrirtie black men like you. why do you care so much. you only fall for white girls and you are here making a hypocrite statement saying black girls stop being in the shadow of white women bla bla bla if you dont know what you are talking about, ill advise you to keep your mouth shut. And stay with your white women. 27 cabrire do you pay my bills. you can give advice but there are boundries you fool. degrading my foot look in the mirror you are with a white girl (not that i have a problem with it, its your prefference) mind your business
@sarah, how many times are you going to reply to me,i can see you are one of the women who cant do away with weaves,any way i apologise if i offended you in any way…
But i know many beautiful black women who use their own hair more often than the weave ..
@27cдгibre(Ф_ф), cause ghanacelebs deleted my former comment, so i made a cleaner version of it. Look i dont care who you date black white orange purple. but stop bashing black women. i did not really care to much about that statement you made, but to say that we are walking in the shadows of white women is so insulting. what about white women fixing braids, having butt and boob jobs tanning to look loke us. you dont say anything about them, If we want to wear weaves then its our business for your info i wear weaves that are similar to black hair i wear kinky weaves or dark curly eaves. i dont rock long blonde weaves (like beyonce but you dont bash that) and even if there are girls doing it its theire business, at least it gives them the chance to look different every month. huh
@sarah, but your statement was directly to me dating out of my race ,,you even said i only fall for white women if you dont care you wouldn’t say that…
You wear kinky weave come on are you kidding.cos your natural hair is same.
My girl friend like braiding hers too n likes wearing African dresses casually but not often ..
I was worried about black women losing their cute hair due to the picture above ,
Hope you will not like to look scary as the picture above
@27cдгibre(Ф_ф), i will not look that scarry infact my hair is to the back of my shoulder and i like to have a different look most of the times. and 27caribe dont judge me and i wont judge you its that simple, i am a proud black african woman and yes as black women we love to look fabulous we can rock all kinds of hairstyles. you should know that to much of everything is not good. i do braids, weaves, natural twists name it. it is a variaty for christ sake, and the reason i brought your white girlfriend in this matter is because of your first comment, its not nice what you said, saying that we want to be white just cause we wear weaves. you dont see my whitening my skin, acting white, changing my nose, going through hair implants. so just take what the other sisters said on this board into consideration, they explained the reason why we wear weaves, but if you are still ignorant then thats your problem.
@sarah, Sarah i dont know why you still dont get it did you read the article well???
I was rather worried for my black sisters like you ,the article ponder on people like you who cant leave without ,hellooooo did you check the implications of that excuse me ,i did apologise but you are still calling me an ignorant,
Are you saying that what the article is saying is false come on stop beating around the bush and admit it…
@afia have explained everything without insulting and i really did appreciate what she did it shows how good manner she..
I will apologise again am sorry of what i said you got it???
Peace i will like to meet you though,
Which part of the world you leave???
@27cдгibre(Ф_ф),anyway i accept your apologies i am also sorry for calling you ignorant but next time be a little gentle in your comments since it can come of as offensive. there is a huge difference in giving sisters advice and bashing. Thank you
My hair breaks in the cold and natural hair hurts. Depending on the type of weave, frequent use and management, weaves are fine.
Ghanacelebrities why is it taking long for my comment to be moderated i didnt put anything offensive but the truth. please post it
why do you care so much. you only fall for white girls and you are here making a hypocrite statement saying black girls stop being in the shadow of white women bla bla bla if you dont know what you are talking about, ill advise you to keep your mouth shut. And stay with your white women.
@sarah, i dont know why you cant reply me without insult,
And stop what you are saying that i only fall for white girl,i hope you are not racist,
White woman is like you
And i have dated a black woman before way back in my country.
I apologize for my initial comments if i offended you .