Are our curls really enough?

 Welcome to Limitless! 

Is our natural hair actually enough? What do you think? 

I understand that this is a touchy issue, but just hear me out and read till the end; it is a short read. 

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I don’t think I ever saw anything fundamentally problematic with wigs until I came to Canada. I recently started becoming opinionated about them and slightly uncomfortable wearing them. 

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I was talking to a friend the other day and it just made me realize that I wasn’t the only one on this boat. 

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To be honest, wearing straight haired wigs seemed fine when I was in Nigeria, but wearing them is a totally different story here in Canada. It just sort of opened my eyes to the gravity of cultural assimilation. 

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There’s no explanation other than that straight-haired wigs mimic the hair of Western women. This, I find problematic. I stand to be corrected. Permit me to use “straight-haired” to generalize non-curly, non-Afro type textured hair. 

If we were to dig into the history of wigs, we would see that it originated from “the texture caste system we were forced to conform to — where straight hair is seen as "good," while tighter coils are seen as "bad"”(Instyle). I do not want to go too deep into the history and facts. 

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I personally do not fancy straight wigs or any wig that mimics the hair texture of Caucasian women anymore. Why? I would rather embrace my curls. I could do this by wearing my natural hair in different styles, braided, in weaves, or loc’d. 

The most popular comeback to wearing wigs that I have seen and heard is “what about people who have alopecia or who just do not have good hair?” 

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You see, the issue is not really wigs. The issue is wigs that are imitations of other cultures’ identity, not ours. I would rather wear wigs that mimic the Afro-textured hair styles e.g. braid wigs, Afro wigs, loc wigs, or cornrow wigs. I know these kind of wigs are not as heavily-circulated in the hair market which I believe is as a result of low demand. 

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Now, to think there are certain people who believe that people who choose to rock their natural hair are inferior, is really laughable and perplexing. Just imagine the depth of assimilation. 

I studied this issue in my social philosophy class, but I didn’t think it would come up again like this. 

I refuse to be bullied into thinking I am less because I choose to embrace my curls. These beautiful curls? Why would I fold? I really can’t wait till they grow longer! - Like this one🥹. 

Of course, I know that it could prove difficult for black women to stop wearing these specific wigs, because it has somehow wormed its way into our lifestyle, so, we do not see any issue in it. How do we even suddenly stop wearing something we’ve always known to be normal? So, let’s not deceive ourselves and say every black woman would stop wearing these wigs in the blink of an eye. 

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However, I think, even if we do not stop wearing them, at least we shouldn’t see them as superior or reserved for when we want to dress-up, as if our natural curls or Afro styles cannot be up to par. 

Of course, this knowledge or opinion does not mean we should look down or scoff at some of us who wear these wigs…

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I firmly believe choosing to embrace our natural curls and Afro styles means embracing our identity. To answer the opening question, our natural hair is more than enough. Rock it girl!💃🏾

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Feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments section. Thank you so much for reading. All photos that are not of me are from Unsplash. Till we meet again!❤️