So… I thought I had sworn off doing braids again after having three goes before – each lasting fewer days than the one before. My first round was done at the same place as the two following, but by a different braider. I loved them and only took them out after two weeks because I broke my ankle and got bored with them whilst laying on my back.
The two rounds after that were less than stellar with the last round lasting only a few days after the cornrows pulled out and my head went on fire from whatever gel they used for the braiding. Thus, I said I wouldn’t do them again….
But, then, I looked at pictures and I felt that perhaps I shouldn’t give up on them, but instead find a new place to go. Well, a little search online revealed another option with a nice Instagram account @braidedbywhitney_ located just a bit outside the center of Rome. Through messages, I felt confident to give it another try.
I went back to the first style, and am so in love with the look!
When I got the first set done, M and I pondered if this would be considered a version of cultural appropriation or not. Both of us dislike it when we see people dressing in the cultural dress of another country or when someone sends/says wishes for a holiday that they don’t actually celebrate. So, it was worth a bit of a consideration on whether or not I am being hypocritical by having my hair braided.
In the end, I felt that a) it is not really cultural appropriation as I’m not exploiting the African braids, but rather having my hair done in a style that I love; b) it doesn’t really matter if people think I am or not because well, I don’t care. I do not think I am personally offending anyone and am not promoting nor disrespecting any culture by my preference of hairstyle. So…there’s that!
Besides, I’ll have my hair this way for a few weeks. Then, I’ll take it out before I go to Japan next month as I plan to get my hair permed there and then I’ll have curly hair for a while. The fact is, I like to do different things with my hair because I can and it always grows back! π€ͺ
~T π₯πβοΈ
