AMOURI
I don't think many people outside my culture wear their hair like this, but I don't really think about the cultural aspects at this point. When I was younger I thought about it a lot more, but at this point now I just think of how I like to see myself.
I've been wearing the same style for about 7 years now.
Taking care of my hair is such a long process so it is usually a group effort. I take out my hair but I don't braid it, I have to go to a shop to get it braided and it takes six hours at least. Taking it out takes my entire day when I do it. Sometimes I'm not to bed till the next day at 2AM.
When I was in preschool to middle school, a lot of people wanted to touch my hair. People like to touch different textures. But
at the same time, culturally, it's a bit of an issue if it's just because someone's hair is different than yours. It's something y0u ask before you do, and I did not get a lot of people asking, because I used to wear my hair a lot more natural. Being younger, I was frustrated with how people didn't really respect my entire body, including my hair, and just take advantage of that to have fun with it.
When I wore my hair out, every morning my mom would have to brush it, and I have a tender head, which means I cannot handle the pain. I remember becoming really frustrated with her because she wasn't understanding my pain tolerance, and the way she was pulling it so hard and fast because she was in a hurry was just ridiculous. I just remember that moment thinking, I know this has to get done, but also this is awful.
Sometimes when I'm dancing I like to use it with headbanging and stuff, I like to use it with movement. It's not too heavy so I can play around with it.
As a queer person, I like to wear a lot of backwards hats. Stereotypes don't mean anything, but on the street people are able to tell I'm queer, so I'd say that it gives enough information. Wearing braids like this allows me to wear backwards hats, which I can't really
do with my natural hair.
My hair grows in a very healthy manner. However, I have lupus so it falls out– I have an entire bald patch on this side of my head. It's really good hair but it's fragile, so whenever something affects my health, then I lose my hair.