Self-Taught, Self-Made, Self-Care
We’re not even going to hold you: this Covid-19 pandemic has been tough to get through.
When coronavirus first stepped on the scene, we were not prepared for the devastating impacts it would leave on us. It feels as though we were losing pieces of our lives since mid-March when mandated stay-at-home orders began. No more happy hours or brunches. No more festivals or concerts. No more experiencing the thrill of wearing less and going out more.
Honestly, here’s the most heartbreaking loss of all: no more hair salon visits.
As Black women, we know the importance of taking a trip to the salon. Despite our various complaints about it (seriously, why does it take all day?), there’s no place we’d rather be. Imagine all those good times when we could sit back, relax, and let someone else pamper and style our hair? There’s an extraordinary relief we feel knowing that our hair is in good hands. No matter what was going on outside of that salon, we felt at peace, knowing we had a haven where we could exhale.
Just because this space was temporarily taken away from us (they’ve since returned with precautions and capacity restrictions) doesn’t mean we weren’t able to recreate our sense of home.
If there’s one thing Black women are going to do, it’s this: figure something out. So, the salons were closed for some time; even during the lockdown, that wasn’t going to stop us from making sure our hair was ready for whatever might go down! During quarantine, many Black women took up a new skill: hair braiding. It was the perfect opportunity to learn a new (and incredibly practical) talent with all this free time at home. Here are a few sisters who found light in all of this darkness:
“During self-isolation, I learned how to braid my hair through YouTube!” Diamond Hawkins, a celebrity makeup artist, told ELLE. “My braids are holding up well thanks to weekly washes and daily moisturizing.”
Mekishana Pierre, Assistant Entertainment Editor, told Popsugar that she “decided to take a chance and do box braids! The Way Salon in New York City came through for all the girls and began an amazing online beauty supply shop where I can get a kit with everything I need to give myself some braids.”
Niani Barracks, a hair stylist based in Detroit, Michigan, launched an online class for Black women everywhere to learn how to braid. The class, titled “A Safe Space for Black Girls That Never Learned How to Braid,” teaches Black women to protect their hair during quarantine and stay-at-home orders.
While it’s empowering to see that Black women everywhere snatched up this new confidence and skill from learning how to braid, our sustainability senses are still tingling. With new talent comes new responsibility. More and more Black women are installing box braids all on their own, but they’re still using toxic synthetic hair. Yes, the same brands that we’ve been warning our Rebundlers about. Not only will this be harmful to countless other Black women, but the waste from synthetic hair is only going to increase.
Here at Rebundle, we believe that protective styles are genuinely meant to protect Black women and the environment. We want to prepare this new wave of braiders by informing them of the dangers of toxic synthetic braiding hair and offer solutions as to how they can protect themselves and the environment. We’ve already played an influential role by initiating our Cycle of Life (aka recycling with Rebundle); now, we’re getting ready to launch a safer alternative of synthetic braiding hair to use for your protective styles.
Stay with us, Rebundlers. We’re about to save your scalp, the planet, and your peace of mind.