Let’s Talk About Afro Hair

  What does it mean to be natural and what is the natural hair movement?

Over the past few years, I have noticed that the “Natural Hair Movement” has made its way to the Middle East and North Africa. I have seen an increase in social media accounts that post videos about styling and caring for curly hair. In addition to news coverage and interviews with some of the movement’s active bloggers. I was happy to see the movement go mainstream in the region. After all, it feels like we have spent too much time and effort using curling irons and chemical relaxers to adapt to unrealistic beauty ideals, that cause us emotional and sometimes physical harm.

For those who are not familiar with the movement, the term “natural hair” may sound strange and confusing, so allow me to explain. To put it simply, being natural means that people with afro hair texture have chosen not to use any chemical products to straighten their hair. The movement originally started to encourage black women with type 4 hair (also known as coily hair) to love and wear it with pride. It’s not clear when the movement started exactly, but its roots can be traced back to the 60s and 70s when Black in the US began wearing their natural afro hair as a political statement. 

For decades dark skin women like me – with hair that is tightly coiled and grows upward – were told that our hair is not beautiful, not professional, or not presentable. In countries like the US and the UK, women had job offers rescinded because they refused to straighten their hair. Students were suspended or sent home from school for wearing braids or an afro.  

I almost can hear people saying that this has never happened in the Middle East. That hair is not a problem. This isn’t true. The issue may not be as prominent as it is in other countries; nevertheless, it still exists. Any hair that is not soft and straight is considered difficult to deal with, and is described as “Kasha or Mankoosh” meaning having a messy or untidy hair. And on top of having afro hair, not wearing a scarf as a Muslim and being visible on social media open the door for more abuse. 

Growing up with afro-textured hair

Growing up in the Gulf I used to wear a Hijab, so my issues were never with the school itself; it was mostly with girls in my class. I was always asked why I wore braids; girls made fun of them and said they looked “weird”. I heard comments from some of my teachers ridiculing my hairstyles. A friend of mine, a Black Saudi with a super short haircut, was always asked why her hair never grows. My younger sister was constantly asked by her classmates when she was six years old to cut her hair because it was “too big”. For a long time, she refused to leave the house without her hair tied in a bun or braided.

When I started working, I was told not to style my hair in box braids. Wearing my hair in an afro wasn’t even a consideration. I always knew it would attract attention and raise eyebrows. Finding hairstylists that know how to manage my hair was a challenge too. I recall going once to a famous hair salon in Qatar and having three people blow-dry my hair. I remember the hairstylist saying, “your hair is much easier to manage than I expected. It’s not bad”. I was embarrassed, especially that my hair was short and didn’t need more than one person to work on it.

In Sudan - where I'm from - having lighter skin and soft hair means that you are more Arab than African, which leads to better employment and marriage opportunities. If you look at Sudanese Instagram accounts, you will think that women were born with naturally silky long hair. Even though braids are popular, leaving the house with an afro is not socially acceptable. This is a different reality to my parents' experience in the 70s and early 80s, where they rocked their afro hair freely. My brothers weren't given this opportunity. My father made sure that they always had a short, neat haircut. A few of my friends say that things have now changed in Sudan, more girls are starting to embrace their curly hair, but we still have a long way to go.

 Representation issues within the movement

Black hair can be prone to dryness and breakage, so finding the best products to boost its moisture level is important to keep it healthy. We can’t use just any shampoo or conditioner; it has to be made specifically for our hair type. Unfortunately, such products are not widely available in the region.

In the Gulf, the best option is to order what you need from online shops or Instagram accounts. There aren’t many shops that sell the tools we need, and even if you find one, their range of products is usually limited. 

While I wholeheartedly support the movement in the region, I can’t help but wonder who’s actually benefiting from it? 

Most of the pictures you would see online are for women with looser curls/textures if you search for natural hair. There is a clear lack of tightly coiled hair representations, which is usually considered less desirable. Scrolling through my Instagram feed, I only find odd pictures here and there of a dark skin woman with a big afro. 

While writing this article, I spoke with Maha, an Omani blogger, who started her Instagram feed in 2017 to document her natural hair journey. An interesting observation that she shared with me was that most of the bloggers in the Gulf are Immigrants/expats; accounts that belong to locals are few and far between. The negative online attitudes around afro-textured hair make it difficult for non-expats to express themselves.

Abeer Sinder, one of Saudi Arabia's biggest Black influencers, has been told by some of her followers to straighten her hair and not leave it in its natural state in front of her British husband. She received much unsolicited advice on the best hair treatments to soften her hair. The obsession with Abeer hair and dark skin color has always been strange, but it clearly shows how deeply rooted anti-blackness is in Arabic society.

I have seen many brands working with women with looser, big curls. Manipulating hair texture to make it look more defined and curly is what women are looking for nowadays to be accepted. It seems like the movement has excluded an entire hair type. I have been involved in a few conversations about this issue in the UK. I’m yet to see the topic discussed in the MENA.