When’s the Best Age to Give Your Child Their First Hair Cut-

Blogger Maria Tumolo of The Tiger Tales blog takes a brief look at the hair-cutting rituals of different culturesMaria Tumolo?I tried various techniques to make my daughter’s hair regime as stress-free as possible and that included when to give her her first hair cut. At one point my husband and I discussed cutting her hair. I explained it’s different for girls, when it came to hair cutting. Then I began to wonder, was actually different for girls? Were there cultural hair cutting rituals for girls in other countries?I did a quick online search and was surprised to find that there were hair cutting rituals for girls.However, some hair cutting rituals were not gender specific.It’s not always different for girls when it comes to hair cutting.

Here’s what I’ve found on the subject of hair cutting rituals in different cultures:

First hair cuts from around the world

African American Boys – 1 ‘There is an African American tradition of performing the first haircut on or around the child’s first birthday. However, cutting prior to the age of two may result in a more coarse texture and tighter curl.’

African Caribbean Boys- ‘Within the African Caribbean community this is performed once the child begins to speak clearly or after the child reaches two. This is usually done in a barbershop or carried out by the parent.’ We actually cut our son’s hair when he was 1 1/2 years, when he began to say “Dada.”

Chinese- 2 ‘the baby often receives its first haircut at the start of its first month or the its first ‘full moon’  Traditionally, for the past decades, the baby’s head was shaved except at the top of the crown to remove the hair they considered was grown in the womb. The cut hair was then tied with red string and saved as a keepsake.  However, centuries ago they didn’t cut hair, including boys’ hair, up to the age of 10 years old.  This ‘full moon’ celebration coincides with the end of the new mum’s confinement period, and both mother and baby are formally introduced to the extended family and friends. For many of them, this will be the first time they are meeting the new baby and the baby’s name is revealed then.’ 

ET Speaks From Home and I exchanged a few tweets and she told me that Chinese boys and girls get their first haircut, then and egg white is applied hawk wig to the hair. The family also give out cake and cook red eggs.

Hindu –  3A mundan or tonsuring is an important ceremony for Hindus. It is also known as chaula or choodakarana. Muslims too shave or trim the baby’s hair and some Sikhs perform the kesi dahi ceremony. This is done by putting curd in the hair of the newborn baby boy.  Among Hindus, the mundan is performed during the first or third year of a child’s life. In some regions, the mundan is done only for the male child. However, in most families girls have a mundan too.  The child is freshly shaven to signify freedom from the past and moving into the future. It is also said that the shaving of the hair stimulates proper growth of the brain and nerves, and that the sikha, a tuft at the crown of the head, protects the memory.’

Maliku (Minicoy Island) – 4 ‘At the twentieth day from birth, Maliku babies’ heads are shaven and the hair is weighed against gold or silver, which is given to the poor. The ceremony is called boabeylun.’

Native American- 5 ‘For many Native Americans having long hair is a symbol of tribal religious traditions which teach that hair is only to be cut when one is in mourning for the death of a close relative. However, it is said that among the Chiricahua, for example, the family holds a cradleboard ceremony soon after birth of a child. 6. When a child begins to walk, dressed in new moccasins, he or she follows a trail of pollen leading east to symbolize a long and successful life. In the spring, Apaches ceremonially cut the child’s hair to encourage health and vitality. The hair cutting is done by the medicine man’

Tibet- 7 ‘it’s known as the hair-changing ritual to announce the sexual maturity of girls. It’s said to be practiced in rural southeast Amdo, Qinghai Provence, China.’

There must be many more hair-cutting traditions out there.  Do you have this in your culture? Please share your story and the belief behind the tradition.

Maria’s children’s first hair cut

As for my daughter, in the end I only trimmed her ends.

Maria Tumolo is the founder of The Tiger Tales, a Trini-British parenting lifestyle blog.Follow Maria on Twitter

Further reading

(whoville wigs) (alfo wigs)

Crochet braids by Sleek Hair

Tap into the hottest natural style around with Sleek Hair’s new Crochet Braids

Crochet CrazeCrochet braids have been around for years, so technically aren’t anything new. But with rise in the Kanekolan, kinky and such-like hair, crochet braided styles have become more popular than ever before.

It’s a braiding technique whereby the hair is canerowed flat to create a base and a latch hook tool is used to attach the hair extension. This is an alternative method to sew-in weaves and is a quicker style option to traditional single plaits.

The pros

 

 

2 braid wig

 

For more information on crochet braids see Sleek Hair

(platnum wig) (facebook wigs)

Wedding guest lookbook

Being invited to a wedding means you’ve got to look your best. Browse through bridal make-up artist Joy Adenuga’s ideas for stunning resultscrowned wigs

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOTPHOTOGRAPHY. MAKE-UP BY JOY ADENUGA (WWW. BRIDESBYJOY.COM) USING NARS AND MAC COSMETICS. HAIR BY DEBORAH LOLA. STYLING BY STYLECHECKBYDEE. JEWELLERY BY TARO COLLECTION. DRESSES BY VIRGOS LOUNGE AND COCORICHELLE.

(70s curly wig) (denki wig) (freedom wig)

Black History Month – The most famous black brides

For our Black History Month series, we look at the impact these black brides have had on history

Black women have long felt under-represented in the bridal industry. It’s rare to see a black bride on the cover of a bridal magazine or pictured in images for online retailers. It wasn’t until the late 1990s when the online platform Black Bride launched that there was any representation within the industry.

While there’s still a way to go, steps are being taken toward creating a more inclusive and diverse approach to the wedding industry. In the meantime, take a moment to appreciate these three famous black brides.

Mildred Loving

Photo by Reed Probus via flickr.com

Mildred Loving isn’t someone you’ll ever see on the cover of Vogue for her haute couture or celebrity status. Her role in the wedding industry is far more important.

Mildred Loving was a key player in history, as she and her husband Richard are responsible for facing the Supreme Court and abolishing marriage segregation laws. The Lovings were married in Washington, D.C., in 1958. At the time, they lived in Virginia, where it was illegal for a black woman and white man to be wed. Despite the union being legal in Washington, upon returning to their home in Virginia, the couple was arrested.

This experience compelled the Lovings to take on the Supreme Court to abolish the Racial Integrity Act of 1924. Mildred reached out to Robert F. Kennedy in 1963 to seek counsel. His direction sent her to the ACLU and, eventually, the Supreme Court, in the now-famous Loving vs. Virginia case. The Lovings won and shaped the future for the abolishment of similar laws in other states. 

Mildred’s dress was simple, and their ceremony was quaint. The love and legacy left behind, however, changed the world.

 

Serena Williams

By Sperry – Vimeo: The FADER – Serena Williams // The America Issue, CC BY 3.0

One issue that many black brides struggle with is that when a business in the wedding industry includes information for black weddings, it’s often archaic. The focus is often on traditions like jumping the broom, rather than a more modern approach that celebrates the culture beyond stereotypes.

Serena Williams is not only an icon for women around the world but especially for the black community. Not only has she become a champion in a predominantly white sport, but she’s also used her platform to promote incredible causes. Williams was quoted saying that her controversial catsuit made her feel like a “Queen from Wakanda.”

Her status as a legendary athlete and black feminist powerhouse made her wedding one of the most anticipated celebrity weddings of the century. Williams wore not one, but three beautiful wedding dresses in a spectacle that was inspired by Beauty and the Beast. 

Williams did the whole thing her way. She walked herself down long grey wig the aisle and celebrated her body, which has long been judged for her muscular build and had just given birth to her daughter two months prior. Serena Williams is the very meaning of legendary.

Meghan Markle

By Office of the Governor-General – GG.Govt.nz, CC BY 4.0 

The general public didn’t realize that Meghan Markle was biracial for quite a while. Markle has a white father and a black mother. While there were a lot of aspects of the union between her and Prince Harry that sparked conversation (her divorce, for one, and being American, for another), her black heritage made the biggest impact. 

Meghan Markle might be the first woman of color in the British monarchy. While there is anecdotal evidence that Queen Charlotte, who married King George III in the 1700s may have had African heritage, much of this is speculation after the fact. Unsurprisingly, the history of the British monarchy has been whitewashed, and those who may have had mixed ethnicities weren’t apt to share the news.

While Markle’s wedding to Prince Harry had much of the pomp and circumstance expected in a royal wedding, she was sure to celebrate her culture. Reverend Michael Bruce Curry delivered a sermon at the wedding. He’s a black man and the head of the Episcopal Church. A black gospel choir performed an incredible rendition of Stand By Me, which was unlike anything performed in a royal wedding before. 

In the face of controversy, after months of being questioned about her background, Meghan Markle used her wedding as a platform to celebrate her blackness rather than conforming to tradition. Also, she looked amazing doing it.

These are three of the most famous black brides, women who have made an impact on history not only with their marriages, but with their perseverance, dedication, and fighting for their rights and freedoms. 

(wine red wig) (mama wig) (diy wig hat)

Naza Beauty – The game-changing protective styling salon

Naza Beauty is a new protective styling salon in the US, that is changing the salon experience for black women

The hairdressing experience of women of colour can often be negative. We’re all familiar with blocking out a whole day to get our hair done. We lose days sitting in that salon chair, perhaps waiting for our stylist to finish with someone else, even though she may have started us first, or she anu malik wig has to pop out to get some hair or food or even pick up kids. Instead of being relaxing and pampering, visits to the salon can actually be quite stressful.

For US-based Natanya Montgomery, those negative experiences inspired her to set up a Naza Beauty, a salon based in San Francisco that at last gives black women the hair experience they deserve.

‘A lot of what’s difficult about the process of getting your hairdone as a black woman in general – anywhere – is a sort of anxiety of theunknown.’

Naza Beauty aims to remove the stress and the ‘texture tax’ for those with kinky, curly, or coily hair.

‘For black women, there’s a lotof anxiety that can exist in going for a salon day, there’s so muchunknown,’ Natanya Montgomery, Naza’s CEO and founder, told Forbes,alluding to common concerns such as accepted payment methods,timeliness, and the final result. ‘All of this hair anxiety causes apretty stressful experience and that’s why I think people have foundthat they stay with the place even if they’re not satisfied with theservice,’ she added.

In a nutshell Naza Beauty is like a Drybar for textured hair and like Drybar, it has a menu of styles that can be done in a specific amount of time.

The menu features five protective styles, including Crochet Braids; Blowouts & Silk Press; Cornrows; Box Braids & Twists and Weave Installs, that can all be completed in four hours or less – a far cry from the eight hours many of us are used to spending in the salon chair. Naza Beauty does not do any hair cuts, colouring or any chemical treatments.

The secret, according to Montgomery, is training and consistency. ‘There is no real formal training for a lot of braiding and so for [stylists], you sort of do it the way you’ve always done it. But there is a lot of space for improvement and innovation. We do training and speed drills to make sure we’re on time, every time.’

Mongomery is one of the small handful of black business women to attract venture capital (women of colour get less than 1% of the venture capital pot) and she was able to open the San Francisco-based salon, following a $1 million funding round led by Initialized Capital co-owned by Redditt co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who is married to Serena Williams and has a mixed-race child.

Ohanian told Forbes ‘I am personally proud to be the lead investor because it’s the kindof business I want my daughter to have access to in the world she growsup in—a space that celebrates her hair, provides her excellent serviceand empowers all the people who work there to excel at their craft ontheir terms.’

The company has also used the funding to create Naza Labs, where thousands of black and brown women over the country can serve as active product development customers who get to test and review the products.

In a world where afro-textured hair is too often seen as a nuisance or an aberration, Montgomery is adamant about making each and every visitor to Naza feel celebrated, cared for, and, above all else, respected. After all, stopping in to have your hair done should enhance your day, not consume it. ‘We respect your time,’ Montgomery says, ‘so you can be in and out, and then go conquer the world in the way that you’re supposed to.’

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT NAZA BEAUTY: ? All styles can be done in under four hours. ? Using software, clients can choose everything from the colour of the hair they want, to the amount of conversation they want to have with their stylist. ? The rich jewel tones and velvety textures of the interior and vintage advertisements for throwback hair products lines ? The Playground area, a retail and self-styling area within Naza, where clients can zhush their freshly-laid tresses and pick up any products they may need to maintain or enhance their style.

www.nazabeauty.com

Why every curly girl needs MuximaWomen in business | Rose Ovensehi – Flora & CurlThe Wig Fix debuts The Nude CollectionWaterman’s – Luxury hair growth products made in the UKWomen in business: Meet Jamelia of Treasure TressIs Gabrielle Union launching a haircare range?
(mens blue wig) (music wigs) (nicholas wig)

Wedding guest hairstyles

tommy wigsWhether you’re attending a formal or non- traditional wedding, a pop of colour is great way to set yourself apart from the other guests. Here’s some colour inspo from Beyond Hair

 

HAIR BY VANESSA DOMINGO AND SHANIQUE WANLISS FOR BEYOND HAIR.

(kathy’s wigs) (brown long wig)

Pat McGrath Honoured With an Exclusive Barbie Doll

Dame Pat McGrath as a Barbie Role Model with a doll created in her likeness to celebrate International Women’s Day

Barbie, has announced?Dame?Pat McGrath?as a Barbie Role Model by unveiling a one-of-a-kind doll created in her likeness to celebrate International Women’s Day. Pat is joined by luminaries including Shonda Rhimes, Ari Horie & Tijen Onaran.

As the world’s most influential makeup artist and founder of her eponymous iconic beauty brand Pat McGrath Labs, Pat McGrath joins the brand’s 2022 lineup of “Female Founders”: business leaders and role models whose inspiration will help shape the next generation of female entrepreneurs.

For more than 25 years, Pat’s creative vision and entrepreneurial power has transformed both beauty and fashion on a global scale. So much so, she has garnered honours galore, including being awarded Dame of the British Empire by her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II for services to the Fashion and Beauty Industry and Diversity – the first makeup artist ever to achieve such recognition. Additionally, she has been honoured by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) with the Founder’s Award, the Isabella Blow Award from the British Fashion Council (BFC) and as one of Time Magazine’kim rhoa wigss 100 Most Influential People.

It is an honour having a Barbie in my likeness and I would be so happy if it in any way inspires anyone to follow their dreams and believe that with hard work, creativity and perseverance, everything is possible

Honouring female role models is one of the ways the Barbie brand is working to close the “Dream Gap,” the time when girls are likely to develop self-limiting beliefs. The brand has chosen to spotlight female founders after new research by NYU’s Cognitive Development Lab, which the brand has supported since 2018, found that from the age of 8, girls are more likely to experience key challenges in becoming leaders, including a fear of risk and gender stereotypes.

Barbie Role Models is one way in which the brand encourages girls, furthering the objectives of the Barbie Dream Gap Project, an ongoing global initiative that aims to give girls the resources and support they need to continue to believe that they can be anything.

(omg girlz wig) (wig world)

Afro hair pioneer- Dr Ali N. Syed

Meet Dr Ali N. Syed,the man whose adherence to the science has helped to revolutionise the black haircare industryDr Ali N Syed is a man who knows a thing or two about science. Decades before the black hair narrative began the shift from ‘afro’ to ‘textured’, Dr Syed had been busy formulating products for – and developing a research centre specialising in – textured hair. His pioneering multinational haircare company, Avlon Industries Inc, has one of the most enviable research centres, equipped with all the latest technology. Hence the company motto – ‘The Science of Haircare’.  Dr Syed is also widely thought of as the foremost authority in textured hair.

This is not surprising given that he is a master chemist, with several impressive letters following his name (BSc, MSc, and PhD). Science has always been entrenched in his philosophy and remains at the forefront of his US based business, almost four decades on. For Dr Syed, healthy hair invariably begins with the science. And the science inevitably leads to innovation. And that is incredibly good news for the consumer!

Specialising in what would have been described as ‘Afro’ hair back in the mid-80s when Avlon was in its infancy, Dr Syed, a young-at-heart septuagenarian, still talks passionately about what he now calls ‘African descent hair’ and ‘textured yellow wig hair’. Times and terminologies have changed, and seemingly keep on changing. “In 1984, we’d just come out of the Jherri Curl (picture Eriq La Salle in Coming to America) era. Relaxers and hair straighteners were in. We started with our a relaxer system, had it patented, and introduced it a year later.”

The ‘System’

Affirm Conditioning Relaxer System, was and still is ground-breaking, offering a range of sumptuous salon products that condition the hair before, during and after relaxing.

KeraCare Conditioning Haircare SystemFiberGuard SystemMoisturColourTexture ReleaseAFFIRMCARESyntonicsUberlissAs I Am Naturally, which consists of six collections specifically formulated for home haircare, aptly reflects the growing trend of a return to natural hair and is his first retail range. Ask him what single product he would have recommended for textured hair during lockdown, he says it would have to be part of a ‘system’.

Now think about what it means to have a product patented. “You apply for a patent when something – a formulation or a process – is unique,”  Dr Syed explains. He has lots of patents, over 30 to be precise. The first three came during his 10-year (1973 – 1983) tenure at Johnson Products (then the leading black-owned manufacturer of black haircare products). This was a seminal stage in his career, cementing his passion for hair of African descent. With that passion came principles. “I wanted to create the best and highest quality products for our consumers, products that were on a par with those available for their Caucasian counterparts, and at a fair price. My personal philosophy is that you must deliver what you promise to the customer on the label.”

The importance of research

His success with patents always comes right back to the science. “We’re a highly research-oriented company,” he says of Avlon. “We have 11 different labs in our research centre. We also have a testing salon where people get their hair done for free and in return, we learn from them what their issues are.”  To this end, each new product, each new system, is rigorously tried and tested to perfection. No shortcuts. No false claims.

In the past we thought there were two types of hair: African descent hair and Caucasian hair. Not true! There has been misinformation around this for centuries.

“First, we send our clients from the test salon to the dermatology lab and use non-invasive instruments to look at the condition of their scalp. Is it damaged, dry, irritated? Are there any bacteria, any redness? Does it have the right amount of moisture and oils? We measure all of this before we send them to the salon with suitable products. Then we send them back to the labs. We measure the pH, moisture, shine, and other properties of the hair. Is the pH balanced now? Does the hair and scalp have more moisture after the treatment? Is the scalp moisture and stratum corneum improved? Did we eliminate the bacteria from the scalp? It’s a cyclical process, with the salon and the labs, working together until we find optimum solutions for each of these issues. Our scientists are not just chemists, some are physicists, microbiologists and others come from the health industry. Our approach is a holistic one.

“In the past we thought there were two types of hair: African descent hair and Caucasian hair. Not true! There has been misinformation around this for centuries. We were brainwashed into thinking curly hair is only in African descent hair. Over the decades we have collected the data and continue to do the research. Our knowledge base comes from the science of African descent hair and scalp.”

We’re meeting via Zoom. He’s sitting in his office at his Chicago HQ while I’m firing questions from the room with the best internet connection, my living room. A timely scenario. How has the current global pandemic affected this man of science?

“You get to see that nothing is guaranteed. You begin to make decisions that are best for the time you’re living in. You must throw out present and future and come up with quick, new emergency plans. Luckily, that’s what we did. We went into survival mode. Some of the steps we took (like developing a hand cleansing system), made our business stronger.

The early years

Dr Syed has a way of making the complex sound simple. It stems, perhaps from his early career as a chemistry teacher, first in Pakistan, then in Tanzania, East Africa. Perhaps too, from sheer humility. His journey to business mogul wasn’t an easy one. Born in India, he was too young to remember being forced to leave home with his parents with nothing but the clothes on their back. They ended up in a refugee camp in rural Pakistan when India was split under the British Raj. He made it to college but says it was a “miracle” he got there, recalling times when he couldn’t even afford to buy himself a cup of tea. He puts it down to the strength and determination of his parents.

Arriving as an immigrant in the US in 1972, he was able to work but faced the stigma of his qualifications not being recognised there. Undeterred, he started out with jobs he was much overqualified for. His tenacity is evident in the groundwork he put into growing Avlon, initially introducing his products to hairstylists all over the US as a travelling salesman. He switched it up a notch from car to plane, travelling globally and diligently educating stylists about the products. This work ethic, no doubt, has led to Avlon being where it is today, the successful global brand loved and respected by loyal consumers and professionals alike. But he is far from complacent. His vision – to continue using scientific research and exciting new technology to produce the best products that do “wonderful things for textured hair”.

“We’ve been operating all these years with a hugely diverse workforce at all levels in our business.  Social responsibility is high on our list so we mentor, offer internships, scholarships and contribute financially to various causes. There is always a payback time. I believe in sharing. The more you give, mysteriously, the more you get. I do not believe in amassing wealth. Sharing makes your life way better.”

The future

Avloneurope.co.uk

Interview by Deirdre Forbes

(ebeauty wigs) (brown 70s wig) (sew on wig)