Confession time: I am a hair fanatic...
Whether this is due to my love of 1970’s disco divas like Diana Ross, Chaka Khan and Donna Summer, or wearing the hijab in my teens, people who know me can attest that I always talk about hair. Perhaps it’s because I never saw my hair type represented growing up; perhaps it’s because I’ve never been able to walk into a salon and get a simple cut like my straight-haired friends, or maybe it’s because of the endless possibilities that black hair presents
At the age of nine, I started wearing a hijab and for the most part, I was bullied and called a rag, some kids even thought I was bald underneath. But little did they know that underneath the “rag,” there grew 26 inches of beautiful curly tresses. I think that made things a little bit worse. I wondered how I could be so blessed with such beautiful hair and hide it from the world. I just knew my hair could do anything – like it was its own superpower.
Mona at age 3 and 14.
I grew up hating wearing the hijab, not because I felt restricted but because of all the bullying. By the time I took the hijab off for good, I was 16 years old. That’s when my hair journey began.
Years went by and so did the hairstyles – so many hairstyles! I’ve had everything – a pixie, braids, blonde pin-ups – you name it. Even though I longed for the ‘fresh from the salon experience,’ I used to do my own hair or have friends do it for me. I’ve never felt comfortable going to a hairdresser, I was afraid (women with curly hair will understand). Curly hair seems to be a foreign language – stylists will either cut your hair while it’s straight (and it looks great but totally whack when it’s curly), or they cut your hair curly, and it looks whack when it’s straight. Either way, it’s risky business.
There is a huge lack of knowledge when it comes to afro hair, which is why I’m very careful with who I trust with my hair.
Ida Njie
Fast forward to January 2020. I was new to Stockholm and had not yet discovered the afro hair salons, but I wanted a new style – a pixie – to accompany my new beginning. I went to so many different hair salons, but not one dared cut my mid-length to match the Mia Farrow reference photo I had brought. It was extremely frustrating to get turned away – was my hair really that daunting?
In the end, it took three different salons with each stylist cutting my hair bit by bit until I got my desired look. The salon that got the credit at the end was an Ethiopian barber at a barbershop in Rinkeby, Sweden. A barber. And I am not alone; there are so many girls like me who’ve had the same experience. We’d love to be able to walk into any salon and be welcomed just like everyone else.
Bleached hair was tried once... and never again.
‘’It is very uncommon for me to walk in a random hair salon and leave with the hair I ask for,” says my friend, Ida Njie, who has ‘4C’ hair which is classified as dense and wiry with tight coils and hard to manage. “There is a huge lack of knowledge when it comes to afro hair, which is why I’m very careful with who I trust with my hair. I take care of it by myself or with the help of other black women or people who specialize in my hair type; it’s a process but it’s a necessity!”
Another friend, Bria Jones, says for the most part she takes care of her own hair too – something I keep hearing again and again. Once Bria does find a salon she likes, she becomes a complete devotee. “I’ve had so many bad experiences at traditional salons where I leave in tears,” she says. “I have been loyally going to Urban Hair since 2016/2017, and to be honest I would never even think of going to a different salon because I don’t trust that it would go well – I only go to Urban and stick with the same stylist. I’ll wait two months for an appointment if that’s what it takes,” says Bria.
Just a month ago, I had to cut my own hair after failing to secure an appointment at the two hair salons in Stockholm I know can cater to my hair. Understandably when the lockdowns were lifted, many salons quickly booked out. But why am I – and Bria and Ida and others like us – restricted to visiting only two salons in Stockholm in the first place?
“Hairdressers finish their education without even touching textured hair,” explains Sarah Åsard, founder of Urban Hair and one of the few curly hair salons and educators based in Stockholm. Her proscribed solution is education. “The schools do not have any textbooks or classes on textured hair. They skipped this whole part which then made it OK for hairdressers to do the same. The fundamentals are missing and there is nothing stopping you from getting your diploma without this knowledge – that’s where the problem lies,” she says. “I started Urban Hair because I wanted clients with textured hair to feel welcomed and at home; to show them that they deserved a trendy hair salon with educated hairstylists that were there for them – something I only could dream of growing up.”
Sarah and Chanel in Urban Hair Salon.
Having ticked the salon box, Sarah launched Urban Academics with her friend and Urban Hair colleague, Chanel Faltin, four years ago. “Our goal today is to change Scandinavia by educating hairdressers and stylists about textured hair,” says Sarah. “When I started 15 years ago, I didn’t have any courses to choose from so I travelled abroad and took classes; I still do. All I want to see is people with textured hair being able to walk into any hair salon with confidence and not have to ask the question: ‘Do you cut textured hair?’ I want them to feel welcomed wherever they go, to choose a salon or hairdresser they like, and not just because that’s the only option.”
Thanks to salons like Urban Hair, and educators like Sarah and Chanel, afro hair is being normalised. Thinking back to when I was that excited (and soon-to-be defeated) 16-year-old ready to show off my salon-fresh locks, there are now many more opportunities for black women to get their hair done in cities like Stockholm. With the standard of hair education and training slowly shifting, and microaggressions towards black hair being actively called out, afro hair is increasingly seen as it should: bangs may be a trend, but afro hair is not.