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Weaves...Let's Just Do This!

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I'm writing this with welled eyes because the first shot of Gabrielle is hurting me and the memories are lighting the corners of my mind. You can't quite fathom my addiction that I once had to the weave. When my hairdresser (R.I.P) first told me trying to dye my hair like Charlie Baltimore would inevitably make my hair drop out from it's follicles, I could not see any option. I detested weaves but she explained it was the only way I could achieve colour..... So it started with red and lets say the rest is history. I never quite managed to do turquoise but pretty much every colour has been in my hair.

But let's not get me wrong my weaves were good. So good that people used to ask me what dye I used in my hair? I never wore the stitched in weave as that was immoral! To wear a helmet of fake hair was too much for me. Forget your man not being able to run his fingers through your hair, what about you! Scalps need to breathe too!

I'm sure everyone has seen those girls patting their hair like their about start a new dance. The frustration must be troubling the nerves or peace of mind.I pity them.

But alas sometimes I get tempted to have it flowing down my back. When we look at the media and Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, Amerie, Mariah Carey, Eve, Mary J Blige, Cassie (yeah don't get it twisted)Tyra Banks. It's hard to resist. But then again?



Amerie quite firmly put me back in my place with this hatched-up catastrophe!

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Even the women who once represented for natural hair has gone over to the dark side. Lauryn Hill and Erkyah Badu started off by wearing natural hair which then turned into natural wigs and now straight (up) wigs.

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A little info for you Boys...

Just in case your couchin with your cuddle and your running your fingers through her hair and looking into her eyes thinking ...'wow your hair is so beautiful. ' It's amazing how blond it is even though your parents are from Jamaica?'

The newest weave as I am sure most people know of is the Lace Front made popular by Beyonce and Naomi Campbell and Michael Jackson. Yes Michael Jackson! These are glued to the forehead with lace between the weave and scalp, if done well the results are quite phenomenal. But if like Naomi you have been doing this all your life you could very well end up with no hairline or clingon skin like Beyonce demonstrates beautifully...

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Imagine if there was no weaves, would we be living with non carnal female icons...?

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I'm a lover not a fighter and don't judge any girl that wears them as I am a reformed addict.

(real talk)


But I want the male views on this!

To weave or not to weave?

That is the question?

50 comments:

laura said...

REAL TALK!

clav said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shenanigan said...

come on son! Ave IT!

clav said...

My gosh, I just looked again at the Amerie pic - what the hell was she thinking!? Slightly off topic, but homegirl's been married for about 7/8 years now and it's just as well if she's gonna rock that monstrosity with any sort of pride - the minister wasn't joking when he said "to have and to hold, for better or worse"...

And as far as the Cassie/Michael thing goes - I thought that was common knowledge (kinda like that whole thing with Aaliyah)?

clav said...

And ARE you posting this to wind me up!?!? lol :-D

Shenanigan said...

it's all common knowledge I just want YOUR views on it and how u would deal with a girl who is near perfect with weave?

clav said...

I made a very long post in the thread about L'Oreal/Beyonce and I firmly believe to each their own so I won't judge a girl for wearing one but in short - not my wife.

I wholeheartedly detest weaves and quite frankly don't care if my point of view offends. Personally I would not deal with any girl that rocked a weave, near perfect or otherwise. Especially if said girl was trying to convince me into thinking that was her actual hair (as has been the case on a few occasions)!!!

That's a question - why do girls like to deceive the less well-informed men out there that their weave is their own hair when in fact it's not!?

Anonymous said...

Shout out to June Sarpong, Trisha, Mica Paris, Beverley Knight and Ebony Bones for putting me off weave for LIFE!

Unknown said...

I am NOT a fan of weave but don't knock a woman that wants to wear it, I am naturally free from chemical or pieces.

I still don't get the 'look' of it and worse the bashment ones which I really cant stand, using the crack creme is bad enough but the extra weave pieces is a no no for ME.

And the smell, damn have you been on a train and sat to close to someone with a stinky weave, I don't know how they can smell their next !

But on the flip side, when you look at versatility and creativity for someone that wants constant change, then they can opt for a weave, each to their own.

But is still a NO for me

If anyone wants help going natural let me know :-)

Anonymous said...

I like short and long hair, and weave enables me to do that at the flick of a piece. However, us girls need to be aware of the damage constant weaving, bonding, braiding can have on our OWN hair. I have short hair now, but come winter I may be tempted to ADD ON. And to those who pretend the yaki is theirs.... poor u. B proud of ur natty hair!!!!

Shenanigan said...

LOL...yeah what is it about winter and weaves? You just want it?

But I'm reformed now, I've been clean for about two years...

Anonymous said...

I'm nigerian but mixed with italian so I got the really long hair from my Italian side and the tough texture from my nigerian side, Anyways I wear a weave and I'll explain y....
As Lil' wayne pointed out nigerian hair is tough lol! to keep it looking nice u have to "relax" it once every 3 months, sharighten it and visit the salon at least once every week! being a student mans can't afford that! A weave is easier to maintaine and cuz its not your real hair you dont have to worry about over heating it from straightners and blow dryers or treating it and what not! Obviously when im rich enough to maintain my real hair I wont need to wear weaves anymore.. so there some of us wear weaves 4 a good reason!

Anonymous said...

i think if a girl has jacked up hair then have the weave but some girls have it to keep up with the times


KO

Anonymous said...

JO?

Anonymous said...

i dont know if im talking for all men but i for one have had enough... between make up, push up bras, weaves ect....
Whats with the DECEPTION ladies ??
i understand that certain products help you feel a little more confident in your skin... but this is getting ridiculous! At least with us men what you see is what you get!!

Anonymous said...

yeah but ALOT of men lie...just not about their apperance...!

Shenanigan said...

lol @ anon...they a LION to them selves!

Anonymous said...

me personally im not a fan of weave
and i do think some girls over do it
but hey who am i to agrue with um
its there head

Ms. Understood said...

Gabrielle Union = is on my girl-crush list

back to the subject: the closest I ever got to weave was when someone offered me £400 at the tender age of 14 to buy my hair. That was the last time I went to a hairdressers in Finsbury Park.

clav said...

@ yeahisaidit - that's very good!!!! lol

STOP THE PRESS: Isaac Hayes dead at 65 - wtf!??!

Ms. Understood said...

if you are black and successful you better watch your back for the rest of the month. August has claimed some of the best-
Bernie Mac
Isaac Hayes
Aaliyah
Princess Diana

I'm not black, but will be keeping very still until Sepetember. Just in case.

Anonymous said...

ladies allow the weave seriously!!
its not a good look,i was checking a girl whos mum had the baseball cap weave...u know the weave thats glued into the hat.never saw her without that damn cap lol

clav said...

Diana was a coke-head anyways...

Anonymous said...

Bald Mariah is more attractive.

Shenanigan said...

princess diana was black? Did I miss something?

Anonymous said...

weave it out darlin'

Sierra said...

Lol, love it. But to whoever was talking about Nigerian hair being tough, two words: COP OUT! All hair is manageable if you know what you are doing and have the confidence to rock it. Weaves cost a whole lot more than washing, drying, combing and twisting/plaiting your own God given mane. My current hairdo only cost me one bottle of jojoba oil, one bottle of glycerine and a lil mango butter for the ends. That's £10 per yearly quarter. Beat that!

William Adam said...

I'd prefer for my girl not to have weave
its not a good look
especially when its a bad weave at that
i like knowing that my girls hair is the real deal init
not this fake shit you paid 60 pound in the hairdressers for

fair enough if your hair is too much to handle go ahead and do what you like
but I'm just saying i prefer for my girls hair to be natural


also excessive use of weave can cause you to get a drawback

and no one likes a big forehead now
do they?

Anonymous said...

it's cost a bit more than 60 pound love. more like 160..

Ms. Understood said...

^^^maybe she is talking about the baseball cap stuck-on weave

Anonymous said...

lets talk about relaxers, arent they just as much of a cop out?

double standards in the slightest maybe?




thats aimed @ you SHENANIGAN!

Ms. Understood said...

kim- it's not the same thing- that is your actual hair, not something a 6 year old bangladeshi kid shaved off to feed her family for a week or two.

do you wear make-up?
a bra?

these are all things that take what you have naturally and enhance/define them.

Shenanigan said...

yeah she said it

Anonymous said...

@ shenanigan/ shenanigans spokesperson

i would argue that relaxing afro hair is running away from your kinky/ nappy/ whatever you wanna call it roots. opting to resemble something your not(European)by chemically bunnin' up your scalp is not so different to what weave wearers do when they slap those tracks onto their scalp... double standards.

i don't wear a weave, but i just think people love to watch too much, like really,
unless you walk the streets 100% natural, with no enhancements WHATSOEVER, allow casting stones.

Phoebe said...

I think Ace should have the last word on this one:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=38482120

(Skip to 2mins 30secs)

whateveryouwantittosay said...

Personally, I've worn my hair natural most of my life, but I've always liked versatility.

As evidenced by this pic here, I mess with the occasional wig, to switch things up. I've had my hair relaxed a few times, and I've had braids with extensions added a few times.

I feel like each time that I've done that, that it has negatively impacted my hair growth. I'm not talking Mariah proportions or anything, but I have noticed that my hair, to this day has never grown in as thick. The braid in extensions were especially bad. I think that doing things to your hair EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE is fine, but some people seem so disgusted with their natural hair, and that is kinda sad to me.

I don't want to get on a soapbox, because if I didn't workout all the time and sweat so damn much, I'd mess with the occasional weave.

Personally, I love curly/ frizzy/ coarse/ kinky/ nappy/ wavy hair. I like to see a variety of textures represented when I'm looking at a crowd of people, not a see of stick straight and slightly wavy, long-ass manes

Ms. Understood said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ms. Understood said...

Kim, I am personally not judging, and merely expressing my opinion, as mentioned, I am the proud owner of a wash-and-go, mentally curly barnet. I don't think that wearing weave is a deception, because again, IMO, it is so obvious when it is being worn (as a girl). My main concern is when human hair is being used, as described in my previous comment. You didn't say whether your hair was relaxed, or if you wore make-up or a bra. If you do any of these things, surely you are doing what the rest of us are doing- taking what God gave you and allowing Mac/La Perla to make it look better. None of those things end up making anyone else less fortunate than me or you bald.

I am not Shenanigan's spokesperson, she is astute enough to be able to defend herself, I am just saying what I think, if we agree that is down to coincidence.

Lastly 'your' when meaning 'you are' is spelt 'you're'. That actually makes me alot more angry than anyone trying to pass off someone else's hair/something that came out of a packet as their own!

Shenanigan said...

@ kim this is an old aged argument...

and yes some do feel that perming your hair takes you away from your naturalness..."black-ness" and depicts conforming to resembling an European. Yes I can whole heartedly agree with this. But as women we all have different views and reasons on why we choose to do things.

My persona is ever changing and at times reflects in my appearance especially my hair. This is a way I have always expressed myself. My hair has been natural before but shear boredom made me change.

And not for one second did I believe my reasons for perming my hair was to adjust to a society or want in any way to look European. I am extremely in touch with who I am. I also stated that I don't judge anyone on how they wear hair. As I have 'had' every style. The post is on weave and not about perm. But if you like I can post this as a separate thread. I would chop all my hair off tomorrow if I felt like it. Which I have also done before.

I am not my hair

www.tytecurl.com

Anonymous said...

@ Shenanigan
"as women we all have different views and reasons on why we choose to do things".

that couldn't have been said any better shenanigan.
ive got dreads for my personal reasons, the same way you relax your hair for your personal reasons, the same way the next girl likes to weave for her personal reasons... but live and let live.

im not questioning your reasons or your "blackness", im not a hypocrite. but after reading the post, i couldn't help but play devils advocate

Anonymous said...

Sierra go sidung hard my girl...
What fricking planet are you on to even mention that Nigerian hair is TUFF like the dumb ass likkle wayne... Whappen my girl you have a cultural imbalance that you will denounce your own.. your comment errk the shit out of me and I aint Nigerian. ALL FAKKING HAIR is manageable its your choice how you handle your own. If you texture is slightly tighter in coils then locing is a great process for you, or if its more kinky you can slap on some whipped shea butter a have creative style.
So nuhbadda come chat bout half Italian like that make a difference to this blog... go chuck of a cliff .........fukka u

Anonymous said...

^^^^^^^ Sorry Sierra is not's you but anonymous person...apologies for calling you out!

Shenanigan said...

fair play kim


check the website

Shenanigan said...

...can I add I love atcn

'I kiss my screen on a regular'

Unknown said...

my woman had one of those sexy kelis short styles when i first started linkin her.
when she was ready to grow it out she couldnt be fussed with the "inbetween" phase so yea, she dashed couple tracks up in there till it got to a decent enough length for her to take them out.

i really dont business. obviously i prefer her natural, but at the end of the day i know its temporary, it looks aight, and my girls got hair of her own. minor.

whateveryouwantittosay said...

@ anon, I feel you. That's some brainwashed behavior talkin' when people say that certain people have hair that's not as good or "manageable" as others. Love the skin you're in (and the hair that tops it off).
But, nonetheless, (no longer at anon, just generally speaking) have fun with it. It's just some dead protein cells sprouting outta your head. Relax people (no pun intended)

Anonymous said...

shenanigan,

you were brave enough to take it there with the weave debate.
i BEGGGGGG!!!!!! you to make a post about this video! (or any other brave enough tribe member)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFa1tTf8PKA

its alot alie?

Shenanigan said...

mmmm it's a tricky one. But one stupid fool fool bwoy's opinion may cause unwanted attention on ATCN. But I will run it by the rest of the tribe.

O and it will SO be my post my name aint shenanigan fo nothing! Thanks for the heads up..

LaWeez Hynes said...

Kammala, that video is shocking ! Totally answered my previous question of whether its racist to hate your own race ! I feel for the guys family !

Unknown said...

WOW!

WTF did his mum do to him?!
i usually brush dem fools off but that burnt!

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