Baby Girl has a fabulous new set of braid.  The stylist responsible is Vicky Seapker of InVu Hair Salon in Franklin, TN.  I added two new sets of beads.  The first set are multi-colored oblong beads.  The other beads are “princess beads” and are shaped like tiny little tiaras.  The beads are from Golden Mart Beauty Supply in Chattanooga, TN.  Golden Mart Beauty Supply has an amazing selection of hair products and the best customer service available.  (The shipping cost is painful, however!)  I keep going back anyway.  I’m addicted!

 Enjoy the photos!

What to call them?  Dreds?  Locks?  Even the spelling of the whole term “dredlocks” is a matter of debate.  Some spell it with the “a”, others as a matter of ethnic pride spell it without that little extra vowel. 

However, you spell it…I love them.

I have a confession to make though, I only like dreds in African hair.  The sight of a person of European descent in dreds seems, I don’t know…just wrong to me.  It is a matter of opinion and this is my site, after all.

The truth is, that although African hair is the easiest to form into locks, no ethnic group can lay claim to the style.  Evidence of dreds have been found in many ancient cultures.

More of that later… a new article on dreds is on its way soon to “Back to the Root”.

Now for the gallery…

I spent much of the day last Friday, detangling my daughter’s hair, washing it and then braiding it in these cornrows.  It is extremely satisfying to find that each time I set my hand to the task, I am a little bit better at a skill that was once so foreign to me. 

The photos speak for themselves.  The parts are simple, the braids fairly small.  We finished off the look with beads in various hues of blue and pink.  Each braid has one bead on the end that is clear and shaped like a bow.

Enjoy!

Beautiful Africa.  Ancient cultures thrived there and the crowning glory of Africa’s children was cherished.  Braids, beads, and locks adorned their heads.  Combs were carved from bone and used to free tangles from kinks and curls.

Then came the slave ship.

Heads are shorn.  Shame!  Tears…  Nightmare follows nightmare in the belly of those stinking, hellish vessels.  When at last the hatch was thrown open to flood the horror with light and fresh air, fear and hope must have mingled in their hearts.

We survived!  Land at last!  But what new terrors will this new, strange land hold?

Past the humiliation of the auction block lay fields of endless labor on the plantation.  Sun up to sun down.  Work those fingers to the bone! 

Don’t stop!  Pick faster!  Crack of the whip and curse of the Master!

No more time for braids.  No more combs of bone.  A carding tool for the fleece of sheep would have to do the job.  Forced neglect and poor hygiene breed disease on the scalps of Africa’s children and once beautiful tresses fall free leaving bald patches behind.  Malnutrition and exhaustion take their share of kinks and curls as well.

Africa’s children bow their heads in shame as weary hands reach for rags to cover once proud heads.

A new hair style for my youngest and it is her favorite.  She calls it her “African hair” (which I love!) but the proper name is “Zulu Knots”.  I love this style because it serves up visual interest on by the knots as well as the parts.  I chose to draw parts in star patterns which naturally formed triangular sections of hair.  This is a fabulous ethnic style for not only little ones but for adults as well.  So, if you are blessed to have Africa’s crown and glory, give it a try.

And by all means, send me some pictures!

For the longest time, mothers have been writing to me asking for an article on boys’ hair.  Finally, it is here!  Check out my Black Hair For Dummies Article:  Let’s Hear It For The Boys!  Never fear, I have consulted an expert for this article since I have no personal experience in the matter.  I am joined by my friend Tony Steele, owner and master barber of Classic Sports Barber Shop.  Click the link and read on….

 LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BOYS!

I wish I could take credit for these cornrows but alas, I cannot.  Problems with my back robbed me of the treat of braiding my youngest daughter’s hair this week.  This set of beautiful rows were woven by our current featured hair artist Vicky Seapker at InVu Hair Salon in Franklin, Tennessee.

Enjoy the photos and let me know how you think Vicky crafted the chain pattern this client’s head.

*ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SHARING PHOTOS OF YOUR CREATIONS?  We would love to launch a “Readers’ Gallery”.  If you would like to participate, e-mail me ~ sherri@sherrigragg.com  Be sure to clearly indicate your intentions in the subject line so that it does not get spammed.

African hair.  Good Hair, bad hair, kinks and curls.  Some embrace it.  Others disdain it.  Some never make any peace with it at all.

Insults have been hurled against it.  Cries of indignation raised in defense of it.  Mothers and daughters have bonded over it while ancient history passed through their fingertips.

Tears have been shed over it.  Countless tears. 

Tears on the auction block.  Tears in the cotton fields.  Tears in the slave cabins as once cherished locks fell into weary hands due to malnutrition, abuse and neglect. 

More tears still as the master’s wife punished the house slave by shaving her crown and glory.  Tears again as harsh products slathered to make it straighter and therefore more pleasing to the master peeled skin right off the scalp.  Lye was never meant for beautiful African hair and skin.

Freedom came but tears remained, for African hair was still scorned by those in power.  Anything to straighten it, make it more like them, but it was never quite good enough. 

Tears.

Now, at the dawn of the 21st century so much has changed and still so much remains the same.  My daughter’s introduction to racism concerning her hair came so suddenly it took our breath away and now the tears are hers.

And mine.

Tears.

It is the dream of this little blog to just for a moment wipe the tears, whisper hope and share a smile by celebrating the crowning glory of Africa’s children.

So come, let us whisper truth while we braid and bead.