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    How Much It Costs To Maintain Natural Black Hair

    Source: The Huffington Post
    March 1, 2020 at 06:59
    ILLUSTRATION: DAMON DAHLEN/HUFFPOST; PHOTOS: HANDOUTS
    ILLUSTRATION: DAMON DAHLEN/HUFFPOST; PHOTOS: HANDOUTS
    Ten women share exactly how much time and money they spend on their hair care annually.
    By Bianca Lambert
     

    The narrative surrounding Black beauty, specifically hair, is changing as Black women embrace their curls, coils and kinks. Marketing research backs this shift, as Mintel reports hair relaxer sales fell 38% between 2012–2017. Conversely, the Black hair care market is growing each year and is valued at $2.5 billion. 

    But those who choose the natural hair route understand that it’s not as “natural” as you’d think ― there’s a lot of work, time and money involved in caring for natural hair. Nielsen data found that Black women spend nine times more on ethnic-targeted beauty and grooming products than the average for all consumers.

    While these studies break down some of the financial components of Black beauty, the numbers don’t account for the time and physical commitment Black women make each week on “wash day” — a day that’s committed to detangling, washing, conditioning and styling their hair in preparation for the week.

    We spoke to 10 women of all different hair types: Type 2s are wavy, usually forming an S-pattern; 3s are curly, ranging from ringlets to springy spirals; 4s are coily, prone to shrinkage and ranging from small corkscrew-sized curls to a zigzag pattern that doesn’t always yield definition. Additionally, an A is a looser curl, C is a tight curl and B is somewhere in the middle. Here’s how much time and money they spend on their natural curls.

    Tennille Murphy, 3B: $1,012 

     
    COURTESY OF TENNILLE
    COURTESY OF TENNILLE
     

    “I wear my hair naturally curly, with no protective styles or straightening. Wash days can be time-consuming, so you’ll never find me going to the gym right after wash day. In fact, I’ll usually schedule my high-cardio workout in relation to wash day, when I know I’ll be washing my hair afterward. The most frustrating thing with my curls is that they never look the same way twice. I can achieve somewhat consistent results with the right products, but even then, I can end up with a bad hair day for no good reason at all. What I love most about my curls is that my hair is unique. I love the idea that I’ll never see someone with my exact curl pattern or hair color, for that matter.”

    Hair products: $312

    Two curly cuts: $700

    Hours dedicated to wash day annually: 130 

    Freddie Ransome, 3C: $2,050

    PAOLA TRUSENDI
    PAOLA TRUSENDI
     

    “For the past year-and-a-half, I’ve been wearing a kinky curly weave as a protective style to give my hair time and space to breathe. As much as I love my natural hair, it’s a lottttt of work. When I wear my natural hair, I like it best in a top knot (because right now, my fro isn’t the shape I want it) but I can’t wear it like that every day because I’ll thin out my edges, so I opt for a weave.”

    Hair products: $150 

    Kinky curly weave installation (with trims and hair included): $1,500

    Protective styling (Braids): $400 (hair and styling included)

    Lauren A. Carter, 3A/3B: $1,438

     
    COURTESY OF LAUREN A. CARTER
    COURTESY OF LAUREN A. CARTER
     

    “I love wearing my hair natural, and it’s been two years since I made the commitment. There were a lot of growing pains at the beginning. I had to try so many products before finding what worked for me. Like everyone, I have good hair days and bad ones, but at the end of the day, I love my curls!” 

    Hair products: $894

    Salon visits (hair color and trims): $550 

    Hours dedicated to wash day annually: 104 

    Miss Rii, 4C: $1,550

    COURTESY OF MISS RII
    COURTESY OF MISS RII
     

    “I’ve had locs for almost 17 years, but before that, I wore a bald head for almost 12. The most difficult part of my daily routine is corralling all 200 of my locs in the perfect ponytail when I don’t have a specific style. I see my loctician every three weeks without fail. I plan my entire life around having my locs maintained. Nothing happens if my hair appointment isn’t on the books.”

    Hair products: $160

    Loctician visits: $1,390

    Hours dedicated to wash day annually: 43

    Krissy Lewis, 4C: $1,320

    COURTESY OF KRISSY LEWIS
    COURTESY OF KRISSY LEWIS
     

    “I love my natural hair, and I honestly wouldn’t change it for the world, but I would be lying if I said it’s not frustrating at times. I think my biggest frustration is dealing with dryness. If I don’t keep it under control, it can cause breakage, and all of that makes my hair more high maintenance. Believe it or not, though I still love my wash days, it’s my one-on-one time with my hair, and I can give it a little TLC.”

    Hair Products: $480

    Salon visits (steam treatment and trim), four times a year: $540

    Protective styling, twice a year: $300

    Hours dedicated to wash day annually: 132 

    Amal Dalmar, 3B: $100

    WAJIHA
     

    “I don’t have a super-developed hair care routine yet, but because I wear a hijab, I have to be extra careful about hair thinning, so I make sure that I avoid cotton caps and scarves that will pull on my hair. I part my hair to ease the tension on my hairline and also put my hair in a low ponytail. I have been trying to maintain my hair routine this year, so I try to use black Jamaican castor oil every night on my edges.”

    Hair products: $100

    Hours dedicated to wash day annually: 52 

    Lulu Cordero, 3B, 3C,and some 4A: $800

    KRIS DAVIED
    KRIS DAVIED
     

    “I love everything about my curls. They tell a story ― my story ― and I’m proud of that. A day in maintaining my hair typically starts the night before. I primarily do wash and gos. I want to make one thing abundantly clear ― one does not simply wash and go! The frustrations I experience are related to keeping my curls defined and the frizz at bay — it can easily ruin hours worth of wash day work.”

    Hair products: $200 (multiples of some of the below)

    Curly cuts and maintenance: $600

    Hours dedicated to wash day annually: 52 

    Taylor Anise, 4C: $500

    COURTESY OF TAYLOR ANISE
    COURTESY OF TAYLOR ANISE
     

    “Going natural was the best decision I have ever made for my hair. I feel so much more confident in my natural hair than I ever did when I used to get relaxers (everyone’s experience is different). Because my hair is super coily, I can go from a super short Afro to a stretched-out curly ’fro, and that’s my absolute favorite thing about my hair: the options. I call it my superpower. I get most of my hair products [through public relations work], so I probably spend $150-$200 annually.

    Hair Products: $200

    Salon visits (shampoo, condition, steam treatment, flat iron and trim): $100

    Protective styling: $200

    Hours dedicated to wash day annually: 182

    Erica Lall, 3C/4A: $200

     
    NESRIN
    NESRIN
     

    “I started growing my hair out naturally close to the beginning of 2018. When I was 8, I started to relax my hair to make it easier to work with, especially for ballet. I finally cut off the leftover relaxed part of my hair in July 2019, and I’ve never been happier with my hair. Curly hair suits me and my personality so much more, and I love how much volume and life it brings to me as well. I’m part of the Emerge Creative Collective, so I have been using the Emerge products.”

    Hair products: $0 (gifted)

    Salon visits (trims every six months): $170-$200

    Hours dedicated to wash day annually: 104 

    Kristen Summerall, 3C/4A: $720

     
    COURTESY OF KRISTEN SUMMERALL
    COURTESY OF KRISTEN SUMMERALL
     

    “Living in Georgia, the weather can definitely play against my hair, particularly the rain and humidity. My go-to style is twist outs. I love how my hair looks in that style and feel it suits me best and makes me feel confident. However, if there is an ounce of moisture in the air, it can affect my style. Much if not all of my routines, products used and techniques I do on my hair, I owe to the natural hair community on YouTube. I watched and continue to watch countless tutorials and reviews done by some fantastic vloggers. They really helped me learn how to take care of my hair. It was a long and expensive process finding what works best for my hair, but I now feel that I’ve got a solid routine down.” 

    Hair products: $720

    Trims and Salon Visits: $0 (she does it at home)

    Hours dedicated to wash day annually: 209

    Read more about the complicated relationships we have with our hair at My Hair, My Story.


     

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