ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 26, 1995 TAG: 9512270001
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER
Marylen Harmon was in Accra, Ghana, in 1993 when she decided to give braided hair a go.
"I had five ladies braiding at the same time - two on each side and one in the back," Harmon recalled of her experience in a hotel's beauty salon.
The braiders shampooed Harmon's shoulder-length hair; rinsed it with steaming hot water; dried it; wove it into approximately 130 braids, finishing each by running their fingers up it with a snapping motion; then sealed the style with another hot-water rinse.
Approximately eight hours after the work began, for a handful of Ghanaian cedis or about $20-$25 in U.S. currency, Harmon had a combination of cornrows and braids that lasted from July through January without any rebraiding and only minimal maintenance; that complemented her facial features and accentuated her small widow's peak; that caused passersby to give her thumbs ups and comment on the beauty and uniqueness of her hair; and that increased her pride and appreciation of her African heritage.
"Once I realized that I no longer had to do anything to my hair other than wash and condition it and put in a little moisturizer ... I didn't have to worry about blow drying it or rolling it up, it was a real convenience. ... I loved it," Harmon said.
When she took the braids out, her hair was in excellent condition and longer and thicker than it had been. As have increasing numbers of women (and men), Harmon found that hair techniques dating to before Christ are perfect for present times.
Harmon, who has taught school for 26 years, laces her social studies lessons for Northside Middle School's sixth graders with personal experiences and artifacts from her extensive travels.
As the Kwanzaa holiday observation, today through Jan. 1, approached, those lessons included discussions about leaders whose adornments included braids. Among them were Hatshepsut, Egypt's first woman ruler, circa 1515 B.C., and the Nubian queen Nefertari.
Harmon and her classes also discussed the seven principles of Kwanzaa: unity; self-determination; collective work and responsibility; cooperative economics; purpose; creativity; and faith - several of which could easily be applied to the craft and costs of braids.
"In Africa, throughout the different regions, you'll find that braiding will tell who you are," Harmon said. "It will tell your ethnic group, your socio-economic status, whether you're married, how many children you have. People don't have to ask certain questions because your braiding will tell who you are."
Stateside, though, because most braiders know nothing of weaving such patterns, braids tend to reflect personal style and perhaps the wearer's political statement.
In 1980, Pamela Ferrell's statement of her black pride included wearing tight shoulder-length braids tipped with turquoise and silver beads. The style cost her a job moonlighting at a fabric store, but it also served as impetus for her to open Cornrows & Co., the nation's first braids-only salon in Washington, D.C. Speaking by phone from her shop, Ferrell said her 12 natural hair care stylists offer complete services for naturals, dredlocks, twists and braids.
"Braids are done in small sections working with three strands of hair. Some people call them plaits," Ferrell explained. ``They allow movement; they have a 360-degree circular rotation. Cornrows are braids that lay flat to the head and are stationary. Twists are done with two pieces of hair. They lay flat along the scalp and are softer feeling and looking."
Sometimes hair, called extensions, is added to give a style length or to increase its longevity, in which case, Ferrell said, "Human hair is more expensive. It's softer and doesn't always blend with our hair if it's a kinkier texture. But it's more versatile if you want to wear it wavy or straight. Synthetic hair is more durable, and its pattern is permanent."
Ferrell said the trend in the D.C. area is away from cornrows and extensions and toward rolls and sculpted curls. She wears her own once-braided hair in twists.
What to expect
Styles can last from a couple of weeks to a couple or more months, with care and maintenance varying according to hair texture, lifestyle, what type of home care is given and how frequently the hair is shampooed. Ferrell suggests that potential braid wearers consider their jobs, the image they want to project and, since a style can take almost as long to undo as to create, its intricacy. Finally, she said, consider your budget - both the costs of the initial work and its maintenance. In the Roanoke Valley, costs average about $10 to $12 per hour for in-shop services. At Ferrell's, prices could range from about $200 to $400 for an eight-hour job incorporating extensions.
While the valley has no braids-only facilities, random calls and visits to salons found that most have someone on staff who can braid. And, of course, you can always ask someone whose locks you like who did their hair. Bootleg braiders, working outside of professional shops, abound, and typically their prices are lower, which does not necessarily mean a poorer quality of work.
"Meet with the braider and talk about what you want," Ferrell said. "Ask to see pictures of their work. A portfolio of styles taken from books doesn't tell you anything about what their work will look like. Find out how familiar they are with extensions, what they would recommend, what are your expectations and reasons for getting braids. Also consider special problems, like you wouldn't want to cornrow your hair going back if it's thinning around the edges.
"You need to feel comfortable with the person because you're probably going to be with them for about eight hours or more. If you're not comfortable, or if the person seems irritated that you want to talk and ask questions, you may want to look for another braider."
Cosmetology schools offer no classes or curriculum in braiding, which is something that Ferrell is working to change. She also aims to have braiders licensed to ensure that stylists have a certain level of proficiency. But right now, whether you go to a professional setting or have your braids done in someone's home, your braider probably will have learned how through observing others and hands-on experience.
Hands-on is how Toi, who did Roma's hair, and Muyeria "Kim" Kimondo, who braided both her own and Marylen Harmon's hair for the photos accompanying this story, learned. Roma, owner of Maroha, a shop specializing in African-inspired items, said that braids are perfect for her busy lifestyle. "You never have a bad-hair day," she said.
Kimondo, a freshman computer major at Virginia Western Community College, said that while braids are commonplace in her native Kenya, the missionary Catholic school she attended there did not allow braids.
Cornrows & Co. has, since Ferrell's long-ago firing, sponsored class-action suits against several companies that discriminated against braided employees. And a story in this newspaper told of a Richmond man recently fired because of his braided hairstyle. Still, braids, once accepted mostly on entertainers and artists, are increasingly appearing in the corporate world and even on Capital Hill: Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief of staff Margaret Williams and Carol Moseley-Brown, the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, sport braids.
Cornrows & Co. sells an excellent self-published step-by-step guide to the care, creation and maintenance of natural hair and braids that would make an ideal gift for Kwanzaa or for any occasion. A second book is anticipated for release this summer. To order "Where Beauty Touches Me," send $24.95 to Cornrows & Co., 5401 14th St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20011, or call (800) 543-3448.
Maroha is at 3543 Shenandoah Ave. N.W., Roanoke. Call 343-5424.
LENGTH: Long : 140 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Stephanie Klein-Davis. 1. Roma (left), Muyeria "Kim"by CNBKimondo and Marylen Harmon (right) show off their braided
hairstyles. 2. Kimondo's free-swinging braids can be restyled into a
top-knot in a matter of minutes. color. 3. Roma decorates her thick
godess braids with shells. The style, which can be created in less
than two hours, is perfect for her busy schedule as the owner of
Africa-inspired items shop, Maroha. 4. Marylen Harmon's hairstyle
combines stationary, flat-to-head cornrows and free-moving braids.