Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
black hairlatest news & developments
Mural featuring South African high school activist Zulaikha Patel

The pencil test still colours the rainbow nation illusion

This latest racist hair fiasco is just one more thing that all the darkies in me are tired of defending and explaining

The process that Shoosh Beauty Hair Salon follows for my appointment unfolds in four parts. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Detangling kinks in the hair industry

​The natural hair community in South Africa is growing. However public knowledge of what to do with my hair is still stifled

On display: Most hair salons, including this one in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, have photographs of celebrities and models on their walls and in their windows, as well as the prices for the different styles. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Hair-raising six hours every six weeks

The writer spends some hours visiting a hair salon where clients have the options to dye, curl, braid, relax, straighten, extend, or cut their hair.

Natural transition: Taryn Gill

Going black to its roots: People embrace their crowning glory

The resurgence of women embracing their natural hair has made way for a market in natural products

Can policing hair relate to community and equality, or is it solely a function of colonial militarism?

​Long may these fires burn

We must continue to rise up with purpose, not just in anger, in our desire to create a just society.

In a country that may never recover from the deep scars of apartheid, and also, where marketing businesses should stay clear from unforeseen storms, it’s bemusing to see messaging of the Clicks type.

Hairgate: We must look at language too to get to the root of the problem

Black women’s hair is deeply politicised and education experts are mulling over the significance of the learner-led protests in Pretorias.

An abandoned poster by learners at the Pretoria High School for Girls urges pride in black identity.

Draw up basic  ’hair codes’ and get on with teaching what is important in life

How should policies change, and are schools infringing on children’s constitutional rights?

If you’re bearing the pain of a new ’do

[From our archives] Five good reasons to ditch chemical hair relaxers this December

Black women, beware: your pursuit of straight, silky locks may be detrimental to your health.

ANC and local government officials handed out houses in Marikana in early January but President Jacob Zuma

Shani Crowe unlocks braids as high art

Milisuthando Bongela spoke to a Chicago photographer whose work pays homage to the art of African hair braiding.

Running was a joy for Jackie Meckler.

Warfare and difficult hair days

Black women’s hair care is still fraught with shame and politics, to start with hairdresser’s annoyance at customers not using chemicals.

Sometimes your locks run out

Alopecia or hair loss can devastate your self-esteem, unless you hold your head up high.

Africanness goes deeper than the skin

The definition of an African has become a burden for women, some of whom are required to portray their Africanness in hairstyle and skin colour.

Going natural is a hairy issue

It’s futile to categorise the relationship black women have with their hair.

Hair dos and don’ts

Hair dos and don’ts

Women who wear an Afro or dreadlocks sometimes sneer at me, telling me they feel "liberated" by their natural hair, says <b>Ayanda Sitole</b>.

Hanging up my wig

Hanging up my wig

Personally, I’d always been a fan of natural hair and have kept my hair in either an Afro or dreadlocks for most of my life, writes Nikiwe Bikitsha.