Dark and Lovely

Sitting on the bus with my Agape sisters, one of the first conversations we fell into was all about hair. On this trip, no two people have the same hair style, there are sister locks, dreadlocks, close cropped shaves, afros, braids, weaves, and pressed hair...and everyone is rockin it their own way. One lady has a salon in LA solely dedicated to doing natural hair. So of course everyone has been fascinated by the hair and clothing in Ghana.

One night I turned on the TV and caught the tail end of a show about the Miss Ghana Pageant. In true pageant form there were contestants from every region in Ghana, beautiful women of all colors, but surprisingly also of all shapes. There were slender ladies of course, but also thick beauties and the one who won was actually very shapely. I don't know why I'm surprised. Everywhere I've been in Ghana there have been beautiful black women doing their thing. When I went to have my outfit tailor made, the tailor handed me sheets printed on magazine paper filled with models wearing different styles and even the models came in what Americans would consider plus size. It's an unexpected relieve to be in a place where size isn't a detractor from beauty, where hair is wildly creative and expressive, just as clothing is gorgeous and colorful.

And when I went to get my hair braided at Marge's Hair and Beauty Clinic, I had to smile. Despite the different languages and cultures, the shop was almost identical to what you might find in the states from the smell of sweet champoos and that bitter scent of hair relaxer to the sinks and dryers lined against the walls. There was the gossip and the drama, all the beauty school girls in their blue tops with white logos and their black slacks. They took me inside and showed me more pages upon pages of hairstyles. I chose what I wanted. Benji negotiated the price, and then the sat me in a chair and combed through my hair which was still damp from being washed. Then they pulled out a plastic chair and walked me to a little outside patio where two other women were getting their hair done. One woman had her hair braided around her head in circles like concentric crowns, then the wove in tracks with tiny tiny braids, so that the final result was kind of like a bob. The other lady had orangish red hair and was getting it braided with extensions in a matching color.

Seven ladies surrounded me. And the braiding began from all angles. It took about four hours to complete, and cost 29 Ghana Cedis...the equivalent of about $22 USD. And worth every penny. To see it, scroll down to Accra pics.