Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

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I’ve been fascinated with the politics of hair, especially since the days of living in the hood of L.A. and having to drive by signs that said, “100% Indian Hair” on a regular basis. I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that women of color were exploiting other women of color. And of course we all now know the story of where that hair comes from…But what about for those that are obsessed with plucking hair, keeping it natural, or not cutting it at all?

“Hair” Documentary from Will Ellis on Vimeo.

I like how in the doc Sonny Singh of The Sikh Coalition talks about how his turban is a symbol of fighting against tyranny. Additionally, Sonny recently blogged about the Northeast Turban and Personality Competition where young people strut with turban tied high.

To have hair or to not have hair. To chop it, dye it, fake it, or to liberty spike it. It’s all political, in one way or another. What does hair mean to you?

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About Taz

Taz is an activist, organizer and writer based in California. She is the founder of South Asian American Voting Youth (SAAVY), curates MutinousMindState.tumblr.com and blogs at TazzyStar.blogspot.com. Follow her at twitter.com/tazzystar

39 thoughts on “Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow”

  2. I don’t see selling your hair as a source of income as exploitation in this case. Or maybe, I should get into the racket and be the guy who buys hair for a more competitive price in India…

    My long hair keeps me from being typecasted as another Indian guy.

  3. I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that women of color were exploiting other women of color.

    To address one end of it, there really is no exploitation involved for the women (or men for that matter) who are giving their hair at temples voluntarily to fulfil some vow of theirs. To willingly give your hair is considered a sacrifice, albeit a small one, of your vanity. This is a fairly common tradition in south India, although less common these days among the urban rich for reasons of vanity. The temples have to get rid of all the shorn hair and the fact that they make money by selling them is not something that the people who sacrificed their hair would begrudge the templles.

  4. I like how in the doc Sonny Singh of The Sikh Coalition talks about how his turban is a symbol of fighting for tyranny.

    Surely that should read as fighting against tyranny – unless I am missing something?

    Its not always that exploitative; when my family lived in Ghana, moy mother and sister were asked several times by if they would sell their hair, since there was a big demand for it amongst Ghanian women at the time. They were a bit shocked the first time but learnt to take it in their stride the next few times this happened.

  5. hair = work

    Nappy hair (not curly, not wavy) is really tough to work with. My ‘natural’ hair looks like the girl at 7:42 with the big afro. Cute, maybe but try taking a nap on that and jumping up for afternoon tea. Not gonna happen.

    These days my hair is a couple of inches past my shoulders and people keep asking me if it’s real. I guess it looks like 100% Indian hair. Not sure if I should be happy or annoyed. sigh

  6. It is not just women of colour living in LA that is exploiting women of colour living in some “gaon” in India. The Indian urban gliteratti in Mumbai does exactly the same without probably knowing where their lush brown 21 inch hair extension comes from.

    Saw this hilarious, fascinating and eye-opening documentary called HAIR INDIA about the Indian hair trade in this world of globalization, at the Toronto Hot-docs which is running this week. The story traces the journey of the 100% Indian hair from Simhachalam temple in Andhra Pradesh, to Rome and finally to a salon in Bombay. A must watch if you are interested in the subject.

    Brief synopsis here. You-tube trailer here.

  8. What does hair mean to you?

    everything. since i didnt want to pass under the personal security radars after 2001.

    What does hair mean to you?

    everything. i am man grunt. i deserve to have long hair on my back.

    What does hair mean to you?

    everything. especially if i find a long crusty sample in my choley.

    What does hair mean to you?

    nothing. i am used to canadian girls not shaving. Bigg Bushy Armpits.

  9. Anyone else want to get banned? Because “personal, non-issue-focused flames” are a perfect way to achieve that.

  10. White girls asked about your long hair? What’s to ask about? I’m white, grew up near DC, (currently have a desi roommate) and I always assumed women from India, most anyway, had straight, black, very strong looking, usually long hair. This is not even that “exotic.” Long hair used to be considered an essential female possession among Americans and Europeans too, until the 1920s. The word India always conjured up ladies with very long braids and saris. Sorry if this is not you, but a lot of “American” imagery ain’t me and I get it thrown at me anyway. Now I learn about Indians straightening. Oh dear. I’ll have to upgrade my stereotype memory card.

    I know how you feel though. I apparently have an eye color that makes people suspicious despite my northern roots, and I get pretty sick of having to explain that the only colored contacts I’d ever wear would be brown, for an interesting change of pace.

  11. I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that women of color were exploiting other women of color.

    Never been to the ‘hood?

  12. there’s hair in my soup,

    I guess in India they like the long, wavy straight hair look, which is pretty common, but like white people, the hair can be curly too and that can be cool as well…if you look at some of the bollywood stars or Indian models they have curly hair. I don’t think it’s that big an issue; Some people prefer curly hair and some like their hair long and straight. As far as straightening their hair, sure some women do this…and maybe it’s more a political issue for people like Sherene, but for many Indians it’s just a way to make your hair styled nicely, as I see many of my white friends do that. And if you’ve been in East Asia, chemically treated straight hair is common…I guess many people like the loose ends of their hair straightened. I tried to curl my hair today, for an event, and failed miserably….there isn’t any thing political to me about curly or straight hair in India.

  13. also having grown up in the US, mostly around a white population, my white girlfriends who had curly hair would complain that they wanted my or our other friends straight hair…I think it’s more an individual choice and never had experiences like Sherene.

    I don’t know how I feel about the selling of Indian hair often for the use of black populations that do not have that type of hair naturally. I’m sure those Indians that give their hair and the industry didn’t realize that potentially they were supplying to an industry that maybe some black people feel is politically charged if not encouraging self-hatred. Is that where the exploitation comes from? I was comparing this US companies selling skin lightening creams in other parts of the world, including India…get so annoyed with those companies, but then it’s up to consumers to shun those dangerous products.

  14. PS “mostly around a white population, my white girlfriends who had curly hair would complain that they wanted my or our other friends straight hair.”

    Yeah. I always admired that thick, gleaming straight hair a lot of Asians had. Color was secondary to me. Blond, brown, red, black. Each has its own pleasantries, as praised by Ovid two thousand years ago. I just liked that shimmering fall of hair. Some Europeans have it too, but it seems a little more elusive for us because of the usually thinner hair structure. My hair is curly in the summer and flat straight in the winter when it’s cold and dry. It actually looks better curly because of an illusion of greater volume.

    I remember seeing a documentary on Catholic nuns in India working for the Mother Theresa group. The ones from the west talked about how cutting their hair wasn’t a big deal, but for the Indians it was a true sacrifice because they prized their long hair. It was the same in medieval Europe–that’s one reason why entering a nunnery was a renunciation. There’s a Bible verse, “if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her.” Chinese men felt that way about their queue and they had to be forced to cut it by the new agers of the day. Jews in the time of Christ–same thing. Cutting hair was cutting off your life. I understand Rastafarians have a hair thing going on. There’s something to be said for that. Hair does show in its structure where you’ve “been” in life when it was growing out, like the rings of a tree. Interesting thread for someone with a major in world history and a minor in hair.

  15. I’m sure those Indians that give their hair and the industry didn’t realize that potentially they were supplying to an industry that maybe some black people feel is politically charged if not encouraging self-hatred.

    Haven’t you heard The Ladies singing: “Oh forgive me for having straight hair it doesn’t mean there’s another blood in my heir.”

    I’m not hearing any self-hatred in that. Sounds like they’re just having fun changing up their looks.

    It seems that hair as political statement is in the past – mohawks, rasta dreads, afros, rockabilly ducktails, mile high beehives.
    People are sporting these looks nowadays but not for political reasons unless irony is a political ideology. How is hair political today?

  17. Yeah. I always admired that thick, gleaming straight hair a lot of Asians had.

    I think there are a couple of secrets to this. First one is the two or three or more complete head tonusre that kids go through in India before getting their adult hair. Just like a well mowed lawn grows well, so does hair that has been tonsured a few times. Second one is coconut oil or other hair oils.

  19. I think what’s exploitative about the Indian hair industry is the fact that many poor women are cutting off their hair as an offering to God in the temple and their prayers are often laced with need – supplications to God that their son/daughter pass this or that exam (so they can progress forward and get a good education, a good job, good money and hence get the family out of poverty), prayers that they somehow the bills get paid, or the money comes through to buy the medicines/treatment/hospitalization needed for some family member who has come down with whatever illness or whatever.

    So these women cut off their and “donate” it as an offering to the temple in good faith, and these temple folks are SELLING it for big bucks that should actually goes to these poor women who need the money.

    I hope someone informs these women what is going on and they begin to start their own hair business and reap the financial results.

    Its religious corruption at its zenith if you ask me.

  21. I have a lumpy head. Need my hair to cover all those bumps. Luckily genetics has bestowed a full head of hair, so I can live a life of blissful anonymity rather than feeling like the Elephant Man in public. No Kojak or Yul Brynner look for me.

  22. I have PCOS, and my symptoms include thinning hair. I used to have such thick, strong hair, but now it’s so thin and weak that it depresses me. It’s especially depressing when you’re still young, in your teens and early twenties, when you should be instead enjoying the vigor and fruitfulness of youth. All of you complaining about Indian hair being used in weaves/women being exploited for their (??), just cherish what you have and be grateful that you have ‘good’ hair. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have nappy/kinky hair and constantly be told that the ideal is long straight hair.

  23. re: hair form, the gene EDAR is correlated with very thick straight hair in east asians.

    I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that women of color were exploiting other women of color.

    the implicit subtext here is that white people are somehow gifted with the pernicious characteristic of “oppression” i guess.

  24. 19 WoC,

    You need to go lookup exploitation in the dictionary. The tradition is to sacrifice one’s hair in fulfilment of some vows that a devotee has. Note that the act of the devotee is the sacrifice, not what happens to the hair once it is shorn. Would you rather that the temple incinerated or dumped the hair in a landfill or recycled it to help someone else get hair and in the process also get some money for it? If you think it is exploitation, I challenge you to start a business close to one of these temples and offer to buy hair for a ‘fair market’ price. I would bet that you would still collect less hair than the temple even with a well financed marketing campaign and advertisement. You need to understand that it is all about the motive. Please stop chanting exploitation without understanding the tradition of these devotees.

  25. The tradition is there as you are saying. However, it seems these temple goons are taking full advantage of globalization and the good faith/ancient tradition of the locals.

    I’d like to know how many devottees would chop off their hair and offer at these temples if they knew how much these greedy brahmin priests were making off of their innocent religious sentiments.

    I’m sure more than a few would rather make money off of their own hair and then offer a financial donation to the temple. But they are kept in the dark.

    It’s brahminical exploitation pure and simple. If not, let the temple priests announce to the village/town over loudspeaker what they are doing.

  26. WoC,

    You have a prejudiced mind, what with your, “temple goons” and “brahminical exploitation” statements. Sorry to break it to you, but Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD) which runs the Tirupathi temple, the one with the largest collection of ‘temple hair’ is run by the TTD board controlled by the government of Andhra Pradesh.

  28. well, this explains that time i saw sathya sai baba shaving Khoofi’s back.

  29. i don’t see the big deal here. poor chicks donate hair and get whatever good feeling they get for being all religious. the temples sell the hair rather than give it to the gods, which is i guess the crime. but scientists recently discoverd when you give something to god he never actually takes it. it just lays there. like michael jackson on his honeymoon. so, the temples have to get rid of it one way or a nother. they might as well get some bucks.

    of course, the poor chicks could sell the hair directly, as i’m sure thsy will if we let the market run its course. but then they have to start worshipping money instead of god and khoofi

  30. <

    blockquote>You have a prejudiced mind, what with your, “temple goons” and “brahminical exploitation” statements. Sorry to break it to you, but Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD) which runs the Tirupathi temple, the one with the largest collection of ‘temple hair’ is run by the TTD board controlled by the government of Andhra Pradesh.blockquote>

    Oh so you’re saying that the government and the temple priests are in cahoots? Makes sense.

    My point is made all the more!

  31. The there are some African American women purchasing the hair, but Western European women buy up most it ( Let’s not forgot about celebrities of all races purchasing them, Paris Hilton anyone?). It can be a great match for their own hair, and it usually runs alot cheaper than actual european hair, which is very expensive. They buy it for various reasons hair loss, trying for a new look etc., for those who like to reuse their extensions they go for this type of hair because it is said to be very durable unlike cheaper extensions that have to be thrown away afterward.

  32. Opps that was first sentence was suppose to read “Though there are”

  33. The there are some African American women purchasing the hair, but Western European women buy up most it

    Any statistics on that? Every Africn Americn woman I know has weaves….are you saying they use synthetics?

  34. “I think there are a couple of secrets to this. First one is the two or three or more complete head tonusre that kids go through in India before getting their adult hair. Just like a well mowed lawn grows well, so does hair that has been tonsured a few times. Second one is coconut oil or other hair oils.”

    Good point Fairly Hairly. I heard about the tonsure but hadn’t made the connnection as to how the hair looks later on. I knew a Persian guy who shaved his head because he was losing his hair and temporarily shaving the head to allow regrowth was a traditional Persian treatment. It did seem to help. Thick hair can take coconut oil. My dear desi roommate can plaster the stuff on and her hair still bounces. Mine would be too oppressed. It might even give up. There was a story in Natural Living magazine about an unfortunate (white I’m sure) girl who left coconut oil on her hair for 3 days and it all broke off. Such sad stories can frame one’s hair options for life.

    As for the “oppression” of people choosing to buy other people’s hair–been going on for centuries. There is no trait more obdurate to reason than that of vanity. The ancient Germans traded hair to the Romans, or the Romans took it. The poor in England sold their hair, as the poor in China and India do today. Wigs were worn ancient Egypt. I presume the slaves who purportedly built the pyramids also gave up their hair to the wealthy? Come to think of it, in portrayals of ancient Egypt, both the free men and the slaves are bald.
    Nobody’s forcing anybody to buy hair, curl hair, straighten hair, blow hair, color hair or shave hair, tan skin, lighten skin, get nose jobs, breast jobs, take hormones to grow, or wear uncomfortably tight jeans to look skinnier (excuse me while I unzip.)

    However, somewhere I’m sure, there’s a Cryogenetics outfit working on just these issues so that someday no one need ever feel underserved or oppressed by wanting other than their parental endowments allowed.

  36. Forget desis, even your average non-desi can get money for their hair. I know a few who sold cut off and sold their when they got laid off from work. I think they each got over 200 USD. Their hairs were long.

    I’ve still yet to find a good all natural product to make my hair look peak performance. It tends to be dry, even though I put a lot of oil on it and I don’t use chemical shampoos.

    Any suggestions?

  38. Thanks oil bath, but I’ve yet to find a 100% certified organic shikakai rinse. If I can’t eat it, I won’t use it on my hair or face. That’s the problem with Indian products, even the “ayurvedic” products are not organic.