The politics and business of hair

There is a major war going on between the species. Men keep telling anybody withn earshot that they woman who rocks natural hair and they sneer at the “fake women” who prefer weaves. Women tell off the men saying men have no say when it comes to what they do with their bodies. But even women themselves are also segmenting themselves between the natural hair batallion and the weaves cartel.

But when it comes to who is winning this “war”, weaves seem to be the real deal.

According to Muli Musyoka, a trichologist (a specialist in hair and scalp matters), Kenyans spend about Sh8.6 billion shillings on hair and beauty annually, which is more than the Sh14.5 billion East Africa as a whole spends on the same.

 “The hair industry is big worldwide and is worth billions of shillings, with weaves being the greatest revenue earners,” Musyoka says.

According to some estimates, hair relaxers account for Sh4 billion of the market value while Sh16 billion accounts for weaves, treatments, oil and sprays.

Hair stylist, Farouk Jannedy says that weaves are not going anywhere.

“Girls will always want curly hair and although the trend right now might seem to be leaning towards natural looks, they will readily opt for that Hollywood look,” says Jannedy.

PRICEY BETTER HAIR

“A woman will spend up to $5,000 (Sh455,000) on her hair, especially if she is going to a special function and wants to stand out.”

While hair is not political in Kenya as it is in America, it does evoke a lot of emotions.

Hair, like other aspects of fashion, goes in circles. Many of the trends we see today are not particularly new. For instance, the perm is just a more advanced form of conking, a procedure African Americans used long ago to straighten their naturally curly hair.

At the moment, however, the most popular styles are natural hair and weaves, with a host of others in between.

One well known personality with a combination of hairstyle that makes her standout is Muthoni the drummer queen.

“What I have now is called Queen Sophia,” whose head is clean-shaven on the sides. “This hairdo is my permanent look and is borrowed from the Turkana community, whose women have had their hair done in a similar manner for a long time, with the only difference being the braided centre piece,” she explains.

Muthoni spends Sh300 on a haircut, and up to Sh3,000 on the braided centre piece. It might seem like a lot of money, but there are women who spend a lot more on their hair.

Over time, the hair industry is a multibillion industry, with new products promising both women and men better hair coming up frequently.

Many of the women who wear their hair natural say they prefer it that way because it is cheap and easy to maintain.

All you have to do is wash it and oil it, which you can even do yourself at home. Some say they want to give their hair a break from chemicals while others say they just want to have their hair natural. But it is worth noting here that dreadlocks call for a visit to the salon from time to time, and is, therefore, more expensive.

At the other extreme are women who believe that hair is a woman’s crowning glory and will go to any length to ensure that they have a headful of hair – even if it is not their own.

These are the women who will replace one weave with another, even though good weaves do not come cheap.

However, to such women, the weaves make them feel good about themselves, so the cost is not really an issue. And apart from having the weave done, there is the regular cost of keeping it looking good.

Weaves can be done using both natural and artificial hair. The cost depends on length and weight. The longer the weave, the more human hair it contains, the more expensive it is.

To save on costs, Jannedy says many opt for synthetic hair.

“Synthetic hair is currently the biggest cash earner in the world because it is affordable. You find that about 70 per cent of women with weaves have synthetic rather than human hair,” he says, noting that even though some women are reverting to the natural look, weaves remain highly popular.

CONSERVATIVE KENYANS

One reason for this is that weaves provide an easy, readily-available option for women who do not want to wear their hair loose.

“Women opt for weaves for various reasons: some because they have difficulty managing their hair, others because they have suffered hair loss, and yet others because they have autoimmune disorders that cause their hair to all,” he says.

And like Musyoka, he says that African women will not stop wearing weaves in the foreseeable future.

“Girls will always want curly hair and although the trend right now might seem to be leaning towards natural looks, they will readily opt for that Hollywood look,” says Jannedy.

Still, unlike in the West, where people have no qualms experimenting with their hair, the furthest most African women will go is wear a coloured weave.

“Many Kenyans are still very conservative and will not go out of their way to do anything extraordinary, unless it is for the runway,” says Musyoka.

But even as Kenyan women’s love for weaves does not appear to be waning, it is notable that men have expressed deep loathing for the hairstyle in the media.

According to Jannedy, men will always hate a poorly done and ill-maintained weave, but have no problem with neat, wavy ones.

“No man wants to sleep next to a woman whose hair is gunky and smelly. That said, it is these same men who book appointments for their spouses to get these expensive hairdos and proudly walk with them,” he says.

However, Musyoka disagrees, saying that a weave, no matter how well done and maintaine,  remains artificial, and is not  a woman’s hair.

“Initially, weaves were meant to be an occasional accessory but women have made it am everyday item, abusing its original purpose,” he says.

That the weave is set to be a major hairdo for some time was evidenced at the Golden Comb Awards, which was organised by Hair Expo Concept, where the winner, just like last year’s, was drawn from the weaves category and crowned the best “weaver” in town.

“This year, we are looking for that stylist who will do something out of the box, something that will tickle our fancy,” said Ronnie Maingi, a hair specialist who was on the judges’ panel.

CONTINOUS INNOVATION

Hair Expo Concept was formed by two women who sought to give hairstylists a platform where they could be recognised for their skills.

“After years of experience in our line of work, we realised that there was a huge gap in the hair industry based on our own experiences. I had a challenge finding good hair dressers who knew what worked for my hair,” said Mrs Emily Kinuthia, one of the founders.

“This Expo also aims to provide a platform to inspire, educate and motivate stylists,” Mrs Kinuthia added.

As more and more companies venture into the hair industry, new products are introduced.

The most popular weave at the moment is the tape weave, which costs between Sh36,000 and Sh72,000 depending on the length, and requires a highly trained stylist to fix it.

“For a long time people had little regard for hair but today you can see companies investing more since they have learnt that hair says a lot. It is in this realisation that has seen premium products coming into the market,” says Musyoka, who charges Sh3,000 for hair restoration consultation at his clinic.

Meanwhile, Mr John Waweru, the operations manager at Sistar Weaves, a relatively new company, is elated that business is looking up since the popularity of their products is increasing steadily.

BIG BUSINESS

The Billion dollar business of hair 

• In India, the leading exporter of human hair, the hair is harvested at temples, as well as  in villages and barbershops.

•  Hair harvested from temples is comprises a big proportion and is considered the most prestigious, followed by hair harvested from combs in the village, with hair got from the floors of barberships being considered the least prestigious.

•  The global trade in human hair is growing with international celebrities fuelling its growth by using imported human hair  to supplement their own.

•  Internationally, the top exporters of human hair wigs are China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the US and Italy. The combined value of these exports is about $1 billion (Sh91 billion) dollars.

•  Meanwhile, the top importers of human hair wigs are the US and UK, Japan, France and Korea,the combined value of which comes to  about $985 million.