Prepping my helmet with a satin scarf isn't vanity it's a way to prevent breakage. Taking the time to oil and wrap my hair after the bonfire isn't “extra” it's a necessity. However, this nonchalance can be fundamentally incompatible with Black hair. White cultural icons range from punk rockers to hippies to beatniks, all of whom feed into the modern, white-dominated climbing psyche, which ironically was taken from Black jazz and art scenes of the 1930s. In climbing spaces, there's a “no-effort” attitude towards appearance and hair. By age 20, I knew the top of my head like the back of my hand.īut the security I felt with my hair was challenged when I entered the rock-climbing world at 24. This took finding the right hairstylist, exploring protective styles, and eventually cutting and braiding my hair myself. With time, I found security in my bouncy curls. I didn't have a significant revelation that led me to “the big chop” at 17 years old I just didn't feel myself. Like many, I straightened my hair in high school, until I noticed the damage it was doing, physically and mentally. Thankfully, my mother stopped me from ruining the creation her fingers had labored to sculpt.
![feed in braid styles feed in braid styles](https://devoutfashion.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Side-Swept-Feed-In-Braids.jpg)
I came home crying and tried to brush my hair straight, which ironically would've transformed me into a child-sized dandelion. The gel-weighted braid above my forehead formed a glassy bridge protecting a circular wall of gravity-defying corkscrew curls.
![feed in braid styles feed in braid styles](https://www.rachelfirasek.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/feeder-braids-19011834.jpg)
![feed in braid styles feed in braid styles](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6b/8c/10/6b8c10ac9651d0eb846e46890d85973b.jpg)
I looked at the girl's smooth, straight hair and felt suddenly ashamed of my unruly curls. Your hair's too curly.” My earliest memory of exclusion based on my hair was branded on the playground in kindergarten.