Are women with relaxed hair weighed down by the oils and sheens of life? Are women with braids uptight? Do women with naturals live carefree, down-to-earth lives?
Women have a wide variety of hairstyles from which to choose. Popular looks include wraps, bobs, locks, braids and the natural look. Many women spend hundreds of dollars a month on hair care products and salon visits.
Missing an appointment is almost like missing church on Easter. People often wonder what is in a name. But the real question is, what is in a hair style?
“A woman’s personality and the choices she has made in life will determine the hair style she chooses,” said DeAnna Burney, the coordinator for the department of psychology.
“A woman chooses a hair style depending on her level of self-esteem and her point of view on life,” Burney said.
Stephanie Redd, 20, a senior business administration student from Daytona, who has been locking her hair since June 2001, said having natural hair can make a woman more easy-going.
“In some aspects, [natural hair] makes me more laid back. I am in control because I do my own hair,” Redd said. “I don’t have to wait on appointments, I can twist my hair whenever I want to.”
However, some women with natural hairstyles do make visits to the salon.
Whether women with natural hair need their hair washed, twisted, coiled or braided, natural hairstylists are available.
Amanda Trice who made a transition from the natural look to a relaxed hair style, said a change in her hair style did not affect her personality.
“My personality, on the other hand, influenced my decision to change my hair style,” said the 18-year-old freshman economics student from Milwaukee.
“I am now mature enough to handle a perm in my hair,” Trice said.
Burney said image is very important for some women. “Women want to present an image from a professional and social standpoint.”
Other people see hairstyles as an additional part of their wardrobes.
“I would assume that a hair style is like dress,” said Terrell Freeman, a counselor at FAMU’s Center for Human Development.
“One dresses how (he or) she feels, so I guess a woman does her hair according to how she feels.”
Burney said a certain hair style may not relate to personality: “It’s relative.”
She said whenever a woman makes a drastic change in her look, typically, something has happened or changed in her life to motivate her decision to change.
“Society is constantly changing and projecting new images, Burney said. “And women tend to conform and change their look to fit in with the latest trend.”