Hair Braids

Hair braiding is an ancient art, handed down from generation to generation in Africa. Braiding was simply an ornamental way to style their hair. Braiding is an age-old tradition in the African-American community, but California cosmetology regulators are cracking down. Hair-braiding is often an immensely time-consuming activity: some styles can take an entire day or more to create. Among those who have already mastered the art, there is an informal reciprocity to the practice: if someone braids your hair, you are expected to braid hers in return. But the practice of such an intricate traditional art depends on the ample leisure time available to those living in rural and village communities. In the wake of urbanization and industrialization, hair-braiding has in part been turned over to professionals. While the more complex and intricate braided styles may still be found in village settings, salons offering the simpler of the traditional braided styles have become commonplace in Africa's urban areas. And over the last two decades, braiding salons have also sprung up in many urban areas in the United States.

Braiding takes so much time, it offers women an opportunity to socialize together. In Africa, having someone braid your hair is also a sign of the friendship, confidence, intimacy, and good will you share. This salon socializing recalls the informal sociability that women in Liberia share at home while performing this service for one another.

Hair braids is a retail and wholesale distributor of human hair, synthetic hair, hair accessories and hair care products (including top quality hair extensions) to suit all hair types and styles.

There are several types of braids. There can also be two braids on each side of the head like pigtails but they are braided.  It is fairly simple to braid hair. 

Single braids, in which the hair from a small section of the scalp is braided out to the end (with or without the addition of extensions), can also be done in a variety of widths. And, again, thinner braids—and therefore more braids—require more time to create and, in the salon, are consequently more expensive. Another recent innovation are styles in which the lengths of hair are twisted rather than braided.

Country plaits (left side of photo, below), worn frequently by the Kpelle women of Liberia, are smooth braids that lie against the scalp. Each section of hair is braided by weaving the tresses one over another, gradually working in more hair as the braid progresses.

Cornrows (right side of photo, above), a later stylistic development, are similar to country plaits in that they, too, follow the shape of the head and lie flat against the scalp. They differ slightly in the braiding process, however: here, the tresses are woven under one another, resulting in a raised braid that follows the shape of the head. Cornrows and country plaits can both be done in a variety of widths, the thinner styles—which require more braids—being more time-consuming than the thicker ones. 

Another popular style (above), commonly called African knots or Zulu knots in the United States, bears the unflattering name of "chicken poopoo" in Liberia for its resemblance to small piles of chicken dung. In this style, after one's hair is divided into even rectangular or triangular sections all over the head, the hair in each section is twisted together and wound into a protruding knot.

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