Black Female Surfers Hair Care: How These Women Are Reclaiming the Ocean
glamour.comBy started surfing in Hawaii at a time when, as she describes it, "tiny girls in tiny bikinis represented the surf world." As a curvy Black woman herself, she initially felt intimidated but slowly learned by watching YouTube videos and visiting local surf shops to ask questions.
She found her new hobby fun and exhilarating—but it quickly turned into work when it came to maintaining her .“I would come up from a , and the heaviness of my wet hair would stick to my face and block my breathing,” says Blaides.
She tried to mimic other surfers who would simply flip their hair out of their faces, but hers just didn’t move the same. What’s more, Blaides’ hair became brittle and dry after being stripped of moisture from hours in the ocean at a time. “My curls would not curl and brush outs were nearly impossible.”Like Blaides, I lived in Hawaii from the time I was six years old until my pre-teen years.
I fell in love with the ocean and did every type of water sport—from body surfing and snorkeling to diving—until my family relocated to the Virginia Beach area, where I gave in to the pressures of wanting to fit in and got a .
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