In recent years, more black girls have been attending boarding school in the UK, and with it, the inevitable task of maintaining their hair must conform to the idiosyncratic lifestyle that is boarding.
Long weeks without returning home and busy schedules filled with lessons and extra-curricular activities often means that many black girls opt for a low-maintenance, long-lasting, inexpensive and flattering hairstyle, such as box-braids (hair parted into small squares of hair on the scalp and braided away from the head often with extension hair added in).
Though this hairstyle might be considered the path of least resistance with a busy boarding school lifestyle, it doesn't come without its challenges.
Who better to gain insight into the matter than from 17-year-old, British-Nigerian boarding school attendee, Rue? Rue has been boarding since year 7 and has been sporting mid-length box braids for the majority of her time there. She tells me of the popularity of this hairstyle within the African or Caribbean-heritage segment of the female student body due to its convenience, fashionability and flexibility.
For Rue, the first part of a hair journey pertaining to living at school requires good deliberation on finding a hairstyle which suits you, and seeking a reliable braider or hairstylist, "it's got to be well done because it's got to last for at least three weeks before you see your braider again", Rue asserts.
Rue says that her mum does her braids when she goes home at exeats or end-of-term holidays, however she denotes that it is common for a lot of people (boys and girls) to find braiders through social media or family connections, like an "aunty".
She details some of the necessary upkeep of lathering on hair mousse before bed, making sure to have a good silk bonnet to keep your hair and sheets protected through the night, and fostering hairstyles that don't put the hair-line under too much tension - "you don't want traction alopecia" she adds, through a chuckle.
Rue feels as if the school dress codes can be somewhat restrictive to creative expression, "I want to do more colours and longer hairstyles" but she must adhere to her mother's authority on the matter, "My mum cares about the school rules more than I do". Rue's resigned tone suggested she knows the rules are there for good reason.
Upon being asked about alternatives to braids, Rue ran through some other options, "I'd say cornrows under a wig is your best bet. But a lot of people don't like the way full wigs look even though they are better for your hair than lace-fronts".
For Rue, lace-fronts are not durable and are often not worth the hundreds of pounds that they retail for. "Wearing hair out though," she says, "is also not the best for your hair health...in summer its fine, but the cold weather in winter can make your hair brittle".
In response to how going to a day school might be different, she clarifies, "I'd probably have to focus on my appearance a lot more, because you wouldn't be schooling with people that you literally live with like you do here" and "seems like even more of a nightmare if you have to factor in the daily commute time...You'd have to wake up much earlier" but she outlines the positive of having the ability to change your hair more often, "then again, you wouldn't have to wait three weeks to take your hair out".
Finally some tips from her include, "keep your routine simple", "its never going to be one size fits all" - use what works for you depending on your budget and patience - and "gel doesn't need to have a place in your hair care routine" to conclude the hair health tips.
