Index of Paper Presentations for the Parallel Sessions - Academy of ...

The third most predominant reason for using hair extensions identified by the respondents is theneed to protect their natural hair (Tables 5 and 6). Citing the damage caused by chemical hair relaxers andby heat styling accessories, the women indicated that the use of hair extensions helps prevent furtherdamage and also allows their hair to recover and grow. This claim is affirmed by Khumalo (2005) whoposits that the spiral nature of the follicle makes African hair susceptible to damage when the hair issubjected to daily grooming. On the other hand, twisting hair into dreadlocks allows it to achieve greaterlengths as it is does not suffer from the damage caused by frequent combing (Khumalo, 2005). From thisdiscussion, it is fair to infer that keeping hair under a weave or in braids allows it to grow by preventingbreakage due to frequent grooming. Ironically however, Khumalo et al. (2007) reveal that the prevalenceof traction alopecia is more common in hair kept in braids and extensions than in natural hair withoutbraids. Therefore, the women in this survey may be preserving their hair from damage caused by frequentcombing, but on the other hand, inadvertently bringing damage to their hair through traction fromextensions which may cause more damage than from natural long hair.CONCLUSION AND MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONSThe purpose of this article was to assess the factors that influence black women in South Africa touse hair extensions. The study for this article sought to address two specific questions namely a) Is the useof hair extensions by black women in South Africa a symptom of self-hatred or de-Africanisation? and b)Is the use of hair extensions by black women in South Africa a symptom of their desire to conform tomodernity and consistent with their value priorities? The study found that the respondents, 90% of whomwere aged below 36 years and over 85% of whom had used hair extensions in the preceding three months,ranked braiding and weaving (long/straight) styles higher than they did natural hairstyles such as patternedplaits and uncombed afros. The predominant reason for using extensions according to the majority of therespondents had more to do with the perceived low maintenance requirements of hair extensions. This wasreemphasised by over 77% of the respondents agreeing with the statement that ―I find hair extensioneasier to manage than natural hair‖. However, some respondents did allude to using hair extensions toenhance their looks and for variety and fashion, witness over 51% of them agreeing that ―Hair extensionsmake me look more beautiful‖. The least preferred hairstyles the natural hairstyles and the weaving(long/bouncy).The findings did not support the self-hatred hypothesis as the main factor that influences hairstylechoices. Other factors, especially low maintenance requirements were more important as influencers ofhairstyle choices than factors relating to beauty enhancement. More than any other reason, that blackAfrican women are chose to use hair extensions primarily because of styling convenience. The implicationof this is that marketing and business people in the sector may need to place more emphasis on benefitsother than beauty enhancement in their strategy development in order to avoid overlooking the needs ofsome segments. These segments include those whose core need is the convenience of hair extensions.Consistent with previous studies, the respondents prioritised self-transcendence values. This wasfollowed by openness to change values, which suggested the respondents were not motivated by the desireto conserve the status quo and the certainty in their social environments but by the desire to pursue theirown interests. The respondents were therefore likely to pursue new ideas about hairstyling rather than betied down to tradition. The prioritisation of openness to change values suggests that the aspiration formodernity could have influenced hairstyle choices.Besides value priorities, other factors that lend support to the modernity hypothesis include therespondents‘ ascription of their use of extensions to beauty enhancement and variety and fashion. This isnot surprising in light of the well documented convergence of consumer needs and wants due toglobalisation. However, an interesting observation emerging from this discussion is that in addition tobeing influenced by and adopting Caucasian-inspired hairstyles, the women incorporate these withAfrican-inspired styles to create styles that straddle the two sources of influence. The two braiding stylesthat were highly ranked by the respondents reflect this blend of the two sources of influence.This study contributes to dispelling some of the myths surrounding the reasons for black Africanwomen‘s fondness for hair extensions. Whilst some researchers ascribed black women‘s alteration ofnatural looks to feelings of insecurity and aspiration to conform to white beauty standards, this study did