When I woke up on the morning of Friday 4 September 2020 to my Twitter timeline abuzz about the Clicks haircare webpage displaying African natural hair with the labels “FRIZZY and DULL” and “DRY and DAMAGED”, while the hair of white women was labelled “NORMAL HAIR, FINE and FLAT”, I took a deep and exasperated sigh.
I started my “natural hair journey” while at the University of Cape Town in 2013. On a student budget, it had become increasingly necessary for me to learn how to do my own hair, and I had become weary of always having to wear my hair in styles I felt didn’t represent my identity as a black woman, took too long to get done, or were simply too expensive.
After devouring so many hours of natural hair tutorials on YouTube that I might as well have been taking an additional course towards my degree – and discovering the emerging natural hair community that had turned into a movement in the US and was only beginning to take root in South Africa – I committed to styling and wearing my Afro daily.
In preparation for that exciting adventure of self-discovery I was to embark upon, it was the Clicks outlet in Cavendish Square, Cape Town, that I frequented to stock up on what few natural hair products I could find at the time.
One might not know this from looking at Clicks stores now, but back then, all you could find for natural hair was a handful of products, designed for natural haircare. The popular products from the US we have come to know and love, such as the Cantu range, Shea Moisture, Design Essentials and Aunt Jackie’s, were not stocked. One had to make do with whatever creams and serums had the least harmful chemicals – and of course natural products such as coconut oil. There were virtually no black-owned or South African-made natural hair products. This, in a majority black country.
In 2014, there were just about two shelves set aside for black haircare, while entire aisles were dedicated to shampoos, conditioners, styling tools, dyes and other products for loose-textured and straight hair. White women had plenty to choose from to take care of their hair.
As the natural hair movement grows more popular in South Africa and black women rediscover the joy and excitement of experimenting with their hair, the convenience and affordability of donning their kinks, and the freedom of displaying their crowning glories in places where they would have never dared in the past, so too is the product space on shelves growing.
As black women began to learn about how harmful chemical relaxers can be to their hair and overall health, and hair stylists began getting fewer requests for “retouches”, the South African beauty industry started to catch up to the realisation that black women wanted to wear their hair natural, and if they were to keep up with the times, they had to distribute and advertise to this new and growing market.
It was then that we started to see stores such as Clicks and Dischem provide a vast range of products for black haircare. The black hair industry has been lucrative since the dawn of wigs, weaves and the infamous “creamy crack”, and the natural hair community has been yet another gold mine for mainstream corporations – usually at the expense of black business success, if not the black consumer’s pocket.
The furore over the advert on Clicks’ website reflects that we still have a long way to go. While the number of shelves dedicated to catering for black women’s hair in South Africa has increased, the understanding of the politics of black hair remains wanting.
Black women in South Africa not only deserve access to hair products that protect and nurture their black hair (and skin), but also deserve distributors that understand the complex history of black hair – racialised through things like the “pencil test”.
Imagery such as that displayed on Clicks’ website is damaging because it perpetuates the notion that black features are inherently flawed. Such advertising is irresponsible. We have seen how ideas of acceptable standards of beauty and appearance can have very real negative effects for black people in this country.
We need only recall the stories of black and coloured students whose learning has been disrupted due to racist hair and language policies at some schools. Such policies germinate from the kind of imagery and ideas displayed by Clicks’ advert.
But while the public outrage is very much warranted, and the calls by the EFF for Clicks to account are welcome, one wonders if it is enough? When there are only a handful of black hair product manufacturers and distributors with the kind of financial support to rival the likes of Clicks, it means that black women are afforded a little more choice in terms of the range of natural hair products than in previous years, but they are still limited as to who distributes and markets to them.
Is calling for Clicks to close enough, when we know and understand the monopoly they hold on the beauty industry? When black hair products are sold to a consumer base that the distributor neither knows nor understands, for commercial gain and nothing more, it results in these kinds of careless mistakes happening repeatedly.
And if we envision a future where blackness is equal, and our existence and appearance is valid without question, then these are mistakes we can little afford. DM
Gloria Paidamoyo Chikaonda is a natural hair advocate who runs her own natural hair YouTube page – Gloria. C. She is a graduate of the University of Cape Town (BA/LLB and LLM) and is currently a doctoral student and researcher with a focus on African legal theory, customary law and legal pluralism at Stanford Law School in the US.
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So if there is an opportunity to serve the market then why is it not being filled?
So you know all know all there is to know about hair? Obviously not. If you had a white friend, or actually spent time with any white female, you will understand that there is no female on this planet that is actually happy with the colour and texture of their hair. FINE and FLAT does NOT means that it is good. Every female with fine and flat hair is looking to add body (for you ignorata – more bounce) to their hair. Remove that giant mountain off your shoulder. I have frizzy dry hair – and no, I am not happy with my hair, because of the criticism by all. I spend huge amounts of money trying to get it smooth and bouncy. It doesn’t mean I go trashing places or assault the hairdresser who points out the issues with my hair.
Yes a stupid advert but why is the race button pressed at every opportunity? For decades black woman have used toxic skin creams to lighten their skins and hair products to straighten/ lengthen their hair. Surely the real question is WHY?- to impress white men? I doubt it. So have these products been used to increase their own self esteem or to increase their attraction to black men? Look for the answers to those questions before shouting racism
This is a great opportunity for an aspiring entrepreneur. So many unemployed people out there. Get thinking and start a business that can help with the problems associated with black hair
I agree that the advert was extremely insensitive, because of what is framed as ‘normal’ and ‘damaged’. It doesn’t change the fact that some of us have dry, curly hair and some of us have straight hair. However, in my opinion the response has been extreme and violence is unwarranted. Those responsible should be arrested and prosecuted.
Clicks is a public company and does not belong solely to some white bogeymen. As a retailer it also provides a service to the population so calling for it to be shut down is ludicrous. In the branch of Clicks where I most often shop, almost the entire hair care isle is dedicated to products for black hair, so only have a limited choice for my own hair (I am not white). If there is such a gap in the market, some aspiring entrepreneur should be taking advantage of it.
The great Herman Mashaba made his fortune out of BLACK LIKE ME, which was a trade mark he created to brand his range of products for “black” people which indeed spotted a gap in a market which was then very focused on the less pigmented. I have always found it interesting how “white” people spend a fortune and risk skin cancer attempting to be browner, while their darker brown compatriots spend similarly large amounts (and arguably also risk cancer) trying to be lighter in hue and getting long, flowing locks. Both parties seem to agree that flowing, lustrous locks are great – just review the long slow tragedy of Michael Jackson, who had “everything” – but it was not enough to give him happiness. We are all who we were born to be in the end and we’d probably all be happier if we could get over trying to match someone else’s image of who we ought to be.
Agreed 100%
agreed
Wish we had some politicians who thought like you!
There are so many factual inconsistencies in your piece, I will just leave it at that. But, I do wonder, why are there so many women that wear wigs, emulating “white hair”?
In agreement with you. I just wonder, given the sophistication and general wokeness of the SA advertising world, what kind of moron in the industry would even think to design such an advert, let alone the hair product’s (presumably) approving it, and then the Click’s media team allowing it on their website? The trail needs to extend further backwards …
I mean, in agreement with you, Gloria.
I was interested to note that the Small Business Minister called for Clicks (which blamed TreSemme for the advert) to show its remorse by banning TreSemme products. My question is: does she expect ONLY Clicks to ban it? Is she aware that TreSemme is a hugely popular brand, sold in virtually every retailer around the country? How will Clicks banning its sale impact anything other than the company’s bottom line, since if someone wants it, they will simply go to Checkers or Spar instead…
“Normal hair” has in the past always referred to hair that is not dry or oily. Has this meaning now been changed somehow?
“but they are still limited as to who distributes and markets to them.”
It is still a free country so anybody can create a business to do what you suggest, if there is a market for it of course.
Politics of Black hair ?
You decry lack of products for ‘black hair’
Racist ? Just a lack of market share .Times change .
Relaxers not in vogue , BLM , Black Like Me , is where ?
being a different colour is not racist , nor is hair type ?
So, one conditioner suites all hair types ?
I look forward to viewing your page on natural hair .
How does Clicks have a monopoly ?
Customers buy what they trust to give them the results they expect .
the last statement confuses me ….
Blacks equal ? Why ? Then question /validity/ ? Why only blacks ?
Can whites also want ‘equality’ ?
Is this situation not a perfect opportunity to learn more about how we see ourselves and how we see others, and to strive to understand the complex internal and external factors, both historical and current, that impact on this way of seeing and its subsequent actions? It saddens me that some of the comments below veer towards quick (and in some cases insulting) judgments and/or ‘solutions’. If we are to grow a collective culture of greater understanding of each other, would it not be better to trade easy personal opinion for an attitude of inquiry and discovery (often more challenging) when engaging with these complex issues of our social reality? It’s my understanding that Daily Maverick is striving to do this through their articles – let’s try to match it in our comments.
While I understand the sensitivities, I can poke a hole in almost every statement you make. But that is besides the point. We need to focus on real problems such as the EFF grabbing every opportunity to create anarchy in an attempt to divert attention from their own corrupt activities.