As I journey deeper into the ancestral traditions of the women of my lineage, I feel all the more connected to my own body.
I often look at my hands with such awe and reverence for what they are capable of and how all the women that came before me are helping to guide them in my daily acts of making (from breakfast to writing emails to dip dyeing fiber in indigo).
Having grown up in this beauty-obsessed culture, feeling comparison with the hair (and bodies) of the women plastered on billboards and in the pages of magazines has come up for me often. There have been times where I’ve hated that I wasn’t blonde, didn’t have curly enough hair, didn’t have straight enough hair, or sucked at making it look good.
But a lot of that has shifted over the past year as I’ve begun a deeper exploration of my hair as an expression of who I am and my connection to the earth and the people who came before me.
Last summer, I met a mama of 2 named Roxie Jane Hunt at a gathering of women in the wild redwoods called SpiritWeavers.
Roxie is a hair healer, self-care empoweress and creator of crown adornment. She helps women find their identities and learn to empower themselves through honoring hair as a tool for expression.
Images via howtohairgirl
Our hair is the fiber of our bodies. Tending to our hair, brushing it, weaving it, even shaving it—all of that is a way to connect more deeply to ourselves. To be engaged with our hair to engage with our ancestral sense of belonging.
I hosted a hair care rituals and braiding workshop with Roxie at my home a few months ago and, the whole time I was wishing every woman in my community could experience the magic of Roxie’s knowledge. So I invited her to a video conversation about ancestral hair care and even convinced her to lead us in a virtual hair brushing ritual.
So go grab your hairbrush and click play on the video below!
Some snippets of what we talked about:
3:45 – Ancestral traditions of braiding + the matrilineal passing down of hair care.
7:50 – Reclaiming our crowns + unlearning beauty standards
10:45 – Why experimenting new hairstyles based on how it makes you feel
11:30 – Detaching from the patriarchal beauty myth that we can get so swept up in with our hair.
15:55 – The power of a haircut to bring you more into your power
17:15 – How to cultivate a deeper relationship with your hair
25:30 – Roxie’s hair brushing ritual one the new and full moon
31:10 – The power of Tired Mama Braids for those of you with littles
Here’s what we mentioned during our chat:
- Check out Roxie’s handmade brush here
- Check out Roxie’s handcrafted hair oils and adornments here
- Roxie’s post on when to shave your head.
- Roxie’s post on a messy spring flower dream braids
You can find more from Roxie at HowToHairGirl and follow her on Instagram @howtohairgirl
Roxie and I want to hear from you!
What are some of your takeaways from our conversation? How are you going to apply what we discussed to your hair care rituals?
Leave a comment below.