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.
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Thank you both so much for this video.
I listened to it on my ride in to wprk this morning and arrjved early enough to brush my hair for 5 minutes before I had to go in.
My takeaways…
Im considering leaving shampoo behind. I swotched to an all natuaral aloe juice based shampoo recently so im thinking i may space it out more.
The brushing ritual… tonight is a new moon and I wanted to do something, and now I think I will brush my hair with my 2 year old daughter. She typically doeant like her hair brushrd but Im brainstorming ways to help her like it. Maybe a little essential spritz to make it smell good while she is brushing.
I’m so glad you enjoyed our conversation, Janelle! How did the new moon brushing ritual go?
Ohhh the scalp stuff – I’m on that journey with you. Brushing really helps!
Yay!!! I have always struggled with scalp stuff and I keep forgetting to come back to focus on brushing. I’ve way pared down my products over the last 5 years, but definitely did struggle the couple times I tried to give up shampoo. Your brush is so beautiful! And yes to what Janelle said about tonight, the new moon, being a perfect night for some hair and inner goddess love and intention setting. Thanks Ladies! <3
The new moon brushing felt wonderful. There were many moments of “ah-ha” or I should try brushing more often before bed, I need to add this to my night time care. I thought if different things I could do with my hair or my daughter’s. In fact I braided her hair for the first time Saturday night. She is two so its still short and pretty fine, and I was surprised that she sat so still.
I do still want to make a hair spritz for her- I have essential oils but I am unsure what to use as a base. I have some witch hazel, but I don’t want that to dry out her hair.
One thing that stood out to me is how healthy and non greasy her hair looks. And I honestly only wash her hair once a week, I think I may start lessening how often I use the shampoo, but continue to rinse it and brush it more frequently.
Life changing. I ordered the brush oil and a detergent free – shampoo free product. I brushed and braided my hair. I shared the story and will look forward to spirit weavers next year with my daughter! I also look forward to many sisterhood circles here in Bay Area. Thank you ❤
I decided to go gray after retiring and at the same time, got a nice short hair cut so it took less time to style.
In no time, I fell in love with my hair again and, what’s even more surprising, people compliment me on my hair all the time – telling me it makes me look younger! I think that may be that after years of coloring it so I would fit in with my younger work colleagues, I decided to let my hair be its natural color and shape. It is so ironic that it letting it go gray has the effect of making me look younger that I was trying to get by coloring it to cover up the gray!
Anyway, I am going to try not washing it with shampoo to see what else I can discover about my hair – it seems to be telling me things and I want to listen.
Thank you!
Amazing how our hair is such a conduit for our authentically radiant selves. And I agree, you embracing the silver has really brightened your beauty. 🙂