Ahhh... freedom from hair issues! Here I am on a recent trip to Villefranche-sur-Mer in the south of France, in all my kinky-twist glory.

Here I am (far right) with a couple of girlfriends during a visit to the Vatican Museums in 2007. My hair was relaxed during this trip, but I still was lugging around multiple curling irons. NOT a way to travel light.

I can’t believe I’ve been writing this blog for nearly one year and am only NOW finally writing a post about hair. Yes, black women’s hair—sometimes our crowning glory, other times the thorn surrounding our crowns.

For sisters, hair is political. It’s sexual. And when you travel, it needs to be straight-up PRACTICAL—at least for me.

When I talk to black women about travel, the “hair thing” nearly always comes up—ESPECIALLY when we talk about traveling abroad. It’s as much of the discussion as, “Are there any black folks in (name-the-country)?” “Do they speak English?” And “Will my curling irons work over there?” Because unlike many of our sisters of other races, most black chicks don’t naturally have wash-and-go hair. No, after we wash it, we often need to blow-dry it. And sometimes straighten, then curl it. And PRAY we don’t get caught in a rainstorm or encounter high humidity or some other Mother Nature force that will have its way with our tresses. It’s WAY more drama than I feel like dealing with when I’m on the road.

I’ve been wearing my hair in two-strand twist extensions for the better part of five years. I’ve always had soft, super-fine hair that never had enough body, no matter how many layers my stylist cut into it or how much hairspray I used. So wanting to rock a more countercultural style to fit my “sistagirl-of-the-world” philosophy, I decided to ditch the straight look and do twists instead. I got all the volume I wanted, but more importantly, my hair ceased to dominate my day. I no longer worried about getting caught in misty rain (it actually needed the moisture!), or cared if the day’s humidity soared to 100 percent. And while in-between twist re-dos I’d sometimes have my stylist blow-dry and curl my natural hair to check out its growth, I could hardly wait to get those locks twisted again, if only for the mental freedom it afforded me. Which brings me to the point of this post.

Here I am this month at one of my favorite French bistros in Chicago, doing the highlighted blow-dried bob thing. It's cute, but WAY too much work -- and I'm tired of tuning into the morning weather report to determine whether it'll be a good "hair day" or not.

Little more than a week ago, I decided to do the blow-dry thing over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday, as I’d be away from my day job for nearly two weeks and would have time—for a change—for the straightening and curling required to keep my ‘do bouncing and behaving. (Not to mention time to visit the Egyptian-owned salon down the street from my downtown Chicago home.) But since I’m planning a brief trip to London and Paris early next year, I knew upfront I’d be all twisted up again before taking to the skies. No. 1, for the practicality of not lugging dual-voltage curling irons (can’t have those things frying when you plug ‘em in outside the States!), straightening cream, and all the other crap taking up space that could be occupied by another fabulous pair of shoes. And No. 2, I love the fact that until folks hear my American accent, I could be a twist-wearing sister from anywhere throughout the diaspora. Let ‘em guess I’m from London, or Paris, or somewhere in Africa. The natural style just makes me feel more at home in the world, even when I’m traveling in a country where black folks are few and far between.

I’ve often heard one friend repeat the adage she heard somewhere, “If black women could make peace with their hair, they could rule the world.” I don’t know if that’s the exact quote, but truer words were rarely spoken.

How much does YOUR hair and its care figure in when you travel—or does it? Do you find you’re received differently abroad when you’re rocking natural hair vs. blow-dried or straightened styles? Or is this much ado about nothing? Next, I’ll chat about where to find US if you’re overseas and need to handle your hair issues.