Tips for sisters on ‘hooking up’ their hair when traveling abroad, Part Deux

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Here I am in my two-strand twists, visiting an archeological site in rural eastern Turkey near the Armenian border. My carefree hair made a culturally challenging trip way less stressful.
Here I am in my two-strand twists, visiting an archeological site in rural eastern Turkey near the Armenian border. My carefree hair made a culturally challenging trip way less stressful.
During a break from a wine-tasting tour, I'm standing in front of the Pont d'Avignon in the lovely Provencal town of Avignon. And this is me some days AFTER my stop to a black hair-care supply shop in Nice. Thank goodness black folks literally live everywhere!
During a break from a wine-tasting tour, I'm standing in front of the Pont d'Avignon in the lovely Provencal town of Avignon. And this is me some days AFTER my stop to a black hair-care supply shop in Nice. Thank goodness black folks literally live everywhere!

Late last month, I wrote about the “hair issues” we black women often face when traveling abroad—and promised to offer some tips about handling these when you’re overseas.

When I first traveled to Europe in the late 1990s, visiting a friend who worked on a U.S. Army base in Germany, I was doing the relaxed hair thing, toting multiple curling irons and assorted lotions and potions in my always-overstuffed suitcase. But once I started hitting the road with friends, all those curling irons became a royal pain. What a hassle to constantly be plugging in, moving irons from one room to the other, waiting for them to cool down before you could pack them, etc. And then there was always the issue of “what if it rains?” 

Now that I’ve been wearing two-strand twist extensions for most of the past five years, that’s no longer a concern. BUT, I have gotten overseas and much to my dismay, realized that I forgot to pack my favorite olive oil sheen or softening lotion. This, my friends, can be a challenge—especially since overseas trips tend to last for more than just a weekend. 

But if you find yourself in a city—especially in Europe—and have arrived sans products, I’ve discovered that black folks and Arabs (who frequently have similar hair textures as ours) often live near the city’s main train station. Perhaps it’s the “immigrant effect,” the fact that newer arrivals to a place often live close to the vehicles that bring them. So if these folks first arrive via train, inexpensive housing in the surrounding area might be their first stop.

When I lived in Florence, Italy, between 2004 and 2005, I (mercifully) found the Nigerian-owned barber shop/salon where I got my twist touch-ups done a couple streets away from the city’s Santa Maria Novella train station. (My young stylist Nina would hook up my twists, while her barber shop-owning brother took care of the African and Arab bros in the adjoining room.) I know that Africans live near Rome’s massive Termini station, as I once found myself strolling through the ‘hood in search of an Ethiopian eatery.

And when visiting the south of France last spring, I didn’t pack my Organic Root Stimulator olive oil sheen spray (as usual, my bag was too full and something had to give). But I figured that once I got to the more cosmopolitan town of Nice, surely I’d use my limited French to find some black folks and some hair spray. So after leaving the city’s main train station, I walked half a block to an Internet café with an Arab guy at the counter. Grateful he spoke some English, I asked, “Where can I find a salon for people with hair like this?” as I gently fingered my twists. OF COURSE, there was one right around the block—and hanging out nearby on street corners were African and Arab men,  just as brothers often do here in the States. It was like I’d never left the South Side of Chicago.

Not only did I find a salon owned by a kind African woman, but she directed me down the block to a black hair-care supply store where I found EVERYTHING I needed, and then some. I’ve made a mental note of the salon’s and store’s street so next time I’m in the south of France and need a hook-up, I am SO there.

Which leads to my next point: do some research BEFORE you leave home. You aren’t planning to find yourself in a massive rainstorm on your next trip, but what if it happens and you aren’t adept at wielding a flat iron and fixing your OWN ‘do? Might be wise to have the name and phone number of a salon in the place you’re going. Think of it like stashing just-in-case antibiotics or a first-aid kit. If you’re headed to Central Europe, EbonyPrague.com can take care of your hair. If you’re going to the UK (thankfully, with black folks galore), check out ItzCaribbean.com for a host of hair salons throughout the metro London area. And if you’re traveling elsewhere in the world, BlackGirlTravel.com, where founder Fleacé Weaver creates and leads customized tours for groups of African-American women to countries around the world, you’ll find salon listings from Amsterdam to Hong Kong to Dubai. Talk about hooking a sista up!

And just as our moms always told us to use a clean bathroom whenever we found one (since the next ones might be few and far-between), if you’re strolling down some foreign street and see a either a black/ethnic hair salon or barber shop, drop in and ask for a business card. You may not be planning to get your “hair did” in Madrid, but if your curling iron suddenly blows out or a downpour trashes your bob, you’ll be glad you know where to get your ‘do back on again. Think of it as “hair insurance.”

I’d love to hear YOUR tips—as well as about your overseas hair experiences and how you handle your tresses on the road. Feel free to share!

Hair—and what to do with it when we travel—is nearly ALWAYS an issue for black women

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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.
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, that's for sure.
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 -- and rocking a highlighted blow-dried bob. The maintenance is 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.
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.