A biracial woman was recently mistreated by her employer because of her natural hair.

The Huffington Post reports that on March 23, Cree Ballah was asked by her two managers to take her hair out of the box braids she had pulled back into an up do.

Her case is not isolated since many organisations have strict policies regarding natural African hair.

I have been on my afro for sometime now until recently when a colleague walked to my desk to ask if I was staging some sort of protest, or if I lacked salon money to have my hair treated or straightened.

Our history

I just smiled and ignored the question, but it told me something about our history.

We have been made to believe that to be beautiful and gorgeous, we must have straight hair.

This is why the hair relaxer markets have been so unforgiving in fronting racial supremacy. But let’s drop the race war for now and talk about hair.

I am not about to attack those women who prefer treated hair since they have a right to do what suits them and what they feel comfortable in.
Though many women still cannot imagine stepping out in their real hair and appreciating their unique beauty, there are quite a few rocking in their natural hair.

Look unkempt

And I am going to concentrate on those few who have taken the natural African root because it is not right to let society dictate for one the standards of beauty.
We should also ensure our hair does not look unkempt, especially in a professional setting.

It shouldn't look like one just rolled out of bed. Our natural afros or any other style should be well taken care of and managed since there are numerous products for our hair type.
At least there are a few natural hair ambassadors who have come up to encourage more people to feel proud about who they are and love their hair.

The knowledge

At least afro, cornrows, locks are taking a firm hold in the beauty industry.
They are urging us to appreciate the uniqueness of our hair, whether relaxed or natural.

And that is where I totally agree with Kipilipili founders - two Tanzanian hair enthusiasts I recently met, who are sharing the knowledge natural hair and how to care for it.

Ziada Gigi and Basia Wellu Hellela talk about natural hair as if their lives depend on it. Kipilipili is a Swahili word meant to describe coily, tightly textured hair.

They know too well that our natural hair can look great with proper care. So let’s love our African hair as it is and take care of it properly.

Twitter: @JanetOtieno