In today's society, changing hair accessories may be viewed comparable to wearing make-up, but hair extensions date back to Cleopatra’s blue-tinted tresses. As the husband of a braid and beauty shop owner, François Attadédji is no stranger to women's hair accessories, including extensions, weaves, wigs, and braids. In his informative study, It's Not Only About the Look: Women's Love of Hair May Never Be Fully Understood, Attadédji explores the reasons why women change their hair. His interviews with women of various ages, ethnicities, regions, and social classes reveal an assortment of factors that influence their personal hair choices.
With careful attention to detail, Attadédji expounds on various reasons women wear hair accessories. Thinning hair due to aging or health issues, the influence of social media, the desire to feel younger, and presenting a professional appearance are several factors women listed. Throughout the book, Attadédji objectively contrasts the care, maintenance, and expense of natural hair with hairpiece alternatives. Interestingly, both black and white women cited convenience as a primary reason for wearing different types of hair accessories. "It's clear and neat that wigs, weaves, extensions, and braids are not a black or a white thing. They are a woman thing."
