A Helping of Good Old-Fashioned Black Hair Superstitions

Compiled by Ayana Byrd for Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America

1. Always burn the hair in your brush or someone could use it to put a hex on you.

2. Never comb, brush, or cut your hair outside because if a bird comes and collects a stray loc for its nest, you will: • Feel it pecking at your head • Get headaches • Lose your mind • Suffer the same fate as the bird’s babies

3. Always wear your hair covered when menstruating.

4. If you allow more than one person to work on your hair at a time: • Your hair will fall out • The youngest worker/helper will die

5. Don’t let a pregnant woman do your hair or you’ll become pregnant too. 6. After someone finishes working on your hair, it’s bad luck to say thank you. Instead, say “More hair.”

7. Never cut a boy child’s hair before age one or: • It won’t grow • It will be kinky and nappy 8. After you cut your hair, if you place a loc in the Bible it will grow back faster.

9. It’s bad luck for a woman to cut a man’s hair, especially if she’s menstruating.

10. If you want your hair to grow back, only cut it when there is a full moon.

11. If you get gray hair when you’re young, it means you were a good baby.

Byrd, Ayana. Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America (p. 23). St. Martin's Press. Kindle Edition.