Strands of Strength
Photographer Yodith Dammlash captures the texture and beauty of black women's tangles. Dammlash enters every "kitchen" with caution, allowing her subjects to speak candidly about their tresses.
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AcknowledgmentYodith DammlashMy hair, in my opinion, is a slight determining factor of how people perceive me because it is short. But I am happy with the nappy roots God has blessed me with. —Anita Dargan
Have pressing hair questions? Chat with Yodith Dammlash and Delece Smith-Barrow.
Paunice Savage: Patience, prayer and "this-too-shall pass" hair specials.
The Root: Nappy hair = economic ruin?
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Things Don't ExistYodith DammlashI think I finally started growing my hair out natural in 12th grade or something; I just didn't care any more. The kids who had teased me [about my curls] had grown up, and I had, too. It has been quite a process learning how to do my own hair and learning to appreciate it.
—Aziza Murray
Delece Smith-Barrow: Will black salons survive the recession?
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Flat NoteYodith DammlashI like to get my hair flat-ironed straight once in a blue moon. But I hate it when people are so amazed by my straight hair that they insinuate that it looks so much better that way. I'm like, "Do you know how f***ing long it takes to do this!?!" And you can't get that s**t wet .... It's just more trouble than it's worth. —Aziza Murray
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Permanent ChoicesYodith DammlashIt's an awesomely confusing thing to experience your best and worst moment in the same day, the same moment. The afternoon the perm was cut out of my hair, I lived wholly in that paradox.
—Bethlehem Dammlash
Michel Martin: Sometimes a haircut is just a haircut.
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AcceptanceYodith DammlashMy feelings about my hair now lie somewhere between betrayal and joy ... kind of like when you are told a truth that you weren't ready to hear. And then I remember that truth, regardless of the "kinks" or texture, is always beautiful.
—Bethlehem Dammlash
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Back to BasicsYodith DammlashI went natural because I was tired of the upkeep of having a relaxer. —Charey Jackson
A'Lelia Bundles: A 5-part manifesto on hair peace.
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Question and AnswerYodith DammlashI think people are confused by my hair. Black people mostly. They always ask me what I did to it to get it so curly. When I tell them I didn't do anything, it's just naturally curly, they look extra confused. —Charey Jackson
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EpiphanyYodith Dammlashunruly-
uncultivated-
undomesticated-
uncivilized other;
I fear that which cannot be controlled
—Metasebia Yoseph
Bijan C. Bayne: How black men have shaved, conked and cornrowed through history.
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I ReminisceYodith DammlashI went through a lot of different looks with my hair. I had hot pink hair, locks, very short hair after I cut off my locks. I thought that these various hairstyles helped to reflect my identity, but I realized that they only boxed me in more.
—Metasebia Yoseph
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11 of 11 Photos by Yodith DammlashYodith Dammlash, a graduate of Corcoran College of Art & Design, is an Ethiopian-American photographer based in Prince George's County, Md.
Have pressing hair questions? Chat with Yodith Dammlash and Delece Smith-Barrow.
What's YOUR twist on hair? CLICK through to share your hairstory.
The Root: Nappy hair = economic ruin?
