Madeline Geiser-Getz
Contributing Writer
On Oct. 17, the department of Africana studies and the libraries hosted “Hair Down: Black Mental Health and Hair” in Gault Recital Hall. The event was co-sponsored by the Center for Equity and Belonging, the Cultural Events Committee, women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, psychology, history, the Longbrake Wellness Center and The College of Wooster Art Museum. Professor Courtney L. Thompson, chair of the Africana studies department, opened the event by welcoming the attendees and introducing the speakers.
Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka, a clinical psychologist, hair stylist and the founder and CEO of PsychoHairapy, was the keynote speaker. The evening’s featured discussion was moderated by Makiba Foster, librarian of the College, and Rachel Yamson ’25, a psychology major. Discussion topics included PsychoHairapy’s research, hair care resources, political and social issues, the role of hair within black culture and history, as well as the relationship between hair care, mental health and therapy.
PsychoHairapy uses hair “as an entry point into mental health care.” According to Mbilishaka, hair can communicate a lot about an individual. Hair impacts healing, behavior and thoughts. Emotional and environmental experiences can be processed through hair, such as hair stress, hair trauma and hair depression. PsychoHairapy involves the use of therapeutic techniques through hair or a hair care environment.
Mbilishaka also spoke on the multiple ways hairstylists can support their clients — “mental health first aid, so to be able to engage in active listening, to help them find therapists, to be able to have conversations about depression, anxiety, about eating disorders, about psychosis and to be informed and to be able to give guidance about those topics,” were a few examples.
Panelists discussed the role of Black hair within various historical contexts, such as standards of beauty established by European colonizers, hair care on plantations and the use of hairstyles to identify tribal affiliation. Issues such as the hyperregulation of Black hairstyles, the Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act, hair as a form of political resistance and texture discrimination were also mentioned.
A highlight of the program was the debut of Yamson’s student digital documentary project, “Did it Go Over Your Head: Being Black at Woo.” Yamson explained that her inspiration for this project came from a conversation with Foster on the way to another event.
“It was just [us] connecting about the story of us getting our hair done for that specific event,” Yamson said. She reflected on her experience coming to Wooster and the hair care difficulties that come with living in a new climate, along with finding accessible and affordable hair care resources.
“What can I do to make sure that people who are now in my situation, whether incoming freshmen or people that are still here, don’t have to experience those same difficulties?” Yamson questioned. Through collaboration with the libraries and fellow students and staff, Yamson’s digital exhibition focused on experiences around black hair at Wooster including interviews, photos from the College’s digital archives, previous I.S. projects and student art submissions.
Speaking to college students’ experiences, Mbilishaka encouraged learning to love and accept your hair: “It’s an opportunity for self-care and to really have someone take care of your hair, to do it yourself, to express parts of your identity as you begin to answer the questions of ‘Who am I?’ and how that can be expressed to others through your hair,” Mbilishaka said.
Foster and Yamson also promoted the hair care resources available to Wooster students. Housed within the College of Wooster Libraries’ Library of Things, the Black Hair Care Collection contains a variety of hair care tools intended to support the health and maintenance of black hair, as well as to address the scarcity of local and affordable black hair care resources in Wooster. Students can use their COW card to check out tools from the Black Hair Care Collection. “They’ve loved it, they’ve loved the experience of having the accessibility,” Yamson said.
Ultimately, the event’s conversation celebrated black hair and validated the role of black hair within mental health, community building and the expression of one’s identity and experiences.
Learn more about PsychoHairapy by visiting https://www.psychohairapy.org/ or following @psychohairapy on Instagram. To check out a tool from the Black Hair-Care Collection, visit the libraries’ online catalog or the circulation desk. To explore the online exhibit curated by Rachel Yamson, visit https://woosterdigital.org/over-your head/exhibits/show/black-at-woo