As a big fan of hair (and what SL female isn’t?), I had an interest in this year’s Hair Fair, but had been lagging…um, DRAGGING…my feet because of lag concerns. However, it had been open a week and it wasn’t bad at all yesterday, early on a Sunday morning. By late morning, though, it was like moving through molasses.
Molasses—a clever metaphor! For the sim was decked out in a Candyland theme, the lawns sprinkled with gumdrops and Starlight peppermints, the sellers ensconced in individually decorated gingerbread and confectionary cottages. I felt like Gretel (minus the blond braids), and started to salivate before hair vendors had even rezzed. Most cleverly, there was a chocolate path to follow that wended its way throughout the isle, so you could rest assured you didn’t miss anything.
My mission? Well, dear readers, to see what diaspora-inspired hair there might be for your consumption. With over 130 sellers taking part in this fourth annual event, there had to be loads of head-turners.
I found some of interest, but also noticed some things that intrigued, puzzled and even disturbed me. A few of my favorite hair places weren’t there, such as Mirai. Well, no surprise—there are a thousand and one coiffeurs on SL, an
d no island could hold them all. Many vendors were taking advantage of the size-to-fit script, making life easier for the expansion-and-rotation challenged, and others exploited color/texture changing HUDS for a plethora of options. The sponsored island was giving to its own favored charity, Locks for Life, with participants earmarking particular styles that donated 50 or even 100% of their profits to the agency. But the aspect that baffled me was that very few of the hair models on this packed sim were diaspora faces—or Asian faces, for that matter.
Diaspora ladies MAKE their hair versatile (is that India Arie and Akon I hear singing in the background? Sing out!), so any style will work for them, yet in a real world where black models have been top runway and Vogue sellers since the 1970s, SL is lagging in more ways than one. Let me be charitable—maybe hairsellers take all their hair photos on variations of themselves in different skins. If so, wouldn’t a little variety make them shine?
Alas, I think this has nothing to do with overt racism, but with the more insidious invisibility issue—if it doesn’t look like me it doesn’t really exist. Or, “since I never noticed that black women frequently wear their hair straight in rl, I never thought of putting them in that cute asymmetric short style!” Oh, Rihanna, step in here!
Well, that is a question to be revisited in future. We have hair to consider!
I’m not bothering with the general styles, which anyone can wear (though don’t forget, there are a number of freebies to be had), but instead am focusing on the more diasporic hair. My own hair, for the duration of my visit, was abandoned. I had followed the sim’s coaxing to wear the official lag-reducing coiffure and outfit (if all w
ear the same thing, the servers have less work 
and things move more swiftly), and was attired in an attractive whipped cream dollop. Though I did look delicious, I WAS THE ONLY AVATAR WEARING THIS ATTIRE! And, I might add, the only one hopping along in the awkward non-AO gait. Ah, the valiant sacrifices I make for you readers.
Well, diasporic hair was somewhat limited. There were relatively few big curly styles that caught my eye, though a few, such as Bishwear’s Billie or Jolie Femme’s Bella III, were present.
Booperfunk had some fun styles (you know I have been a HUGE fan of their bouncing braids since I came on SL), and I was happy to see new favorite Discord Designs with several cute styles displayed, including the Matrix’s Niobe, as well as a short dread twist style for men that I wore anyway. They thoughtfully included some men’s facial hair variations as well. (Men in general got fairly short shrift at the Fair, aside from some dreads, tails and Mohawks—no surprise).
Sari’s flowered lock updos were adorable, and I am going to rush out and buy them all! Even when called for a Midnight Mania in my huge-sign-on-my-head demo, the Sari Hanami Dreads were exciting requests for an LM. Her coifs come with adorable decorations, but can also be worn plain.
A few other interesting dreadlock variations were available, including a fabulous free and lovely “Fatima II Dreads Updo” set that “grew” over time (with three lengths—and a color HUD fo
r contented play!) at Zen. Another favorite was a Steampunk set that included tiny light bulbs in its gathered masses, and made me feel inventive, a little messy, and incredibly creative. At 400L, it was one of the more expensive coiffures, but I’m slapping it down later this week.
Interesting plaits were scarce on the ground. BishWear had Laramie, a wispy style with just a few beaded braids at the templ
e—decidedly different and softly appealing, like real hair after a stiff breeze. Discord had a discounted dollarbie plaited to the head called DeShaun for men that looks good.
I also liked the wired braid Mui style from Sparkle Skye Designs, which reminded me of some Nigerian heads, though it was their flaring Naima updo that brought that country’s creativity forcefully back to me! One friend spent a morning having her plaiter create a style using attachments (sorry-o! . . .extensions) that resulted in a fantasy brimmed “hair hat” for a special occasion, and this one reminded me of a combination of that type of hairdo combined with a traditional Mangbetu style. I’d love to see more styles that use plaited styles as a jumping off point—if any wigmakers need some inspiration, IM me!
The thought of fantasy was what I really enjoyed at the Fair—except I wished there had been more, as well as more of Steampunk/Goth, and more historic, vintage, and ethnic styles. 
I couldn’t resist demos
that made Tam into a pincushion, like The Stringer Mausoleum and Shrine’s “Pincushion”, or Vanity Fair’s whimsical gel-stiffened standup Herma curls—imaginative and perfect for a high style look.
Even better were two completely fanciful styles by Tekali-li that featured the underwater Scylla style (but where was Charybdis? Must check the store!) in tones referred to as “s
tarfish,” “leather” and “metallic,” with scripted tentacle textures. Undine was also great—both came with multiple purchasing possibilities, including fat packs that allowed 74 textures, 77 tints, and hair ornament color changes. Don’t miss his treasure chest with a freebie scripted style called Nixie—much fun.
The hair fair has been extended till July 6, so try it early in the morning. The Locks of Love fundraising is a good reason to buy any of these styles at the Fair itself, but, if you’re like me, you’re curious to see what else these designers have on their home turf. Because when I start tearing my hair out, I like to have plenty in the closet!
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