Zuko Komisa
Kaya 959 presenter Tyroline Frank who hosts Saturday afternoon’s ‘Tune and Chill’ recently shared her incredible love affair with her hair and how she’s grown to love her beautiful expression. She shares how over the years, she’s had to explore various options and has had to find what truly works for her style.
In 2015 I did my first big chop
“I think I do big chops for fun.I cut my hair as and when the urge arises. I bet I’m not the only one.
In 2015 I did my first big chop. I then grew a curly afro. I got really attached to it. It sort of became part of my personal identity. My curls were difficult to manage and expensive to maintain at the time.
I then made a decision to get my hair loc’d. I thought I was escaping the high maintenance of haircare by growing dreadlocs but I was sorely mistaken. It was fun watching my dreadlocks gain length but sitting in that chair on a corner in Kliptown wasn’t easy. Wild if you ask me! Apart from the buzz on the street, the process of styling locs requires a high pain threshold. I couldn’t do it anymore so after 4 painful years, I did another big chop. I still have my dreads in a plastic bag somewhere in my wardrobe. I’m saving them for a rainy day because it is worth quite a bit in these streets.“I always said it’s just hair, you use it to make yourself feel better, and that it grows back. You need to have fun with it.”
Letting go of the curly afro
Tyrolene shared how she realized that an attachment to her hair is not always healthy when she became a mother, and how wash days became a nightmare with each comb. She decided to let go of her curly afro which was her signature look for some time.
“I also experienced major hair loss after the birth of my daughter, which is what taught me to be less attached to hair. Growing up, hair length and texture were a big deal but I’m an adult now so I make my own rules.
Once anything becomes redundant, I make the necessary changes. There’s a saying that goes ” ‘n Hond k*k hare” which loosely translates to ‘a dog poops hair’ – so it’s really not that deep. I switch up my hairstyles often. Gotta give my family the spontaneity they deserve.”
She shared how women’s perception and expression through hair have changed over the years.
“Women who prefer to wear extensions, wigs or weaves are often bashed for that, and I could never understand that. Especially coming from a coloured community, there’s always conversations about someone’s hair not being straight enough, or your hair is too curly or coily, and when you decide to cut your hair everyone is like, why did you cut your hair.”
“In my pixie-cut era”
Her hair evolution has changed over time and she is now embracing her pixie-cut era. The pixie cut’s inception can be traced to women who, in the early 1900s, dared to defy social norms by cutting their hair shorter than they had ever done before. Pixie cuts range in length from a few inches to half an inch.
“Now my hair is short and I have coloured it, and ever now and then I throw in a weave just for styling purposes. Some people will call it me being undecided, but I call it me exploring my options at any given time. I’m currently in my pixie-cut era. Who knows what I’ll wake up and do tomorrow? It’ll grow back, I promise!”
Catch Tyroline Franks every Saturday between 15:00 and 18:00 on Kaya 959.
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