Microbraids in Tibet

  

As usual, I was watching a movie and noticed something about the hair of the people in the movie.  This was not documentary but was based on a true story.  The title of the movie is "Seven Years in Tibet" with Brad Pitt.  The movie is ho-hum but I was transfixed on the hair style of the Tibetan women and how it reminds of African-American microbraids.

Also, as usual, I had to find out why they braid their hair in such tiny braids.  African-American women wear micro (tiny) braids for easy hair care, to protect their own hair and for a different look.  Tibetan women braid their hair in tiny braids - 108 to be exact - because Tibetan Buddhism holds that 108 sacred qualities constitute an enlightened mind.  The number "108" is significant in Buddhism for many things and Tibetan women represent this with their hair style.


Source





Source







In old Tibet women never cut their hair from the the time they were born.

However, microbraids are fading in Tibet as women begin to embrace modern society and perferring shorter hair. An increasing number of young men and women often dye their hair and follow the fashions of pop film stars and singers.  Those women with the traditional long braids look wistfully on the young Tibetan women.  "I deeply admire and envy today's girls wearing bobbed hair, which looks neat and tidy and is very easy to look after," said Zhaxi Zholma, a 65-year-old Tibetan lady.

Source: Chinese Embassy:

A Henna Recipe

There are so many henna recipes with so many different combinations of various items that first-time henna users can be paralyzed or overwhelmed.  Here is a basic recipe that comes from an Indian website:

Ingredients:  

Henna powder, 2 cups (about 200 grams)

Warm water, 1 cup

Lime (or lemon) juice, 1 teaspoon.

Simple, huh?  Well, this is a basic, no-frills, how-they-did-it-back-in-the-day recipe.  This is pretty much the recipe I use when I'm in a "get 'er done" mood and don't feel like being creative.

Stir the ingredients into a thick paste. The acidity of the lime or lemon juice and the warmth of the water help release the colour. Let it stand for at least one hour before application.

  

The site does recommend additives for those who want to get fancy such as ground cloves, coffee, amla powder.  It even suggests  mixing henna "in an iron vessel"  to help give a dark brown shade. I'm not vouching for that one (but I've read it on more than one Indian website), but I do know that you can mix henna in any type of bowl - plastic (will leave stains), glass or metal.  Think of mixing flour.

 

The site also suggests that for dry hair add an egg and a tablespoon of coconut oil/olive oil/mustard oil to your henna mixture.  I can say I've added egg and olive oil to my mix on different occasions.  The egg is suppose to make your hair shiny but it's hard to tell because my hair is so shiny from the Vatika Oil I use.  However, I've stopped adding any kind of oil to my mix because it may keep the henna from fully coating and binding to the hair.

 

Lots of people like to leave their henna on for HOURS but this totally unnecessary.  Most authorities say from two to four hours.  I know I have to keep it on for at least 3 hours because of my white.

Anyway, I'll be posting other recipes or at least links to them.