The Secret Behind Braiding.

Braiding is also known as plaiting. In India it is not a big deal to see a braided hair, infact till I finished my high school I used to braid my hair every single day to school as it was the rule if you have long hair. After I came to US I did not find many braided hairs and I cut my hair short too so I stopped braiding too.

So what made me write this? Of late I saw quite a lot of braided hair styles. First my recent trip to India, then the Movie Avatar and the ski resort in NH. Well it was very common to see braided hair styles in India (though it has reduced considerably). I too braided my hair when I was at home during my vacation.

In the movie they showed the Aliens to be wearing pig-tails braided. Everyone both male and female, young-old had their hair braided. Well it’s a movie so let’s hold that thought and move on to the next one. The Ski Resort - well that came as a surprise to me. Most of the women who had (short/long) hair had braided their hair, the visitors and the workers their alike. I did not realize the reason until the fair end of my own skiing down the hill.

Now the reason - In the movie it is that way because if you look closely they would have taken a lot of the culture from tropical regions like South America and Africa, and people there braid their hair to escape humidity. Yes. The same reason in India too. Earlier we did not have so much of conditioner and women used to have long hair. So to save the hair our ancestors came up with this brilliant braiding idea. It locks in moisture and the hair is not spoilt that much because of natural elements. In the ski resort also they did it because of the cold climate and convenience. It is easy to ski down with your hair braided because if you fall (which you would) the hair will not be spoilt by the cold weather, also it keeps the hair out of the way.

Some things done by our ancestors are worth an applaud.