Think and Discuss: Part III, Weaves and Extensions in Pentecost from the perspective of Other Apostolic Women from the Outside Looking In

Hello again ladies, today's approach is from the perspective of other apostolic women (of other ethnicities) from the outside looking in! Before we get to the responses I want to show you some before and after pictures of my hair. 

Weaves and extensions..

Me with a weave in 2006 (before church)

Me with extensions in 2007 (before church)

All natural...

Me now!! 2012

Me now!! 2012

Which one looks better??

Its obvious what the answer is! My hair is one color, shiny, healthy, bouncy and curly. I mean in the ones above, it just looks fake. What black women of my shade grows out honey blonde hair? Not so... Not so.. I got to looking at these pictures and thought, weaves and extensions give us a wordly look. Furthermore they don't cause us to change. When we are saved, EVERYTHING should change. Even the way we do our hair... 

Now to the responses!!

Question: From the perspective of someone from the outside looking in..What are your thoughts about extensions and weaves in Pentecost? Do you think it creates a double standard if we are allowed to wear them considering other ethnicities don't? What are your thoughts, beliefs and convictions on this? What are the spiritual implications?

Answer: Isn't a weave just like hair extension or a wig? I'm not sure if it is, but if so, I we'd be better off sticking to what grows.

Answer: Well, I think that if our ladies don't wear wigs, this includes weaves and extensions. Why don't we? Vanity? Worldliness? Doesn't really matter. Standards must be consistent regardless of race/culture.

Answer: I think it’s wrong because its Gods glory and he gave that to you...each person is different and God created you in a special way...we are to be separated from worldly things an that's one way the world tries to perfect what God created, you...and  what He thought was beautiful ... Your glory is YOUR connection to Gods glory...isn't that enough? Adding another person’s 'cut' glory to your own kind of symbolizes that you are alright with it... 

Answer: Its very clear to see that most black/African American women have very short hair, most of them are almost bald. I don't feel it's double standard for them to wear a wig or extensions in their hair. It is no different then any other women wearing a wig or extensions do to cancer/chemo when they lose their hair. If anyone is putting extra hair for the vanity part to get attention then that is when it becomes wrong and leads to other situations and the conviction should come naturally if your a Pentecostal, holy ghost filled women of God. Just my thoughts on it! This answer cut me deep. You know why? Because its true. We cannot deny the fact that most black women have short hair. This is an issue ladies. But we can overcome this perception of us. We can grow healthy and long hair.

Answer: Yes I do believe that it creates a double standard.. your ethnicity should not be the basis of a standard so if it’s wrong for our kind of people to go out and get extensions in then it should be wrong for all because if not it creates inconsistency that could possibly cause conflicts. i do believe that God wants us to take care of our temple but I don’t believe that He wants us to adorn ourselves either. In the apostolic church i think sometimes as ladies we can sometimes forget that in Peter it talks about how our spirit should be our adorning.

As far as my convictions on the issue go we have always been taught that there should be no perms or weaves or anything fake. if you ain’t born with it God don’t want you to have it.

I know that women of color face various struggles because society has categorized how they should look and some of them feel that they must use extensions weaves and the sort. That is why I am so happy I have a friend who cares enough about others to dig into these issues and help those around her
love you miss Kendra, you are truly special :)

Meagan from I Wear Straight Apostolic Hairand a Flair for Hair

Let me start by saying that Meagan has taken the time to understand and love our hair! She has been a major encouragement to me since I have been natural!! And I LOVE her response! 

Extensions are really only used for length or volume. When I see someone who is natural, they usually don't need the volume because their hair is beautiful and has plenty of volume. :) I believe naturals don't need "length" either because naturals should not base "growth" on length, they should base growth on how healthy your natural hair is and how defined your curls have become. Length from extensions really is not needed. :) Weaves tend to hide natural hair. :/ 

For example, if I, being of another ethnicity, we're to put a weave in my hair, it would be like putting a wig on :/ and putting a wig or weave over the hair God has given you is like saying I don't like what God gave me. Embrace your own curls!! 

There may be a double standard in some churches, yes... Certain ethnicities are allowed to wear extension or weaves but these other girls who have more "manageable" hair can't... But it might be because they don't understand natural hair. These are thoughts I've had while observing the naturals I've seen as well as those who have not gone natural. 

Personally, I think Naturals should EMBRACE their curls! Your hair is absolutely beautiful!!! You shouldn't feel like you have to cover or change your hair :) I love natural hair!

Mary from Classic Mary Moments

Okaaaaay my oppinion...I think that its being unaturaul and obviousley your not comfortable with who you are. I also know tho, that a lot of times this kind of stuff when seen in the church just comes from lack of understanding and education between two ethnicities. I think if people could JUST grasp, that there is NOTHING wrong with their hair, and understand that GOD MADE THEM specifically designed that way, they wouldn't feel like they have to 'FIX' their hair. I know that when I was bringing the girls to our church that their hair was a REALLLLY big deal! These little 11-year-old African girls wanted soooooooooooo badly to have hair-do's JUST like all the other Apostolic girls in our church and our church is ALL WHITE!   (I think that black people are the minority in the church at least in these areas of the country, sooooo the ANSWER IS....just get MORE BLACK PEOPLE IN CHURCH...woot! WOOT!!!;) AND I'm WHITE and sooo letting them get extensions so that they could fit in didn't seem like a big deal...ESPECIALLY since their parent's weren't really takin care of their hair anyway so they didn't have hardly any hair, PLUS, in the African culture, THEY HAD to get braids no matter what cuz their parent's say you look like a boy with short hair. BUT, I think that Apostolic woman, IN THE CHURCH, should learn how to be comfortable with who they are, but I CAN understand that it IS HARD at times, when YOU are the ONLY one. THats why I think what Kendra is doing and promoting is sooooo AWESOME. Once ONE person dares to take that step out, someone else will and someone else and it will spread till its COOLER to be natural than to NOT!!!

Ladies, I hope you have enjoyed this series thus far!! I am feeling excited and encouraged. I feel like there has been a great response and a lot of "thinking" going on since I have started this series. Please leave your thoughts below!! 

• To read part I, click here
• To read part II, click here

...Stay tuned for Part IV: Weaves and Extensions in Pentecost from the perspective of other Apostolic men from the outside looking in (oh, yes my husband has a lot to say on this issue...)