Melbourne hairdresser honours Pacific island tradition where hair holds power
In many Pacific cultures, hair holds "mana" or spiritual power - and many countries have ceremonies or traditions involving the cutting or use of hair. After years of Western beauty standards, there is a movement to celebrate and embrace natural hair types.
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00:00 Ella has always been passionate about her hair.
00:06 My texture is obviously different to my mum's, but being proud of coming from Papua New Guinea
00:10 and being raised with a very strong sense of cultural identity in my house meant that
00:17 I really held on to the volume and the texture, I guess partly because my personality is big
00:24 and brave and out there, but also because it was my way of continuing to identify with
00:31 my indigenous cultural roots, which is Papua New Guinea.
00:34 As I sat down in the chair myself, I knew this haircut was going to be different.
00:39 Is it okay if I have a feel of your hair?
00:41 Can I touch your hair?
00:42 The first thing that I would note is you understanding the importance of asking to touch someone's
00:49 hair because I have had that questioned, like asked of me, except it didn't feel like it
00:56 was in a safe space.
00:57 And I also noticed that you've got books on the shelf that one of them is about touching
01:01 hair.
01:02 Why is that so important?
01:04 The word trust is at the forefront, I guess, of what we are trying to do here.
01:09 A lot of our clients have had people grab at their hair and touch their hair, but also
01:13 they've had negative experiences in other hair salons where they've felt exoticised
01:18 and the language around our hair being of a negative connotation.
01:22 Which is really important when you consider that like many cultures and religions, Pacific
01:27 countries also have rituals where hair plays a vital role.
01:31 I've had people who come into the salon who want to take their hair home with them because
01:36 spiritually and culturally that is a part of their practice and I want to honour that
01:42 practice.
01:43 The ethos at Elvie's is to lift from the roots and the salon aims to disrupt, decolonise,
01:49 hydrate and moisturise.
01:51 It's really important that we practice decolonising being, removing the European standard of beauty
01:58 and that patriarchy as the centre force.
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