Hair and texture

[melannen]

I'm writing about a religious order where not caring for one's hair is a matter of devotion. For people with straight, fine hair (which happens to describe the founder of the Order) this means that if they wish, they are allowed to rinse it with water, comb it every few days, and have a very simple trim, every couple months or less; the ideal, imitating their founder, is for it to hang in lank, oily clumps around the face and shoulders.

Would it be reasonable and not-offensive for members of the order who have hair that is too coarse, kinky or curly for this to happen to generally wear shortish, freeform dreadlocks, as the equivalent? And if not, what should their hair be like?

(The story is set in a semi-cyberpunk future and modern cultural markers don't necessarily apply, except of course for how they do, because the author and [presumably]readers are part of a modern culture.

(Also, does anyone have links to any general guides to writing about people with different hair textures? I feel like I've read at least one, but I couldn't find it today.)

Comments

[flyingthesky]

This doesn't answer your question exactly, but as someone who has fine, superstraight hair that used to only be washed once a week*? You kind of need to comb fine hair every day/multiple times a day unless you've got it pulled back or it tangles up and forms a mat of hair that will break fine-toothed combs. Like, if I wear my hair down while I'm sleeping, just some regular shifting during the night tends to make some decent beginnings of dreads in my hair.

So you know. I would suggest that maybe you consider just giving everyone dreads.

* It was almost four feet long and it took thirty minutes or so to wash properly because my hair is fine, but I have an awful lot of it. Anyway, forty minutes to shower was not the kind of time I had on weekdays.

[melannen]

Heh, yeah, when I had hair down past my waist it was braided about 95% of the time, including in the shower, because I just didn't have the energy. But at "just long enough to tie back" I've found it's lot more possible to leave it down and go awhile without combing, especially if it's pretty oily, although you're right that it might work better to have them at least tie it back when sleeping.

(It takes my hair about two months in braids-never-taken-out to start to properly lock, but I honestly have no idea where it falls on a spectrum between "fine" and "coarse".