All Hair strands and textures have historical roots in political expression and personal belief. In the 1980’s, natural hair was regarded as an integral symbol of the “black is beautiful” movement which represented the rejection of traditionally accepted and popularised social aesthetics. There is a vivid shift in the understanding of black hair today, which is the crux of today’s culture corner. It is centred on how natural hair texture is being used as a political tool to assess and, to a certain extent, dictate one’s proximity to blackness and the degree to which one is pro-black. This is not a natural versus relaxed versus wig conversation but rather how within the natural hair debate lies the strong linkage to blackness based on different hair textures used to measure levels of blackness. It has been said that ladies with 4C hair are pro-black and “more black” than ladies with type 4A and 4B natural hair textures. In this conversation, Lerato Mbele speaks to Janine Jellars, author of The Big South African Hair Book about hair.