Yellow Springs resident and natural hair stylist Kafisalah Salahuddin fills a special niche in the community for African American residents — providing natural hair care services and products through her company, Salsa’s Tingz.
“My business is two different businesses in one; I have my own hair care product and I also do locs under it,” Salahuddin said. “So, the entirety of it is called ‘Salsa’s Tingz’ [named with a Jamaican vibe in mind], but Salsa’s Locs Natural is my product.”
Salahuddin has lived in Yellow Springs for the past six years, coming here from Xenia. She has two children — Paradise, who is 13, and Azhan, who is 7 — who attend Yellow Springs schools.
“My family moved [to the area] from Cleveland in the early ’80s and we are one of the local Muslim Haitian families in the community,” she said.
Salahuddin works with Black hair in its natural state — meaning, styled without the use of chemicals. Regardless of style preferences, hair plays an important societal role within the social structure of African American culture, especially for Black women, who are often discriminated against for something they have no biological control over — the way their hair grows from their scalps.
Legislation called the CROWN, or Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, Act was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in March, and is now making its way through the Senate. The bill, intended to dissuade discrimination against race-based hairstyles by protecting the right to wear hair naturally or in styles like locs, braids and twists in workplaces and public schools, has been signed into law in 12 states, and is being considered by 16 other state governments.
Salahuddin’s training involves understanding the growth patterns and diverse textures of African American hair. She trained under stylists from Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland.
