African Hair

I haven't had a hair cut for quite a while and I really needed one. Leah and I were going with Levin to Abuja on a work trip and staying in a nice Hilton hotel that had a salon. Levin assured me they were high end and would know how to cut a white woman's hair.
When we got there I found out it was only going to cost about $13 whereas in Lagos it'd cost my nearly $50. I figured the cheap price was worth the risk. I went to the salon and since I was not getting braids or extensions they sent me to the back to the "barbing salon." I was with the men!
I said, "I need a hair cut, do you know how to cut a white woman's hair?" The man in charge said, "yes, and we also know how to cut a white man's hair." Thank you. I was still a little hesitant when my barber started combing my hair and couldn't get through some tangles. Half way through the process when I have a tangled mess of hair piled up on top of my head, falling down into my eyes so I can't see well the barber says, "I see you are watching me very carefully. You don't need to worry you are in the hands of a professional." Hah.
As he's cutting my hair and 2 other barbers cut 2 black men's hair I look in the mirror to the "women's" section behind me. There are women getting extensions, hair curled, looking at wigs, etc. A realization hit me. A black woman's world of hair is a world completely all their own and I will never share in it.
As for my haircut, it actually didn't turn out that bad. I had to take a few snips at it with my own scissors once I got home and it turned out okay.
In fact, today I used my new hair dryer (mine blew up) and I used it on the highest heat setting. I don't think that hot is allowed in America, but I was in a hurry today so I used it. Steam was billowing, but my hair looked better than it has in a long time when I was finished. Maybe it is possible for a white woman to have an okay hair do in Africa after all.