An African hair braiding shop is its own universe. A typical shop – bustling with customers, vendors and braiders – has its own language, rules and expectations. You will sit for hours to get the braids of your choosing. You will arch your neck (oft in silence and in pain) as a braider plaits infinite rows. But a bond is forged as many gather for the singular purpose of a fresh hairstyle, with all its cultural and cosmetic magic.
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, a delightful Broadway debut by Jocelyn Bioh, is an ode to that experience, to the women who make it so.
