How Coronavirus hairstyle’ is booming in African Countries

There is an ingenuity in the African that can also see him leverage on an emergent social problem to launch a business and possibly make money.

That is exactly what is happening in some African countries currently, where some fashion innovators have come out with a hairstyle they have christened coronavirus hairstyle.

The braided spike hairstyle which echoes shape of coronavirus has been revived and is growing in popularity in East Africa because it is inexpensive, reports the Daily Mail

One of the fashion enthusiasts who is capitalizing on the trend, is Shareon Refa, 24, from Nairobi, and she is using hairstyle to spread awareness of disease. She told the correspondent: ‘Some don’t believe that coronavirus is real…that is why we came up with it’

Her shop is a makeshift salon beside a busy road in Kibera, a slum in the heart of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and many clients have been turning up there for their own coronavirus hairstyle.

There, the 24 year-old hairdresser has been braiding young girls’ hair into the antennae-like spikes that people call the ‘coronavirus hairstyle.’

She revealed: ‘Some grown-ups don’t believe that the coronavirus is real, but then most young children appear keen to sanitise their hands and wear masks…So many adults do not do this, and that is why we came up with the corona hairstyle.’

READ ALSO: Revealed – Why COVID-19 Kills Some People And Spares Others

The ‘coronavirus hairstyle’ has boomed in popularity in East Africa as people braid their hair in antennae-like spikes

Mothers like Margaret Andeya, who is struggling to make ends meet, said the coronavirus hairstyle suits her daughters’ styling needs and her pocket. 

‘This hairstyle is much more affordable for people like me who cannot afford to pay for the more expensive hairstyles out there and yet we want our kids to look stylish,’ Andeya said.

‘I therefore decided to have my child’s hair done up like this at an affordable 50 shillings, and she looks good.

‘The hairstyle also helps in communicating with the public about the virus.’

It costs 50 shillings, or about 50 U.S. cents, to get the braids while the average hairdo costs 300 to 500 shillings ($3 to $5). That’s money most people in Kibera cannot afford at the moment.

The technique used in braiding the coronavirus hairstyle is threading, which uses yarn instead of synthetic hair braids. This is the secret to making it affordable, residents said.

The hairstyle had gone out of fashion in recent years as imported real and synthetic hair from India, China and Brazil began to flood the market and demand by local women increased.

Pictures of the flowing or braided imported styles are tacked up in beauty salons across much of Africa..

Apparently, coronavirus hairstyle is yet to catch on in Nigeria and a number of other African countries.