Editing Cornrows (section)

{{Short description|Style of hair braiding}}
[[File:Cornrows.jpg|thumb|Woman with cornrows]]
'''Cornrows''' (also called '''canerows''') are a style of three-strand [[Braid (hairstyle)|braid]]s in which the hair is braided very close to the scalp, using an underhand, upward motion to make a continuous, raised row.<ref name="cornrow noun">{{Cite web |title=cornrow (noun) |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/cornrow_n |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref> Cornrows are often done in simple, straight lines, as the term implies, but they can also be styled in elaborate geometric or curvilinear designs. They are considered a traditional hairstyle in many [[Culture of Africa|African cultures]], as well as in the [[African diaspora]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Baron |first=Robert |date=2010 |title=Sins of Objectification? Agency, Mediation, and Community Cultural Self-Determination in Public Folklore and Cultural Tourism Programming |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jamerfolk.123.487.0063 |journal=The Journal of American Folklore |volume=123 |issue=487 |pages=63–91 (89) |doi=10.5406/jamerfolk.123.487.0063 |issn=0021-8715|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Essah |first=Doris S. |title=Fashioning the Nation: Hairdressing, Professionalism and the Performance of Gender in Ghana, 1900-2006. |date=2008 |degree=Thesis |url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/60728 |language=en-US}} p. 221.</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Leong |first=Nancy |date=2021 |title=Enjoyed by White Citizens |url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/georgetown-law-journal/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2021/08/Leong_Enjoyed-by-White-Citizens.pdf |journal=Georgetown Law Review |volume=109 |issue=1421 |pages=1430}}</ref> They are distinct from, but may resemble, [[box braids]], [[Dutch braid]]s, melon coiffures, and other forms of [[Braid (hairstyle)|plaited hair]], and are typically tighter than braids used in other cultures.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Underwood |first=Khalea |date=2019-08-24 |title=Cornrows, Braids, Twists, Oh My: How To Spot The Difference In Braiding Styles |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/braids-hairstyles-differences |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=Refinery29}}</ref>

The name ''cornrows'' refers to the layout of crops in corn and sugar cane fields in the [[Americas]] and [[Caribbean]],<ref name="cornrow noun" /><ref name="Mensah20202">{{cite book |author=Charlotte Mensah |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a67ODwAAQBAJ&pg=PT42 |title=Good Hair: The Essential Guide to Afro, Textured and Curly Hair |date=29 October 2020 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=978-0-241-98817-6 |page=42}}</ref> where enslaved Africans were displaced during the [[Atlantic slave trade]].<ref>Quampah, B., Owusu, E., Adu, V. N. F. A., Agyemang Opoku, N., Akyeremfo, S., & Ahiabor, A. J. (2023). "Cornrow: a medium for communicating escape strategies during the transatlantic slave trade era: evidences from Elmina Castle and Centre for National Culture in Kumasi". ''International Journal of Social Sciences: Current and Future Research Trends'' (IJSSCFRT), 18:1. pp. 127-143.</ref> According to [[Black people|Black]] folklore, cornrows were often used to communicate on the [[Underground Railroad]] and by [[Benkos Biohó]] during his time as a slave in Colombia.<ref name="Irbahim">{{Cite web |last=Irbahim |first=Nur |date=2022-03-12 |title=Did Braiding Maps in Cornrows Help Black Slaves Escape Slavery? |url=https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/03/12/maps-cornrows-black-slaves-escape/ |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=Snopes}}</ref> They often serve as a form of [[Black pride|Black self-expression]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Dash |first=Paul |date=2006-01-31 |title=Black hair culture, politics and change |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13603110500173183 |journal=International Journal of Inclusive Education |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=27–37 |doi=10.1080/13603110500173183 |issn=1360-3116|url-access=subscription }}</ref> especially among [[African Americans]],<ref name="cornrow noun" /> but have been stigmatized in some cultures.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8">Spellers, R. E. (2000). ''Cornrows in corporate America: Black female hair/body politics and socialization experiences in dominant culture workplace organizations''. Arizona State University. p.iii.</ref> Cornrows are traditionally called "kolese" or "irun didi" in [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]], and are often nicknamed "didi braids" in the Nigerian diaspora.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kia |first=Kara |date=2021-02-05 |title=It's Time We Ditch the Words "Cornrows" and "Canerows" and Call Them Didi Braids Instead |url=https://www.popsugar.co.uk/node/48148196 |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=POPSUGAR Beauty UK |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Cornrows are worn by both sexes, and are sometimes adorned with beads, shells, or hair cuffs.<ref name="cornrow noun" /> The duration of braiding cornrows may take up to five hours, depending on the quantity and width.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://africanamericanhairstyling.com/cornrow-braid-styles/ |title=Cornrow Braid Styles |publisher=Africanamericanhairstyling |access-date=2018-08-11 |archive-date=26 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726195243/http://africanamericanhairstyling.com/cornrow-braid-styles/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Often favored for their easy maintenance, cornrows can be left in for weeks at a time if maintained through careful washing of the hair and natural oiling of the scalp. Braids are considered a protective styling on African curly hair as they allow for easy and restorative growth; braids pulled too tightly or worn for longer lengths of time and on different hair types can cause a type of hair loss known as [[traction alopecia]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6961935.stm | work=BBC News | title=Braiding 'can lead to hair loss' | date=2007-08-24 | access-date=2010-04-30}}</ref>