Your crowning story

Comedian Chris Rock's soon-to-open documentary, "Good Hair," explores, comically, the relationship African-American women have with their hair. We'd like to hear your stories.

Send us an essay, no more than 400 words please, telling us about your hair journey. Wigs, weaves, perms or natural hair are invited; we don't discriminate. Send your essays to adrienne.johnson@newsobserver.com no later than noon Oct. 15 (That's Thursday). If you have a picture that illustrates your story, send that too.

In the meanwhile, we have a hair story of another sort sent to us by Pittsboro resident Betty Sher. She and her late husband were in the Foreign Service and served in Togo and Senegal in 1966.

While in Togo, Sher met a hair salon owner, and they started talking about the various braiding or plaiting designs the woman performed on clients. Later, says Sher, the woman gave her these photos, with (loosely translation) explanations for what the braids mean.

We thought it was very generous of Sher to share them with us. Maybe they'll inspire your hair story.