Meaning ❉ Indigenous Knowledge Exploitation gently brings attention to instances where time-honored understandings and practices, carefully passed down through generations within Black and mixed-race communities for the care of textured hair, are taken and commercialized without just recognition or equitable benefit to their originators. This often involves the uncredited use of traditional botanical insights for hair well-being, such as specific plant extracts or oil blends known for ages to support hair vitality and scalp comfort. Such practices might include systematized routines for managing coils and curls, refined through observation and lived experience, which are then presented as modern ‘systems’ for efficiency, dislodging them from their cultural heritage. Moreover, this can include the adoption of styling techniques, protective methods, or precise product application rituals that have long served as foundations of Black hair care, now introduced as general discoveries without reference to their origins. This sensitive matter calls for mindful appreciation of the deep wisdom held by those who have tended textured hair for centuries, reminding us to honor their contributions.
