Accra's markets and roadside salons are crowded with braiders, and Ghana has given its name to Ghana braids, thick cornrows that start small and grow as extension hair is fed in. Braiding is part of daily life and of celebration, and headwraps in printed and woven cloth are worn with kente and wax-print dress. In 2021 a case over Rastafarian students' locs drew national attention.

Ghana braids

Ghana braids are a form of cornrows, braided flat to the scalp in straight or curving lines, often thick and with extension hair fed in so they taper at the hairline. Images of similar braids appear in older West African sculpture. The style spread through the diaspora under the Ghanaian name in the 2010s. Box braids, twists and threaded styles are also common in Accra's salons, where apprentices learn by working beside senior braiders.

Locs and schools

Many Ghanaian schools set strict rules on hair, often requiring students to keep it short. In 2021 Achimota School, one of the country's best-known schools, refused to admit two Rastafarian students unless they cut their locs. Their families took the case to the High Court in Accra, which ruled in May 2021 that the school could not refuse them on that ground. Supporters saw a win for religious freedom; others defended schools' right to set uniform rules.