So what is the point of wigs/weaves? Is it unfashionable to have curly black hair? Or is there another reason?
The black girl I know these other black people through doesn't have a wig, but she does straighten her hair.
Black people tend to have thicker much more coarse hair than the typical Caucasian. If they let it grow they'll either have a nappy mess, or they'll have to get a perm to straighten it out. The problem with perms is they all have Lye in them, which is poison. It burns when it's in, and if they get perms too often it'll cause their hair to fall out. With a weave you only need a medium amount of hair so it doesn't need to be permed. Also perms are expensive and time consuming, to keep it looking good they need to have it done every week or 2 at the most. It'll run them about $60-120 depending on how long their hair is. And can take 3-4 hours total.
While a lot don't want straight hair so they rock a non permed blow out or something, many want to fit in with the perceived notion fashion wise that straight hair's beautiful and nappy hair's ugly. They typically don't get curly hair like a Caucasian person would when they let it grow out. It will be much thicker and almost unmanageable without putting harsh chemicals in it. I've seen black females with bald spots and burn marks from getting a perm too frequently. But there's nothing else most of them can do to get straight hair without a wig or a weave.
And there are those who just like to have totally different looks whenever they feel like it. It's always amusing to work with a black woman who has fairly short hair on Friday but come Monday it's 3 inches longer. And some of the white people in the office will ask her how she did it lol.