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Tag Archives: hairstyles

Afro Hair Is Art

21 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by Nomolanga Achieng in Uncategorized

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art, black hair, expression, hairstyles

Black people are art, and our beautiful melanin skin is the ultimate canvas. We are always being plagiarized,  muted, and whitened but each one of us are a masterpiece and together, we make an original collection.

Image result for afropunk 2016 street styleAfropunk

As our Black collective image evolves, there is so much fluidity and room for expression. We are the most unique beings on the earth. We are magic. There is nothing that we can do with our hair that can be considered wrong. There is no shade of skin that is too black, too ochre, too mahogany. Whatever the skin type, whatever the hair curl pattern or coil, whatever the thickness of the hips or the lips; we are walking art. The person who was holding the paintbrush was trying to paint over us, now we are holding the paintbrush. I see our true colours shining through.  You do you, be you. Be weird. Be emotional. Be angry. Be happy. Be Black, and know, there is no wrong way to be Black. There is nothing that can define you, but you. Create your own identity and look in the mirror at the canvas of your divinity, or the powers you possess. Our hair is art. Our skin is art. Everything else is just a backdrop to our phenomenal being.

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It’s Not Perfect

01 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by Nomolanga Achieng in Uncategorized

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African, Afro hair, beauty, black hair, community, hair, hairstyles, makeup, natural hair

   Our natural hair is so beautiful, African hair is just divine! It truly is a crown; as diverse, resilient, ever-changing yet unyielding as our African spirit. It takes patience and love (and a lot of detangling!) to give our crown the opportunity to show us what we are searching for: our African beauty in its pure form, as we finally embrace our kinks and curls.

   Embracing my natural hair is easy for me. But it doesn’t always embrace me back. Sometimes I leave the house feeling like my hair is on point, only to come back home with a completely different looking hairstyle. Natural hair, you nah easy. Yet, despite the kinks in figuring out what works and what doesn’t…there is far much more to gain in being humble and learning from what grows out of our head. By giving it time to develop a voice and talk to us, so we can look in the mirror and see the  queen within, so we can radiate and melanate our natural, African glow. From head to toe. From the crown to the sole. Our soul. Our past, present and future.

  And, it doesn’t hurt to use Cantu. This condish is BAE. <3.

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Keep It Wet

10 Friday Jun 2016

Posted by Nomolanga Achieng in Uncategorized

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Afro hair, afrocentric, black hair, haircare, hairstyles, natural hair

  The summer is upon us and the heat is magnificent. Despite trying loads of other hairstyles (read: hair FAILS), I find the deceivingly simple yet sophisticated Afro puff my tried and true from day one! Now I just put my hair up after giving it a really strong mist with water and SheaMoisture’s Curl Enhancing Smoothie.

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  I’m seeing lots of beautiful, thick braids this year around and gosh do these natural women look like goddesses. It is always refreshing to see so many naturalistas from big cities to small towns all around the world collectively embracing their hair, wielding their hair as a political tool of liberation and being role models for others, whether they are aware of it or not. Enjoy the weekend, curl friends, and remember…. Keep it wet!!!

2 Week Loc Update

05 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by Nomolanga Achieng in Uncategorized

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black beauty, black children, black family, children, dreadlocks, fair trade, hair, hair are, hairstyles, locs, natural, natural hair, pan African

  My son’s hair, which I decided to loc as an affirmation of Afrikan identity and self-love, has been transitioning wonderfully. Freeform or “natural” form locs are amazingly unique and his character and personality seems to be magnified by his big, bold hair.

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   The products I am using is Alaffia African Black Soap to wash (although I have not washed his hair yet). It is a non-residual soap approved for loc washing, and it’s fairtrade and benefits women and children in Togo, Africa. I also use an apple cider vinegar and water spray to cleanse the scalp and I vigorously rub a few drops of tea tree oil in the scalp to stop itching and for it’s antifungal and antibacterial properties. Then, I leave it alone and let it transform!

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Protective Twists

13 Friday May 2016

Posted by Nomolanga Achieng in Uncategorized

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African American hair, Afro hair, black beauty, black hair, hairstyles, natural hair, protective styling, self love, twists and styles

   I’m a busy, on-the-go mom and I don’t have all the time in the world to elaborately style my hair every day. And in an effort to rehabilitate my dry hair and promote hair growth, I’m going to keep my natural hair in twists for the week, untwisting it the day before  Wash Day to wear a twist-out, then start all over. It is a great way to help hair grow fast, without much effort!

  1. First, I washed my hair to start off fresh with III Sisters of Nature shampoo and Allafia Black Soap to cleanse my hair gently, particularly the scalp.

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  2. After washing my hair, I made a DIY deep conditioner. I did not have honey on hand but I had organic blue agave nectar which is also an amazing humectant. The polysaccharides in the agave nectar make it perfect for drawing moisture in during warmer months.
   I added it with coconut milk, coconut oil, a teaspoon of Castor oil and III Sisters of Nature conditioner. Because it is so runny, I have to sit still, mopping my face and neck with a towel for 30 minutes but it’s wor

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!

   3. My hair is super soft and moisturized and ready for detangling before I wash all this deep conditioner out of my hair. I brush Shea butter into my hair and use a touch of gel to form rope twists in my hair. I can feel the revitalization and health restored in my hair immediately. I attribute it mostly to coconut milk. Perhaps my hair just needs that protein! No deep conditioner should be complete witho

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ut coconu

t milk!

4. After I twist it, I put flexirods to elongate the hair, and add a silk bonnet while home to hold in moisture. Now, I’m ready for my rejuvenating hair vacation, giving my hair a much needed break from daily stress and boosting growth and suppleness. It is also a great time to reflect on and appreciate the uniqueness and beauty of African hair, in all

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its forms.

Twista Sista

31 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by Nomolanga Achieng in Uncategorized

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africa, beauty, black hair, black haircare, challenge, hair, hairstyles, lifestyle, racism

  It is spring, the time for new growth. And what better way to grow natural Afro hair than protective style giant: single strand twists (SST? I know from past experience that my own hair would grow immensely if kept in SST for a prolonged period at a time of 3 days at least to 2 weeks, pushing it. But I rarely SST my hair in any given year, and never wear SST in public.

   Why not? As I reject the Americanized standard of beauty that does not include the natural Black woman, I realize that my reluctance to wear SST is due to my unconscious socialization of American beauty norms. I have been taught that because SST is a Black hairstyle, it is ugly, embarrassing and not fit to be seen in public.

 

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  We have tauted the Afro as a powerful symbol of Black Power and Afros are beautiful, potent statements. But what about twists? A twist is a unique hairstyle that can only be upheld without aid by kinky hair. It is inherently Black. But even the natural hair  movement is focused on growing hair and wearing it in styles consistent with the beauty standards that had Black women sewing and glueing wigs in. Yes, we will occasionally see twists and braids but these are touted as protective styles, a temporary style to “fix or maintain” or give Afro hair a break. How many naturalistas wear twists or braids as the normal, de facto state of their hair all year round and create styles within that state of hair? Not many. I know I don’t.

    But SSTs may be the state of hair best suited for African hair because as we know, keeping our hair “out” all the time is disastrous and drying. I have been so brainwashed that I wonder, even as a challenge, if I can keep my hair in SSTs as a state of hair for a week? A month? Three months? While untwisting my hair becomes the occasional hair state.

    This is just a theory, but what do you think? @_ebonninicole_ on Instagram had illustrated above that various, beautiful styles are achievable in twisted form. Basically, the same styles we rock on untwisted hair. I do love my voluminous, untwisted hair. I do. I do. I do. Perhaps it’s time to learn to love my Black hair in a form that is not included in Western beauty ideals.

   I’m going to rock SSTs for 3 days and see how I feel, how the people I interact with feel and treat me, and if I can (ever) abandon my Afro, my wash n go and my messy high bun on the regular.

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