Clay Locs?? Strong Tradition

The Himba tribe is one of very old tradition, they live in the mountainous regions of Kaokoland in Namibia. Himba's are nomad's, moving with their cattle as the times change. Despite their constant moving, the Himba women keep their routine going.  Part of the Himba woman's tradition is to spend several hours a day dedicated to their beauty. This includes, what I would like to call, their clay locs ( more on what their locs really are further down.)

The Himba women smear their skin twice a day with a paste called Otjize, which is a mixture of rancid butter, ash and ochre , it serves as perfume and protects them from the desert climate. This is the same paste they use in their hair to make their intricate hairstyles. Otijize is not the only thing Himba women put in their hair, they use the hair of their family members to make their braids appear longer. Their hair is redone every three months and can take up to 2 days.

Similar to other cultures around the world the hair of the Hi

mba women is very symbolic. In the Himba tribe you can tell a woman's marital status by her hair as well as her maturity. Little girls usually wear braids covered in the past until they reach puberty. Once a girl has hit puberty she is kept in doors for five days. While in doors a goat is slaughtered in their honor and its skin is used to make the center piece of her hair dress as seen in the pictures 

The most important thing to take away from this article is that hair is more than just hair. Though the Himba women live far from the American shores, we share a common ground. Hair is symbolic. It represents how we're feeling and what we stand for. Make sure that your hair stands for YOU and not what others expect of you. (unless what they expect really is you LOL!!!)

The Himba's are definately a tribe of incredible tradition and interesting ways. To see more picture of this tribe click here. 

Naturally Short Model

Atong Arjok is a 23 year old Sudanese model. She is 5'9" with skin the color of deep mahogany. Atong Arjok has taken the road less traveled and wears her natural hair short. To me, there is no hairstyle more free or screams as much confidence as a black woman who wears her NATURAL short. The message that perpetuates from this style is "This is me as I am. Take it or leave it."

Many naturals go through this in the early stages of becoming natural, but we want to see our hair grow. We enjoy seeing incredible length added onto our natural as the months pass... but we lose that sense of pure freedom as time goes by. 

As time goes by it gets less and less exciting looking at our lllooonnnngggg natural. Atong has chosen to stay in the stage of pure bliss and freedom with her short natural....and she does it so well.

With her height and lanky limbs she is already getting attention everywhere she goes. With her wearing her natural hair short she is saying "Look at me [face]! Not my body." Because of the cut of her hair you are forced to notice her face when you look at her before you notice her height and stunning skin color. Atong is sending a message down the runway to the world on behalf of all of us naturals both those starting our and mature naturals. 

To view more photos of this nubian beauty in her short natural glory click here

Color her Beautiful

Carmen Souza is a jazz artist born in Lisbon, Portugal. Her parents are from Cape Verde (an island off the coast of Africa), so she grew up listening to their Portuguese dialect. She began singing professionally at age 17  and hasn't looked back. She is now a renowned jazz artist being listened to all around the world, meaning her natural is being looked at all over the world as well.

With Souza being a jazz musician, it is not a surprise for her to where her hair natural, but she does it so well. Her natural is definitely one that seems to do its own thing. The exception is her color. She constantly keeps her hair colored this fiery red/orange color that is similar to the Clairol Textures and Tones cherrywood.

The freedom of Souza's hair shows that ones natural does not have to be constantly styled to be beautiful. It shows that ones natural typically represents their style. Souza considers herself to be a very spiritually free person and her hair is free flowing. too. Looking back at my July 16th blog on Shingai Shoniwa her natural's style was need and different, a perfect representation of her clothing style.

To eliminate Souza's style find a color that fits your skin tone. Keep you hair healthy an give it a monthly o bi-monthly trim.

If you want ot listen to Souza's music and/or read more about her visit Carmen Souza here.

Miss Jessie's Afro

Jessie  M’Bengue is a French model.  Though she was born in France her mother is from Algeria and her father is from the Ivory Coast. Her real name is Jessika, but she uses Jessie as her model name. After finding Jessie’s photos I found it difficult to find actual information on her, so outside of her photo’s she remains a mystery.

But what I can talk about is her hair. She is obviously a huge fan of the fro. She wears her hair wild and confident. Yet, she always looks completely together. The contrast of her wild hair with her neatly put together outfits is what makes her look so chic. Also, her gorgeous face and professional make-up don’t hurt the look either. 

To mimic Jessie's look it means to focus more on your outfit, accessories and make-up. For more info on how to successfully mix big natural hair with the right make-up and accessories subscribe to Kris’s YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/misskrisnew . She also gives good advice on how to switch up your fro’s appearance without taking too much time out of your day.

Masai Tribe

The Masai tribe, one of deep culture and strict tradition, is the most famous tribe of Kenya. Other than their incredible warriors their are known for their intricate hairstyles. These styles, like the above picture, are only worn by the Masai warrior; which, from all the pictures I've seen thus far, are only men.

They spend hours braiding eachothers hair, and as you can see the result are micro braids equally sized.

The reddish color of their hair comes from clay and red ochre. Red ochre is a natural earth pigment found around volcanic regions. The Masai mix the ochre with animal fat to get a grease paint consistency and then apply it to their hair. This grease paint dries quickly and covers surfaces thoroughly.

What is important to note, about the Masai warriors, are not their hairstyle, but what comes with it. They paint their hair without using toxic dyes like us natural hair wearers in America. They also have very elaborate headdresses. 

NOTE: I have searched around to find out what the headdresses represent, but have yet to find a reliable source. If I come across some info on their headdress later on in the year I will inform you all.

For more info on the Masai tribe visit http://www.kenya-advisor.com/masai.html .

Shingai Shoniwa's Natural

For all of you who follow several natural hair blogs, I’m sure you have seen Shingai Shoniwa. Though others have written bout her I had to add her to my blog. Shingai is of English and Zimbabwean descent. She is the lead singer and bassist for the UK band Noissettes. But aside from her career she has been tearing up the natural hair scene. Her natural is beautiful and her style is unique.

Her hairstyles usually follow the same rules. They are what I’d like to call neatly wild and out of the ordinary. Most of her photographs show her fro neatly tucked without taking away from its bigness.  What enables her to switch up her style is the direction her fro is tucked. 

The first picture simulates Bantu knots because they are equally sized bumps throughout her head. What makes this style beautiful is not just how even the bumps are, but how big her hair is. It is almost like a head of mini afros.  The second picture shows a neatly tucked hawk, with a forward Hollywood hump.

To simulate herstyle it is not necessary to have a big fro. You can add natural kinky hair to your fro. It is necessary to tuck the added kinky hair under your natural, so the typical admirer will not notice. 

Wrap your natural around the added hair and pin it into place. You can also create your own look by brushing your fro to a different side or parting your hair in unique places.

You can buy Lord and Cliffs afro puffy hair at http://www.marcishairextensions.com/servlet/the-444/Lord-%26-Cliff-Afro/Detail.

To read more about Shingai Shoniwa and listen to her bands music visit  http://www.myspace.com/noisettesuk.

Natural Avant-Garde

For those who have watched project runway, avant-garde should be a word that is indelibly buried in your mind. Our natural is just as much a fashion statement as the clothes we wear, if not more. In Britain they have mastered what I’d like to call Natural Avant-Garde.  The featured stylists inspiration for these pictured natural styles seem to spring from straight textured hair. They do not put limits on the possibilities for styling naturals.

The picture on the left can be found in the August issue of Sophisticates BLACK HAIR magazine. The stylist is Kim Johnson of Hype Coiffure located in Battersea, London. Kim has done a beautiful job of elegantly piecing together two completly different hair textures.

The second picture is from Saundra Webb of Sandra Webb Hair and Beauty located in London. She too has skillfully blended two different hair textures to make Natural Avant-Garde.

What these two stylists have in common is that they were both finalist in 2008 British Hairdressing Afro Awards. They have both used big hair, different textures and unique parts to make natural hair an obvious fashion statement.

Visit www.hji.co.uk to see more Natural Avant-Garde.

 

Welcome !!!

Welcome everyone to Inter- Natural Hair. This is my first blog and it was created to give natural hair wearers access to naturals all over the world. Living in America it is easy to not look outside our borders, but inspiration for hairstyles comes from all over. I will try my best to give you the most up to date info on natural hairstyling. 

I am a natural hair stylist and have completely immersed myself in the natural hair world for the past year. I hope to bring to you photos of not so typical natural hair styles so that you can find a way to incorporate them into your everyday look.

 

I hope you enjoy and come back soon.