Hello All, This blog has been discontinued. View the new and better natural hair blog here.

Ethiopian Beauty

Galila Bekele is definitely on of uncanny beauty and rumored to be Tyler Perry's honey bun (but that is for a whole other blog.) She is an Ethiopian born model who has been appearing in numerous advertisements. Her thick natural hair is one of loose soft curls and definitely doesn't need to be styled to be beautiful.

It's important to take note as to what styles fit her oval-defined cheek bones face. While you can see the beauty of her hair when it is down and freely flowing, it almost takes away from the beauty of her face. Wearing natural hair is about adding to your own beauty, more than the beauty of one's natural hair, it helps bring out the stunning looks in one's face. 

Galila achieves the goal of adding to the beauty of her face when her hair is pulled away from her hair line. When her natural hair is pulled back admirers can see the stunning beauty of her face and highly defined cheed bones as well as the beauty of her hair. You should never have to compromise your style, you shouldn't have to choose to show off your face or show off your hair in the morning. Choose styles that do both. Natural hair can look beautiful in many styles, but pay attention to which one of these many styles bring out the unique and stunning features in your face.

For more pictures of Galila Bekele click here.

A Yo!!! Ayo.

Ayo. (who's nameis spelled with a dot at the end) is an afro German singer/songwriter. Her debut album was released in 2006 and went double platinum in France....Now let's talk about her hair.

Like many of the other musical artists' with natural hair, we've seen thus far, Ayo. lets her hair roam free. It is not configured to any style in particular, her natural is free to do its own thing. Ayo.'s natural is definately one of finer texture than your typical African American afro. Notice how nicely her coily fro frames her round face.

So, how can you get this look? It would help to have hair like Ayo's. But, if you do not, which most of us don't, you can still attempt to get the look.  To properly imitate it your natural can not be past shoulder length. You must then twist your hair, while it is damp, in loose twists.  Once your hair has died untwist your twists and squese your tresses in your hands. This will cause your ends to coil and form mini humps similar to Ayo's. 

Lakishma: Naturally Indian

Lakishmi Menon is a 28 year old model from India. She is a true beauty. My last blog displayed her international success of a spread in French Vogue, but she has recently had success in the U.S. landing on the cover of the May 2009 issue of US Vogue.

The question to ask after finding out this model is from India is: Why is she on the Internatural Hair blog if her hair is straight? For one, Menon's hair is all Na-tur-A. For two, she is not from America. For three, her afro imitation in French Vogue is a big deal.  You know you have arrived when one is imitating your style... in this case naturals.

So have we, as naturals, arrived? It's hard to anser that question with an honest yes, but we do know that our popularity is steadily on the rise. A great hint at this being true is Chris Rock's new documentary coming to HBO, click here to see trailer. Interestingly enough this documentary travels to India and investigates the import of Indian Remy hair to America.

For more information on Lakishma Menon click here.

French Vogue

These are pictures from the October 2008 issue of French Vogue. The models name is Lakshmi Menon. We will be visiting her story in a few days....

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