By Claire Balungi
“It starts when you straighten a baby girl’s hair for special occasions. Now we associate straight with special and elegant.”
-@__inCANdescent
This was a tweet which recently drew conversation on the modern connotations of natural hair, especially its seemingly popular empowerment of the African woman.
One response to the tweet by @chez_sheree read, “My sis told us natural hair ONLY for her wedding day!”
This particular tweet magnified the conversation with the wedding photos that came along with it. A whole wedding entourage with natural hair… Awesome!
The bridesmaids had their naturals done in twists and knots, with aesthetics like golden hair adornments and the bride’s crown.
The bride was specific about what she wanted for her big day. The choice to have her entourage with natural hair called a conversation of cheers and admiration; tweeps were picking on this fascinating style. “Gorgeous, Amazing and Beautiful” were especially common responses to the tweet and photos.
All this goes to show, you can choose a fiercely African look for your wedding. Go for bantu knots, like it is commonly done in West Africa, not forgetting the dark colour painting across the faces,if you like.
Natural hair does not only display elegance, it’s empowering. It goes against the odds of ‘colonizer’s ‘ hair choice fantasy. Try going natural at your wedding. Let’s see…
