African Braids Offer
Style And Elegance

Thinking about African braids brought back so many memories of my childhood. One in particular is this personal flashback of my mother saying, "Honey you are so lucky!"

I remember when I was young, my mother played with my hair all time and said, "I'd kill to have hair like that, it's so silky, you're lucky to have your father's hair."

At the time, I didn't understand why she always said that. Guess why? I'm mixed-race, born to a Haitian mother and a French Canadian father!

When it was the time to go out, I watched my mother play and create amazing hairstyles with all the special products available for black women. And guess what? When my cousins, aunts and friends would visit, the subject always turned to hair... obvious no? Just girl talk!

They would discuss African braids and the many ways they could style their hair... twist it, turn it, braid it, gel it down, cornrow it back. They were doing everything you could possibly imagine to their hair.

Some Interesting Information

Hairtalk: Stylish Braids from African Roots, offers these insights and tips:

• Hairstyles can take anywhere from two hours for simple braids to eight or more hours for complex styles.
• The recommended length of time to leave braids in depends on the style.
• Generally, for cornrows, about one month is recommended.
• Individual braids, Senegalese twist, and kinky twist can be left in for about two months.
• After a while, the braids begin to loosen, and everyday wear and tear begins to roughen the look.

A hairdressing specialist, the author continues by discussing how African braids are a frequently worn style, seen on men, women, and children.

There are clearly many variations, which include ways to part, position and finish the style to make one look stand out from all others. Cornrows stay beautiful for about a month. Beyond that, everyday wear and tear will roughen the look.

Braids are a versatile hairstyle; they can hang loose, be pulled back into a ponytail or bun, coiled, or pinned up with clips or barrettes. This allows you the flexibility to create either casual or formal styles. Individual braids can frequently be left in for about two months before they lose their luster.

Twists are designed the same way Senegalese braids are, but the hair is not pinned as tightly, so the result is a looser, softer look. Twists are usually good for about two month before they start to fray.

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Choices And More Choices

Women today have multiple options with regard to hair extensions. Synthetic hair is the most common choice. It's not expensive and comes in a cornucopia of solid colors as well as two-tone styles.

Pony hair is also a synthetic hair, but simulates human hair more closely and is thus more expensive than regular synthetic hair.

Both hair types, along with human hair, the most expensive option and used infrequently, are available at beauty supply stores... Often the choice of last resort, yarn, is used in some styles and is the least expensive of the bunch.

Getting To The Root Of African Braids

Have you considered this? In America, we often think of hair strictly in terms of fashion and style. But in African countries, some African braids have deeper meanings.

There, hairstyles, African body art, African symbols and African craft are used for tribal celebrations, to protect against evil spirits, and to signify a coming of age, among many other traditional meanings.

Of course, there are also African styles that are just for fashion!

And finally I found an important article in the aforementioned book about African braids... this one:

• James, Duyan (2007). Hairtalk: Stylish Braids from African Roots. Stirling. ISBN 1402742355.

It says:

• Long before the people of the modern world began adding synthetic hair, human hair, or yaki hair to their natural hair, in Africa we had our own type of hair extensions.
• Being people who were close to the earth, we used the earth to extend and even to color our hair.
• We used the palms from the trees, shredding them into fine yellow threads.
• And from deep in the jungle, we used the juice of the fruit of the Cotar tree to dye the palm strands black.
• And that was the beginning of African braids, hair extensions and colored hair as we know them today...

Now, on to the future! Click the "Art For Sale" button on the menu to the left and browse my catalog of art. You just might be surprised to find something about braids!

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