26 Feb 2015

The notion of looking sexy, confident and beautiful shifts every now and then influenced by the ever evolving culture of societies.

For many decades, many black women sternly believed that stretched, straightened and tightly curled hair defined their beauty. Mention not Caucasian hair that has always been associated with class, elegance and etiquette.

Natural hair as a result has continuously suffered denigration linked with backwardness, lack of taste and blindness in the look-good arena.  Not anymore, most modern and trendy black women are redefining the boundaries. 

They way to go is now natural, bold, kinky, afro, and short which embraces the original status of one’s hair and asserts a confident character. Back to the roots, women are fashionably saying, and indeed back to the future. 

Behold the dwindling of processed, straightened hair in the moulds of brazillian or indian hair. A fashion artist and co-founder of GaTsh Fros, Tsholo Dikobe agrees that more women have found a new sense of confidence which has its roots in African lifestyle and culture.

Dikobe stated that the new trend that symbolises strong character enables people to do anything and do what they want and embrace it. 

From the baldness of Amber Rose, to the ever flawless fashionable Lupita Nyong’o who always keeps her hair short and natural, experimenting with haircuts and styling nuances, which people love trending on the Red carpet.

Likewise, South Africa’s very own Rose Motene and Nandi Mngoma, who refined the modern day Long walk to freedom hairstyle, that a formidable man like Nelson Mandela rocked in his youthful years.

In Botswana too young women are coming to the fort to embrace their natural hair, being comfortable in their own skin radiating short hair with confidence. The queens of radio Tshepo Ntshole a radio personality, has always rocked a poised clean short hair look, with her counterpart Boitumelo Seitibatso of the popular Masa-a-Sele program on Radio Botswana. 

For over five years the two have been rocking the fashionable short fur sometimes adding a bit of colour to give it that pop of versatility and retouch.

In addition Ms Seitibatso mentioned that, “For me I think short or natural hair is the best hairstyle because it is easy to maintain and manage and it always looks good. Having short hair is always relevant and never goes out of fashion.”

She said it is always on fashion and it is great to see many people coming forth, as she personally was influenced by Grace Jones, an American singer who did a punk a few years earlier.

Also through the evolution of African haircuts, she said we now see the excessiveness through the likes of Lupita Nyong’o whom every young African is thinking.

“If Lupita can dazzle short hair on the red carpet why can’t I?”

The re-definition of the Long walk to freedom hairstyle also has influenced some to take the route of short hair, as we see former Miss Botswana, and television personality Sumaiyah Marope, alluring the look which has taken Botswana by storm especially during the festive season.

Further, she said that the whole of last year December, she felt like she needed change, and there is a common belief that when a woman cuts her hair she is embracing change. Marope said she cut her hair from being long and cut on one side, with the other side living it long, inspired by American actress Megan Good.

“Therefore after the festive season, to look more cooperate I cut it to look more corporate, the trending hairstyle of Long Walk to Freedom also worn by Chirestte Michele, an American singer.

Also it enables me to be myself, and because I will soon be turning thirty, I wanted to do something unique, comfortable and crazy,” she says.

She added that women are appreciating the fact that wearing natural hair is firstly comfortable, things like going into the shower or pool are not stressful without the worry of your hair getting wet, and the men quite find women with natural hair attractive and sexy because they resent weaves.

For her part, Berry Heart a renowned song bird who wears nothing but her confidence and bald head, says that she is happy to realise that women in the public eye are embracing the beauty of African woman and on international standard.

“Short hair gives one an elegant cleaner and more natural look, and a woman with short hair looks younger, cleaner than the very same woman who wears weaves and wigs,” she says. ENDS