The Altuzarra army said goodbye to sleek and slinky straight tresses and marched with curls out and proud during NYFW. As featured in MOJEH Issue 34, we join the beauty movement that allows our natural curls to shine.
By Natalie Trevis
Imaan Hammam
With natural hair textures of all types dominating runways, beauty editorials and street style in 2015 and into the new year, it was only a matter of time before our hair regimens switched from keeping our curls under control to setting them free. If we needed any persuading, hairstylist Odile Gilbert’s texture-embracing vision on the Altuzarra autumn/winter 2016 runway has given us just the added incentive we needed.
Model of the moment Lineisy Montero proved a breath of fresh air on the Prada runway last season, with her cropped natural locks; Diane Von Furstenberg’s muses walked with side-swept mega-volume; and, Maria Borges was all smiles for Victoria’s Secret in her third outing for the lingerie brand – crucially, her first without straight extensions. “I told my agent I wanted to walk with my natural hair,” Borges said. “I was nervous, but I had to do it. When they said ‘yes’, I didn’t expect it, but I was so happy!” Meanwhile, Imaan Hammam made a case for curl power at the Tommy Hilfiger spring/summer show, her beautiful mane bouncing along in homage to the Bob Marley-inspired spectacle.
“Your natural hair texture is a perfect match for you, much like your skin colour,” says Anthony Dickey, New York texture guru to the stars, whose clients include Solange Knowles and Sarah Jessica Parker. “It’s so much easier to rely on methods that are more suited to your own texture and not someone else’s. Loving your texture, the way it grows out of your head, ensures that when you do decide to wear it differently, you’re doing so because you can, not because you dislike your natural texture. It then becomes your choice, your hair, your rules.”
It’s a philosophy we can certainly get behind, as we put the straightening irons into retirement and follow Dickey’s essential advice for maintaining a head of luscious curls:
1. Avoid shampoos that have suds. They were never formulated for naturally dry textures that tangle. Instead, look for gentle cleansers that are closer to looking and feeling like conditioners, that clean without stripping.
2. Naturally kinky and curly hair textures are dryer and love to be wet and reconditioned as often as possible.
3. If you have a kinky texture and do wash and go styling, avoid letting more than two to three days go by before repeating, so as to avoid drying out strands and causing breakage.
4. Commit to a hair cut every three months if the goal is to grow your hair longer, quicker. Remember: Everyone’s hair grows at the same rate, regardless of ethnicity and hair texture (on average, 1/2 an inch a month). The objective is to trim less than a quarter of an inch, which means the rate of growth outweighs how much hair is being trimmed.
