What would big chops and black girl magic be without the growing community of bloggers, activists and artists celebrating their natural Afro-Caribbean hair on social media? Try searching #naturalista on Instagram and you'll be met with over 2 million posts from the expanding natural hair movement. Natural hair is at the height of a revival now, with sales of chemical relaxers declining since the early 2000s.
Celebrities such as Solange, Lupita Nyong'o and Viola Davis have certainly inspired black women to embrace their kinks, curls and coils but for me, it's not always the celebs with their glam squads who inspire but the relatable, innovative women on social media who are really giving momentum to the movement.
Ahead are some of my favourite accounts for inspiration and aspiration...
Ivorian artist Laetitia Ky uses coat hangers, wires and pins to sculpt her kinky tresses into incredible works of art. By using her hair as a medium for social commentary, she addresses issues such as gun violence, body positivity and the #MeToo movement, often penning personal essays in the captions of her posts.
Jay and Tri are best friends, bloggers and business partners based in London. The duo aspire to empower and educate their followers to embrace their natural hair and support British black-owned business. They are also published authors, following the launch of their book KINK in 2016 which addresses texture discrimination within the natural hair community.
Harlem and his daughter Jaxyn are best known for their father-daughter shoots sporting lush, healthy afros. The LA-based model and musician recently launched an organic haircare kit to renew and grow dry damaged hair, in addition to holding a Guinness World Record for the highest high top fade.
Identical twin sisters Cipriana Quann of Urban Bush Babes and TK Wonder have been pioneers of the natural hair movement for nine and 15 years, respectively. The model sisters are also no stranger to the TEDx stage, best-dressed pages of Vogue, and of course being featured in Refinery29.
Nikki Nelms is the celebrity hairstylist behind Solange's statement 'dos for her album A Seat At The Table. Nelms' roster of clients includes Janelle Monáe, Zoë Kravitz and Venus Williams, and she recently styled a natural hair shoot for Refinery29.
With over 1 million worldwide followers, the Cut Life is your go-to source of inspiration for newly natural and chic short 'dos. They scour the net to find the best in women of colour slaying pixie cuts, pompadours and lobs of all textures and colours.
The hands behind many of Solange's most intricate hair looks, most notably her crown for the 2018 Met Gala. Crowe is a Chicago-based hair artist whose medium is hair and method is braiding.
It's hard not to be envious of Freddie's hair, clothes, life... but the founder of @bighair_nocare really does deliver on the inspo front. She's got her own line of natural hair extensions, which she's talked about on Insta, saying: "I know we often joke about how we black women are extra when it comes to hair, ready to spend $$$$$ on hair (that is then so hard to maintain, and regularly takes you back to the salon for maintenance or install because you can't get the same finish at home ? been there!) but I'm done joking, in 2018 we're going up☝?and hair isn't going to hold us back."
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