After a lot of research i was still a little unsure as to how i wanted to style the hair. I wasn’t sure if i wanted to make my own head pieces or wanted to make a simple hairstyle. After wefting the extensions, i decided my best option was to play about and test different hairstyles.
Looking into avant garde hairstyles i also looked at african hairstyles and the tribal styles.
American indian women hairstyles
Klamath Woman Cayuse Woman Seminole Woman with flowing hair with long braids with a topknot
Sketch of woman Hopi Maiden with squash Seminole Lady wearing a chongo -blossom whorls with board hair
Pinterest. 2015. Pinterest. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=tribal%20hair&term_meta%5B%5D=tribal%7Ctyped&term_meta%5B%5D=hair%7Ctyped. [Accessed 07 January 2015].
The most common Native American women’s hairstyles were a simple flowing hairstyle (either with or without bangs) or long braids (either two braids or one single braid.) Some women painted horizontal stripes on their hair or dyed the center part a bright color. In the southeast, many women from tribes such as the Creek and Chickasaw wore their hair on top of their heads in buns or topknots. In the southwest, women from the Navajo and Pueblo tribes often wore their hair tied behind their heads in a kind of twist best known as a chongo (the Pueblo word for this hairstyle.) Other Southwestern Indian women preferred to keep their hair cut to shoulder length. One distinctive tribal hairstyle for women was the elaborate squash blossom or butterfly whorls worn by Hopi maidens. To make this hairdo, a young woman’s mother would wind her hair around a curved piece of wood to give it a round shape, then remove the wood frame. Only unmarried young women wore this complex hairstyle. Another unique tribal hairstyle was the board or bonnet hair popular among Seminole women in the 1800’s. Seminole women made their hair into this disk shape by fanning it over a tilted cardboard frame (which then stayed in place under their hair.) Traditionally, most Seminole women wore their hair on top of their heads like other southeastern Indian tribes, and today the black board style is almost never worn. However, it can still be seen on Seminole palmetto dolls, which are usually made with this distinctively Seminole hairstyle.
Following my research into different hairstyles with tribes I came across ‘The braided rapunzels of Africa”
The hairstyle currently making you do a double-take is known as Eembuvi Braids, worn by women of the Mbalantu tribes from the Namibia. It’s a style that requires preparation from a young age, usually around twelve years old, when Mbalantu girls use thick layers of finely ground tree bark and oils– a mixture that is said to be the secret to growing their hair to such lengths. The girls will live with this thick fat-mixture on their scalp for several years before it’s loosened and the hair becomes visible. It will then be braided and styled into various gravity-defying headresses throughout their life. In a nod to this African heritage, a Western hairstyle emerged in the 90s known as Box Braids. You can also catch Solange Knowles and her entourage giving the do a comeback.
. 2015. . [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/TribeOfAkkaba/posts/895135083847092. [Accessed 07 January 2015].
Eric Lafforgur is an extensive traveler who travels the world in the hunt for areas to photograph. His latest work was of the tribal trends in Ethiopa.
Further looking into his images and analysing the hair work, I found it fascinating that these people would collect anything they could find and recycle into hair pieces. The Daasanach people collect the caps of the Coca and beers in the bars of Omorate and make wigs with them.
Eric Lafforgue Photography. 2015. Eric Lafforgue Photography. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ericlafforgue.com. [Accessed 07 January 2015].
As well as recycling bottle caps and making their own wigs, The Daasanach people also collect hair clips and would decorate a fully cornrowed hairstyle with these clips. In Key Afer market, once a week, you can see thousands coming with their best clothes. They can now find some stuff from all around the world, mainly from China, cheap, and start to mix and recycle everything. In my opinion it is, as if these tribal members are mixing modern culture with tradition of tribal. By mixing colours and adding them to their own style and culture.
Eric Lafforgue Photography. 2015. Eric Lafforgue Photography. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ericlafforgue.com. [Accessed 07 January 2015].
‘Every tribe has its own style, and then within one tribe we can find even more styles – for men, woman, children, for those who have been widowed, and many more.’ – Mario Gerth.
Namibia’s Himba Tribeswomen
Their elaborately braided hair, skin and clothes covered in a mixture of ground red rock and butter, the women of Namibia’s Himba tribe are a striking sight. But while the women sport hairstyles of varying degrees of complexity, the men cover their heads with turbans from the moment they marry and never remove them; instead using an arrow-like implement to scratch the hair beneath the turban.
‘Marriage is important in Himba culture,’ explains photographer Eric Lafforgue, ‘but extramarital relations are encouraged. Polygamy is the rule for both men and women who can have other partners in addition to their husband.’
The Himba’s egalitarianism also extends to who gets to be in charge of what, with decisions split between men and women. ‘The Himba have a system of dual descent where every person is linked to two distinct groups of relatives: one through the line of the mother and the other through the father,’ explains Lafforgue. ‘Overall authority is in the hands of the men but economic issues are decided by the women.’
The Himba are a tribe of pastoralists who live in Kaokoland, a vast stretch of land in northwestern Namibia and bordered by Angola to the north and the Skeleton Coast and Atlantic Ocean to the west. Like other tribes living in the area, people depend on their cows to live and as a result, a Himba man without a herd of bovine companions isn’t considered worthy of respect.
‘Despite the fact they live in little villages, the Himba are rich people,’ adds Lafforgue. ‘The herds can be anything up to 200 cows, although they will never says how many cows they have – they keep it secret to avoid thieves.’ But while the Himba lifestyle catches the eye, it’s the elaborate hairstyles that really set them apart. Styles reference the status of the wearer, with single men wearing a plait called an ondatu on the back of their head.
Himba women, by contrast, wear incredibly elaborate styles that change depending on whether or not they’re married and on how old they are. ‘Himba women use a lot of different things, including hair and straw, to create their dreadlocks,’ explains Lafforgue. ‘Some Himba even buy Indian hair extensions in town! ‘A young girl typically has two plaits of braided hair called ozondato, the form of which is decided by her oruzo – the clan she is descended from on her father’s side.’
A few wear a single plait which means they are one half of a pair of twins, while the smallest children tend to have shaved heads, although some have special haircuts that indicate they belong to a clan where taking care of goats with small ears is taboo – a tradition that extends to eating their meat.
‘If you see a teenage girl with strands hanging over her face, it means she has hit puberty and therefore has to hide her face from the men. When a woman has been married for a year or has had a child, she wears the erembe headdress, which is made from animal skin, on top of her head.’
Keeping the elaborate dreadlocks in perfect shape is a challenge in itself, with women spending several hours a day tending to their hair and complexion.
‘Women take several hours each morning for beauty care and sleep on wooden pillows so they don’t ruin their hair in the night,’ explains Lafforgue. ‘The first task is to take care of their dreadlocks. ‘Then they cover themselves completely with a mixture made from ground ochre and fat, called otjize. ‘It acts as a sunscreen and insect repellent. If they do not have enough butter, they use vaseline. He adds: The red colour that it gives to the skin is considered a sign of beauty and they smear the mixture all over themselves – not only on their skin and hair but also their clothes and jewellery.’
Lafforgue is also keen to debunk the myth that Himba people don’t wash. ‘This is wrong,’ he insists. ‘If they have access to water, they’ll take a bath, but as they live in arid places, it is a luxury. ‘Himbas who don’t have water use smoke to purify themselves and their clothes, which they “wash” by putting them into a basket with some incense made from the wood of the commiphora multijuga tree.’
Although some Himba wear clothes, among them the clans evangelised by the Germans in the 18th century who wear ornate Victorian ensembles called Hererotracht, for the majority, the focus is on hair and jewellery
Women wear a large white shell necklace called the ohumba, which is passed from mother to daughter. Equally popular, particularly among married women, are heavy necklaces made from copper or iron wire – much of which is taken from electric fencing. ‘Some wear keys and bullets as decoration as most of their houses don’t have locks,’ adds Lafforgue. ‘The necklaces of the older women can weigh several kilos but new ones are made with PVC tubes or from things given to them by tourists. That’s why you sometimes meet HImba women wearing bracelets that have an Arsenal logo! ‘Women also use omangetti seeds as decoration because they enjoy the noise they make when they walk. The adult Himba women all have beaded anklets called omohanga, where they hide their money. The anklets are also handy as a protection against venomous animal bites.’
Sadly, the Himba’s ancient way of life is becoming increasingly threatened with Western mores on dress and lifestyle becoming increasingly influential among younger people. ‘Everywhere tradition is giving way under the pressure of modern practices and new ideas,’ explains Lafforgue. ‘Himba women seem to want to keep to the old ways and they resist change more than men do.’ Even so, as Lafforgue points out, football shirts are now a common sight – even if the electricity to watch the matches hasn’t. ‘I met a Himba man in a Brazil shirt,’ he adds. ‘But he didn’t know anything about the football team or the World Cup as TV and electricity still haven’t arrived in his village.’ For now, at least, it seems the colourful lifestyles of Namibia’s Himba look set to continue.
Eric Lafforgue Photography. 2015. Eric Lafforgue Photography. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ericlafforgue.com. [Accessed 07 January 2015].
Corn rows
Cornrows in the Caribbean, are a traditional African style of hair grooming where the hair is braided very close to the scalp, using an underhand, upward motion to produce a continuous, raised row. Cornrows are often formed, as the name implies, in simple, straight lines, but they can also be formed in complicated geometric or curvilinear designs. Often favoured for their easy maintenance, rows can be left in for weeks at a time if maintained through careful washing of the hair and regular oiling of the scalp. Cornrowed hairstyles are sometimes adorned with beads or cowry shells. Depending on the region of the world, cornrows are typically worn by either men, women, or both.
The best way to learn how to corn row in my opinion is through watching tutorials and other peoples work, hence the upload of this video above demonstrating the basic skills in corn rowing.
Above i have included photos i took during the time i was corn rowing my doll head. Firstly i began on black hair sectioning the hair into sections as this made it easier to style in my opinion. I then went on to select a selection of hair from the hairline followed by section the hair into three equal parts as you would do to begin a braid. I then Began to braid the small section of hair at the hairline. At this point is where a braid turns into a cornrow. As i continued to braid the hair, i added hair from the section i’m braiding into the cornrow. This is what attaches the braid to the scalp. Each time I picked up one of the three pieces of hair to braid, gently pull the hair from the parted off section and add it in as i braid. This process will be followed throughout the cornrow as i work my way to the end.
Following the same techniques and the same process in corn rowing as i did on the black haired doll, i went on too corn rowing the european hair on the doll in the photos above. I found working in this hair far more complicated as the black hair. I found i would always tangle the hair on my second doll, while sectioning the three sections of braids together.
After a lot of researching into hair, I decided it was time to test few things out with the weft/extensions that i had made. As i was unsure as to how i wanted the hair to look i thought the best option was to practice a few different hair styles to achieve the finished look that i would like to include within my project. Below I have included these imagines of all my practices.
For practicing purposes i used my housemate, she has long thick blonde hair which i wasn’t to unsure of at first as i had a glitter brown weft and a dark black rooted hair extensions too, and i wasn’t sure if they would look well with her blonde hair. The first hairstyle i wanted to create was a simple, very tight fish tale. For this style I added all of the hair pieces combined with her own hair to achieve thickness for the hair. I was very happy with the length and thickness of the hair. I’m very happy with how the colour fades from one colour to the other very discreetly.
As you can see within the imagines above there is a great length to the hair when let loose to fall naturally, making it ideal to style into a long fish tail plate. Im very happy with the overall outcome, and the left over hair at the bottom makes it look like a tail, in which if i was to develop this hair style i think i would add a few little plaits and beads within the loose hair at the bottom of the hairstyle as this would make it more credible to the african tribes. The colours actually work well together as well as with my models hair in which i didn’t think it would.
In my opinion this is the best option for the hair within the project as it ‘isn’t to much’ as i don’t want to distract the viewers eyes from the body paint but i want the hair to be as attractive as well. The colours work well with the body paint design as well as the style. For the final look the front of the hair will be brushed back with fullers earth being applied to ‘copy’ the african tribes decorative style with their hairs, this will also add texture to the hair.
So for this hair style, i began by sectioning the hair into layers so i could apply the hair extensions in layer by layer until i finished with the big layers on top. I then brushed my models own hair over to hide the clips etc. I then went on to brush the whole hair back into a low ponytail, making sure this was very tight. (The next step is when i will apply fullers earth the front of the hair, from the forehead fading backwards). I then began to divide the hair into two sections down the back. Take a small outer piece of one of the two sections of the hair. Cross the small piece over and add it to the inside of the other section. The piece that i have crossed will now become a part of the other section. Keep the crossed piece tight or hair may start to come out once I’ve finished braiding. Make the exact same cross but this time I will use the other section of hair. So, once again take a small piece from the outer part of the section and cross it over to the inside of the opposite section. Continue crosses small outer pieces over to the inside of the opposing section. The smaller the pieces I cross, the better the braid will end up. As i wanted to keep a section of hair at the bottom i stopped just over half way and pinned the hair into each other to stop it from falling apart. Again as this will be the hairstyle i will be using for my shoot, I will be developing it and added a few beads to the bottom half of this loose hair.
Although i have blogged about the hairstyle I’m going to use for my final piece. I still had a lot of practice test runs in which I’m wanting to discuss, Here are a few of these test pieces.
For the brown glitter effect extensions I thought i could turn these into a head piece as you an see below i had styled the hair into a doughnut and added a few braids around the bottom. The concept was to create a whole head piece filled with these doughnut like buns with braids around the bottom of each base and the gaps would be filled with flowers as seen in my photo evidence from the Namibia’s Himba tribe. Although i did like the idea of this, i came to the conclusion this would take a lot of time to create a full head of hair pieces like this to make it look good. And the the cost of buying the hair along with the time of making wasn’t worth it.
I didn’t come across much dutch braids within my research i thought the modern twist to some of these hairstyles might fit well with the brief of my project. Hence the testing of this hairstyle.
In the end i decided that the modern look wouldn’t look right at all with the project. But also the hair extensions don’t do the models hair any justice as it look very uneven and messy at the back where the hair has been split in two to plait the hair into dutch plaits.
Styling the dutch plait. Split the hair into two sections. Next step gather your hair, start off being doing one section then go on to the next. Grab a piece of hair from the top of your head, pick up a section from the very top of your head. Cross the right strand under the centre strand. Cross the left strand under the centre strand, repeat the pattern and cross the right strand, then the left strand, under the center strand. Cross the right strand under the center, and pick up another small section from the right side of your head. Cross the left strand under the center, and pick up another small section from the left side of your head. Add more hair to your braid by picking up small strands every time you cross pieces under the center strand. Continue the dutch braid to the nape of the neck. Finish your braid with a regular braid (going under rather than over) when you run out of hair to add.
Silvester, H.W. (2009) Natural fashion : tribal decoration from Africa. London ; New York: Thames & Hudson.
I really like this tribal head piece with flowers, this is what gave me the idea on my next hair style. As the flowers within this images go all the way around the tribal woman’ head, i wanted to create the same but with hair and a plait instead. As you can see i have included the extensions within the hairstyle to create a whole head of plait. This started off as a french plait then went all the way around the models head. I like the idea of then added flowers within the middle where you can see the models natural hair, as i find this area a plain sight i think it would of looked good with flowers being incorporated within the style. As it would have added an extra effect and followed the tribal style.
I heard an inside out fish tail braid was very hard to make. So i asked about in class to see if anyone had heard or know how to style one. I found out that Jodi did, So i asked her for her help in showing me how to make this hairstyle, She did the right side first as a demo then watched and guided me on the left side. I found it extremely hard as you can see how messy the application was. We then finished the look with a dutch plait coming down to a normal plait.
I also practice single braided french and dutch plaits for experimental use only. Unfortunately I won’t be using these either within my project as i think they are too modern for the tribal culture i am looking at creating for this project. But i do think they are wonderful hair styles, that i enjoy making in peoples hairs, maybe another project!
Specialist practice 