This past 4th of July, I was a hair model in a natural hair show. The show was organized by Mireille Liong of Going-natural.com. The Going Natural Hair Show took place at the International African Arts Festival in Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn and featured the work of several local natural hair stylists. This was my first experience as a hair model; here’s what it was like.

 

I had the pleasure of having my hair styled by Sabine Bellevue, the owner of Sabine’s Hallway, a natural hair salon in Brooklyn. I really enjoyed being Sabine’s “blank canvas” for this event – the woman has serious skills. She styled my hair into an intricate updo with mini flat twists, leaving the back of my hair down. I felt like I was wearing a crown made of my own hair. It was so different from any style I’ve ever had and it was fun being able to show off the versatility of natural hair. I was especially fond of the way the twists were styled at the crown of my head.

Start to finish, the style took a little over four hours to complete, which isn’t bad considering how small each twist was (and how much hair I have). Sabine also twists really fast. She used one of Mireille’s products called Silky Shea Hair Butter, which left my hair feeling really soft and moisturized, even days later. This product, along with others in the Going Natural line, can be purchased here if you’re interested in checking it out. In hindsight, I wished I had taken progress pictures while I was getting my hair done (next time!).

Sabine dressed up the style even more by twisting a silver cord into the twists around the crown and pinning silver star and moon hair jewelry right in the front. Sabine also did my makeup, which I was really happy with. I have a very basic makeup routine that usually consists of just foundation and lipstick, so it was nice to be a little more “glammed up” than usual. For the show, I wore a Moroccan Magic Dress, which Mireille also sells on her site. This dress can be worn several different ways.

The theme of this year’s show was “Black Follicles Matter” and the goal was to showcase the versatility and beauty of natural hair. And it did just that. There were so many interesting hairstyles on display during the show: from locs, to braids, to afros, to crochet braids. There were both male and female hair models, and even a few little girls modeling with their moms. There were lots of photographers there; you can view more photos here.

All in all, I had a lot of fun and hope to have the chance to do more hair modeling in the future. I’m also looking forward to having Sabine do my hair again, and I would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking for a good natural hair stylist. You can check out some of her work on her website. I’m also grateful to Mireille, who organized this great event. 

 

Until next time… 🙂