We chat to natural hair enthusiast, Michelle Edmond, the co-founder of the upcoming natural hair event, Nakiso Curl Fest. She enlightens us on the intricacies in taking care of our beloved follicles, her own natural hair journey and what to expect from the festival.
Tell us about yourself
I am an only daughter to 2 very interesting individuals who made 3 children together – I generally exhibit a mix of middle child and first born child tendencies sprinkled with an incredible sense of humour and a general love for life. I have an amazing 13 year old daughter who teaches me every day to expand my view of the world; all in all, I am incredibly blessed.
October 8th sees the launch of the Nakiso Curl Festival. Can you share more about this trailblazing event
Nakiso, is a world we borrowed from our cousins across the border (Zimbabwe) and it means, “The beautiful One.” We spent a lot of time contemplating the definition of beauty for the African woman, and realised that we needed to recapture the essence of what that is. The Nakiso Curl Festival is a celebration of our skin, our hair and our heritage. It is a call to sisterhood, for us to come together to share and learn about our natural hair, our health and our beauty.
What is the most important thing to consider about our beloved follicles?
Besides the fact that you gotta love the hair that grows out of your head? Lol!! I would say, ALWAYS remember, MOISTURE = WATER is your friend. Spritz that hair all day to make your curls pop, apply a cream or butter to seal the moisture in and use oils to enhance health. The notion that moisture is not for us is an incredible fallacy – moisture disrupts chemically processed hair, not naturally curly/coily hair. Educate yourself about your hair and never allow anyone else to define for you what your hair should enjoy.
Your most memorable hair story?
Oh lord, I have a good hair story and a bad hair story. In the tradition of all stories, I shall begin with the bad, in the year 2000, and at the height of the tong craze –you know that time when the tongs were always in the oven at the hairdressers’ coz we were all asking for them? I went in for a “do” and the hairdresser burnt off a substantial patch of my hair and didn’t tell me. I made the horrendous discovery a few days later when the curls had worn off and it was time to put in some rollers. Fast forward over a decade later and my good hair story becomes the opportunity I have every day to meet amazing women in various stages of their hair journeys who are inspired by my hair to try this natural hair thing. It doesn’t hurt that my daughter at the lovely age of 13 is Team Natural, having never tried chemicals and is an excellent example to her friends on what our hair can do.
Do you think that the natural hair conversation is polarized?
It absolutely is. This is a conversation that has pitted black people against other black people and other races against black people. Within our black communities, we shame each other for either wearing our hair naturally or wearing other people’s hair. Our perceptions of beauty are marred by unrealistic standards that have nothing to do with who we are as a people. And the more we talk about it, the more the cockroaches come out of the woodwork, now we begin to see or hear how people truly feel about the black aesthetic.
How does one transition to wearing their hair naturally?
The most important thing is to do it because it’s what you want to do, not because it’s a trend or because you have been shamed into doing it. I won’t lie, it’s not easy in the beginning because we lack knowledge and we are not sure about the products, the great news is, the support is there. Online tutorials, FB groups, you name it, people want to help. The options are to either grow out the chemically processed hair by ceasing to process and allowing virgin hair to thrive (some hate it and other prefer this) or to go big, chop it all off and start again.
In light of the protests at the Pretoria School for Girls, what are your thoughts on the conversation on hair and beauty?
If we allow other people to define what beauty is for us, we will continue to have issues related to identity. The incident at Pretoria Girls High is just one of many, the difference being that people got tired of being quiet about what they were being put through. There are many sides to this story really, one being the point of accepting discipline as provided for in the guidelines of any school/organisation etc and the other being the blatant ignorance and abuse of the system by those placed in authority to enforce said rules. Let’s be clear, our hair does not grow straight and it does not fall onto our shoulders without assistance. Our hair grows big and curly and generally up. To force an individual (this goes beyond students) to manipulate their hair so that you feel better about yourself is wrong, period. The history of denying black beauty is long: we are told our bums are too big, our hips are too wide, our lips are too thick yet there is a multi-billion dollar industry built to emulate these very things. All I can say is, black people need to free themselves and begin to create their own definitions that have nothing to do with other people’s opinions.
What’s the next big idea?
You know how you walk around and see children as young as 3 already wearing chemically processed hair and hair styles that are incredibly and frighteningly too mature for them? Well, the next big idea is to change this story. We need to become creators and write a new narrative for generations of black girls who are being captured too young into this craze. It is our responsibility to change this story, and that’s exactly where we are going to position ourselves. We shall become educators and creators.
Being ‘UNAPOLOGETICALLY AFRICAN’ means…
I will answer that by beginning with a quote by Marcus Garvey who said, “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds!” These words were immortalized by Bob Marley in Redemption Song. Most of us as Africans are not free, we are walking around carrying the weight of stories that don’t belong to us and we never stop long enough to ask what this weight is and if we truly want to continue carrying it. To be unapologetically African requires a journey into knowledge about who we are as a people (sans imposed borders) We have a rich history and long after those that want to force us into an unrealistic moulds have been silenced, or at least their voices have become whispers, we will still stand tall as children of the soil.
Which hairstylist should be on our radar?
Oh my word, this is a tough one, so many people are doing phenomenal work in the natural hair space (my experience is limited – but I’m working on trying them out one at a time) I love Mimmie at Urban Zulu Natural Salon, I love Smangele Miss Hair at Indalo Nubian Naturals and I love Brian Warfield, and did I mention you can meet them at the Nakiso Curl Festival?
Tell us about the line-up for the day
We got plenty of Curl Talk and Motivation from phenomenal speakers and stylists, there are product workshops, we will be taking photos for days and there’s definitely going to be a Fro-Challenge, it’s open to anyone embracing their natural hair, from the tiniest fro to Big Hair Don’t Care – we love you.
If you could send a tweet on hair, what would it say?
I wish I could steal the words, “The Revolution will not be Texturized” but someone already beat me to it. My tweet would read, “That melanin is perfectly sun drenched and the curls are naturally coily. Luv the hair that grows out of your head! CELEBRATE YOU” (Twitter tells me my tweet is 128 characters long – so I made it)
Your idea of a well spent summer?
Nakiso Curl Fest in October, plenty of Fourways Farmer’s Market visits, hanging out with friends and loved ones over good food and plenty of books in between.
Don’t miss out! Nakiso Curl Festival on October 8th at Zulu-Nyala, Fourways, Johannesburg. Visit www.nakisocurlfest.com
The post ELLE Q&A: MICHELLE EDMOND, NAKISO CURL FEST CO-FOUNDER appeared first on Elle South Africa.