The Ancestral Braid is Queen of African Hairstyles

In the world of Afro hair style, the ancestral braid is queen. From the crown braid on Lupita Nyong’o’s natural afro hair to Beyoncé’s braiding box in Lemonade, there are many braided options for combing frizzy hair.

If there is an old hairstyle in the world, well it’s the braid or the mat, because it had already existed since prehistory. The braid made its first appearance in Egypt (which can be noticed in the old engravings) very popular with Pharaohs.

Since the dawn of time when African women and men started using the braid to embellish their hair, the models were already very varied. The hairdressers realize these works with a great rigor while showing themselves like true artists. In fact, the lines must be drawn before the braiding and respected to succeed the model according to the creativity of the artist.

There are various styles, for example, a braid mixing mats and turban, a braid winding wicks with thread. While the hairstyle revealed ethnicity, the cut can also symbolize love, disappointment, dishonor, mourning. The African braid has never been dethroned since its birth until today despite the infatuation of women with straightening and smoothing.