Natural Hair Awards!

Happy New Years, Eve!!! To cap off the end of the year, I thought it was only fitting to go back and give natural hair awards to some of the most outstanding natural hair moments in 2021. In this article, I will be awarding both one celebrity and one person from Instagram for each category. That being said, these are based solely on my opinion so if you disagree please let me know down below who you think deserves the award. Let’s roll out the red carpet and see the winners!

BEST BRAIDS

This year was a great time of ingenuity and time of breathing life into old staple hairstyles. We added African influences and brought back super long cornrow style from the ’90s.

Celebrity: Issa Rae

Of course one of mnhe natural hair awards goes to Issa, in my opinion, opened up a whole can of versatility when it can too using cornrows and braids as accents and focal points in her hairstyles. She shows that these styles can be mainstream and formal, and for that, she gets the award in my book!

Instagram:@kersti.pitre

Kersti is a fantastic braider that serves us looks that push the envelope. She rocks short, long, bright, and blunt braids, all while showing the beauty of each style! What’s better is that she has a YouTube channel, the same name as her Instagram, that shows you how you can achieve her iconic styles.

BIGGEST HAIR

This award is all about who took their hair to new heights, and gave us fluffy cloud, block your vision goodness. Lucky for us, this year gave us a lot of natural hair looks that were on and off the celebrity carpet, TV shows, and Instagram.

Celebrity: Amara la Negra

The singer, known by many from love and hip hop, has one of the fluffiest and most significant afros I’ve seen on a celebrity. One of the main reasons I chose her is due to her constant push for acceptance of all styles, colors, and expressions donned by black women. She has been rocking the afro since I first saw her years ago and hopefully, her hair, along with her career, will continue to rise and grow!

Instagram: @pagingdrdre

This doctor has some of the most significant hair I have ever seen! She has an active Instagram filled with tips about overall health, and you are bound to find some gems from her page!

LONGEST HAIR

This award is for those who rock their hair with hang! Who shook us with their length this year? This award is special because I’m going to do both real hair and extension awards for both celebrity and Instagram categories.

Celebrity real hair: Rasheeda

Rasheeda, the rapper known for the iconic bubblegum song, is an advocate for using wigs to grow your hair. Based off of Instagram, her goal is to get to waist length

Celebrity extensions: Nicki Minaj

Inches, Inches and more Inches!! Nicki is not scared to serve Rapunzel looks in any color and style.

Instagram Real Hair: @tk_wonder

Not only does this beautiful Instagrammer have long hair but she has long 4c hair! She is breaking stereotypes and breaking standards all over the place. Her sister has to drop-dead gorgeous hair as well!

Instagram extensions: @nyane

Nyane is a fantastic influencer who rocks any length and color hairstyle. These three pictures are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the creativity that comes from her page!

BEST MANLY MANE

I’m going, being honest; this was pretty hard to do. Most celebrities rock the same close-cut style with little variations here and there. It’s for that reason that I chose…

Celebrity: Michael B. Jordan as Blank Panther’s Killmonger

Hear me out, Killmonger’s hairstyle has inspired many people to wear locs. Even Naptural85 came out with a killmonger tutorial! His hair and style in this movie was unique and iconic.

Instagram: @kxdsheldyy

Excellent addition to the growing male natural hair community, Sheldon Dennie, is helping to pave forward with his pictures and YouTube tutorials. Also, he is a fellow North Carolinian!

Biggest Controversy

one of our natural hair awards goes to a high profile instance of discrimination or hair issues that happened this year. That being said, their won’t be a celebrity or Instagrammer awards but rather two moments getting mentioned.

Moment #1-Caribbean Next Top Model

Gabriella Bernard before the incident This situation was filmed in 2017 but the aftermath took place in 2018. Aspiring model Gabriella Bernard came into the competition with lush natural hair. It was during the show’s makeover that Gabriella was giving the ultimatum to either get a relaxer or leave the competition. While Gabriella refused at first, to pursue her dream, she got a relaxer. She then was called unprofessional and naughty by the host and executive and former Miss Universe Wendy Fitzwilliam. Many people were shocked by Wendy Fitzwilliam’s response seeing as she was a black woman as well. They were also mad at how no other options were given ( like a wig or flat ironing). Others were mad at the way Gabriella gave into the demands and didn’t stand as a good role model. Now that the show has ended she believes she deserves an apology and has a documentary in the works. Wendy has not replied. After the incident and a big chop

Moment #2- 16-year-old forced to cut his dreadlocks for a game

Andrew Johnson before the incident Before these two situations were chosen, I had no idea that the themes of these stories were the same. Both of these people were given an ultimatum pertaining to their hair. Andrew Johnson of the Buena Regional High School varsity wrestling team was told to cut his dreads or sit out of the tournament. He won the game but the damage had been done. While some cheered on his selflessness for his team, others were distraught about the decision. The referee who demanded the cut is still under investigation and has been pulled from any matches. The ref has also been banned from any future Buena High matches. Andrew Johnson after the incident with the referee lifting his hand. (signaling the winner)