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There are thousands of Black hair styles available to African-American women regarding how to tame, tease, and tend to our tresses. We discuss some different African-American hairstyles below and welcome your comments on the sexy Black hairstyles you’ve rocked!

Natural Hairstyle

Forgoing relaxers to wear locs, coils or twists are hairstyles that are easier on your wallet and on your schedule. Channel the hairstyles of African-American celebrities like Jill Scott and Cree Summer and step out with a glamorous afro or copy Tracie Thom’s casual curls.

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Braided Hairstyle

Box braids, cornrows, or microbraids, these hairstyles can be time-consuming to achieve, but last and last and offer lots of versatility. There are a variety of styles of braiding that can be worn close to the scalp, like cornrows, or long and loose like box braids.

Cornrows are a great hairstyle deeply rooted in African traditions. Traditional, however, certainly doesn’t mean boring! Stylists can create amazing cornrow designs like zig zag braids or even more complex works of hair art. Celebs like Alicia Keys and Jada Pinkett Smith have proven this look is worthy of the red carpet.

Other braiding techniques, like box braids, for example, offer the ability to wear styles traditionally seen with long, relaxed hair. With box braids, microbraids, and invisible braids, the hair is not braided to the scalp like cornrows, and leaves the long ends free for styling. Braids can be of varying thickness, length, color and texture, limited only by your and your stylist’s imagination!

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Straight Hairstyle

Whether you choose to flat iron or chemically straighten your hair, silky smooth locks are always in fashion. Tyra Banks shows off her pin-straight style with blunt bangs and below-the-shoulder lengths while Rihanna crops it close in the back and sweeps long, often colorful bangs to the side.

Extensions

If your hair doesn’t go to the great lengths or heights you’d hoped for, enhance your everyday look with extensions. Simple clip-in pieces can add body and volume or tack on those extra few inches you crave. Luxurious length is hard to achieve on your own and takes tons of patience, but a visit to your hairdresser will give you length like Ciara in no time.

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Weaves

It’s no secret that the beautiful hairstyle you just noticed on a stranger may not even be her hair, but it looks so good, who cares! Weave queen Beyonce always has perfect tresses for stepping in-front of a fashion fan, and so can you. Always consider the quality, type, and texture of hair you’re choosing to get the best and longest-lasting results. Human hair is best for longer styles because it moves better, styles better, and is kinder to your scalp than many synthetic alternatives. Hair can also be using a single strand method or applied in wefts.

There are many different techniques to weaving hair: Braided, netting, bonded, and lace weaves. In a braided weave, your natural hair is braided into cornrows that serve as the surface to which the weave is sewn in. Some women braid their entire head and then cover the hair with a netting for protection before a full weave is sewn on. Bonding and fusion are other methods that attach the weave to the base of the natural hair using glue, wax, or other adhesives. Application and removal of these types of weaves should be done by professionals to minimize damage to your natural hair and scalp. Lace front weaves are the most expensive of the weave options. A mesh or “lace” cap serves as the base for these meticulously crafted weaves and is secured to the scalp at the edges of one’s hairline with tape or glue. Lace extensions and wigs are preferred by many celebrities because of their unique ability to create the illusion of natural hair growth from the scalp.

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No matter your hairstyle choice, it should be something you are proud of and should showcase your personality. And best of all, it’s just hair! You can change your mind on your next trip to the salon.

By Alison Hines

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