Style, Trend & Validation

Hello, first post of the year! Yes, life happens and sucks one into a crazy whirlwind of busy-ness.

It’s interesting how a hairstyle can instantly transform one’s appearance and influence other people’s perceptions about one’s character, personality or lifestyle.

Threading

Hair Threading

Recently, I became bored with weaves, braids and corn-rows.  I also started going to the gym five  times a week and wanted a protective hairstyle that allowed liberal amounts of air to reach my scalp plus, kept hair away from my neck and face.  I saw this curled threading hairstyle on Kemi Lewis’ blog and was determined, come fire and brimstone, to thread my hair.

Iya Dayo my hairstylist was able to make my wish come true and I loved my tidy new look, it was very retro and I’d whip out my Ruby Woo lipstick daily just because!

I had some pretty amusing conversations with people during the course of this hairstyle:

1. Stereotypers:  “Your hair is nice, are you a Deeper Lifer?” “Oh! Is your hair natural?”

2. Men searching for seemingly pious-looking wives:  “I like your hairstyle, You look so natural / beautiful, where are you off to?”

3. Concerned Mother (Pre-threading): “Thread? But why? The hairstyle you look prettiest in is that lovely weave”

4. Concerned Mother (Post-threading): “Oh! you look nice, so different, natural beauty! Do you think it will suit me?” Lol

5. “Imma pat my weave till I die” chicks:  (with their eyes) “hmmm, this gehl is bold o, me I kent try dis kain rough play”

6. The Bewildered:  “This your hair sha…”

7. The Seemingly Impressed: “I really like your hair, where did you get it done?”, ” I love your hair, that’s my next hairstyle!”

The truth is that style, trend and public validation definitely influence our fashion choices as per clothes, hair and make-up.

I find that when you dictate your own style, step out of the trend zone and, to an extent, not seek other people’s validation, you will feel a little powerful from the attention because you will get noticed when you look different from the norm.

A sewing project is baking in the oven, will post it soon 😀

Sign

 

 

~About me~

 

84 comments

      1. Hi Nedoux, I’ve rocked that style many times before, and i’ve always got possitive remarks from both male and female. I am currantly growing my hair again and have always been a naturalist. Prior to seeing your post I was going to thread my hair yet again, and up popped your post. You go girlfriend, soilder on it looks beautiful.

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    1. It’s a very protective hairstyle. No, it didn’t give me a headache because I asked my stylist not to hold the base too tightly while wrapping the thread.

      Thank you. 🙂

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  6. the ‘kent try dis kain rough play’ had me laughing tears! dats totally a weave till I die chicks comment.

    your hair is beautiful dear. off to thread woman’s stand now to get it done.

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  7. Lol. I like the ‘are you a deeper lifer and the can’t try this rough play comments best’. You look good. I remember making bantu knots with my hair and getting funny stares on my street.

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  9. I threaded my hair exactly like this in July this year. I carried it for almost 2 months. Quite a few people didn’t know where to look when I asked them what they thought of my hair. The ‘compliments’ ranged from ‘errrrrr interesting’ to ‘different’. Some one just outright said it looked ‘like snake’ 😂😂😂😂

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    1. It’s a very convenient hairstyle, and low maintenance too.

      “Like snake” is by far the most amusing comment. XD

      If I’m honest, I’ll confess that I enjoyed this style because of the shock/surprise factor.

      Thank you for visiting!

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  11. i’ve basically gotten cosy with installing braids and letting it stay for weeks. i’ll try out the threads only if i’ll do it myself. challenge accepted! lol

    the way people get all judeg-y with seeing others on hairstyles different from what they’re comfortable on, like theirs can’t be judged. what makes public opinion superior by the way? what makes trends the right and others wrong? ughhhh

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    1. Hello Oluchee,

      Thank you so much for visiting.

      Spot on! What makes a trend hot or not? . I agree with you, people sometimes have low tolerance for the things that fall outside their own comfort zone.

      I’m currently wearing the threaded hairstyle again, it’s become my go-to low maintenance style when I don’t want to deal with my hair.

      I wish I could watch you do your DIY threading. Your arms will hurt, but it’d be worth it in the end 😀

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  12. Met you today and totally loved your threading. Lovely article too. The Concerned Mother Pre-threading’s “Thread? But why?”, cracked me up. Will now go look for my own Iya Dayo.

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    1. Hello Adaora,

      It was so lovely to meet you. 🙂

      Lol, My mum has now gotten used to the fact that I do like to thread my hair.

      Ah! I have since upgraded to Mama Michael.

      Thank you for reading, have a lovely week!

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      1. I absolutely adore this when living in Washington st. my search to find someone who could do this for me epic fail lol. Now that we live in TX I’m going to search again your hair is gawgeus! In my native Chas SC accent voice lol

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  13. Haha, this was funny. Who knew you had a good sense of humor? This your hair sha. It’s amazing how people just take one look at you and feel they have the license to tell you what should be done and shouldn’t. I remember threading my hair one nightmarish day in the Uni. I wasn’t as brave as I am now though and so when snickers came, I sort of cowered. Maybe one day sha, I go try am again. hehe.

    This part nailed it for me.

    “The truth is that style, trend and public validation definitely influence our fashion choices as per clothes, hair and make-up. I find that when you dictate your own style, step out of the trend zone and, to an extent, not seek other people’s validation, you will feel a little powerful from the attention because you will get noticed when you look different from the norm.”

    Good one Nedoux 😉

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    1. Hi Itunu,

      Ah! I find that there’s humour in most things 🙂

      It’s quite hilarious how people grant themselves the licence to validate others.

      Lol @ “Maybe one day sha, I go try am again.” I know you’ll be brave enough to pull this off.

      Thank you so much for reading, have a great week!

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  14. Err seriously are you Deeper Life?
    After spending years as a child on threaded hair, mehn I can’t shout, ain’t going back! 😛
    But you do look good. I can imagine the stares.

    About style and validation… That’s a wider issue and you are so right. I’m going to chew on that aspect a little more, maybe do a post on it, and of course you’re the inspiration.

    Loving your blog (how come I never noticed your sense of humor until now 😀 )

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    1. Lol, The truth is that of all my posts, this is the one that I find most interesting as I am keen to see readers’ comments.

      Thank you, I’ll admit that the attention this hairstyle brought gave me an almost naughty rush of pleasure.

      I agree with you, style and validation are at the core of this write-up. I look forward to seeing your blog post on this.

      I sincerely appreciate that you took out time to read my musings. 😀

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  15. Hahaha! I know right? Society we live in these days… Only God will help us. I mean can’t you just be different if you wish to. If you no wear earrings,you plait wool, you do makeup,you don’t…. Dem must to talk by fire by force. Nigeria my beloved country. Lol! Girl, you rocked it well. I love it… Just continue to be you jare.

    Hairlevation

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    1. Hello Alaerembo,

      Thank you for stopping by 🙂

      I’ll be honest, the process of hair threading is typically painful, but if you insist firmly that you do not want your hair held too tightly at the base, the hairdresser should comply.

      I asked Iya Dayo nicely, and she did.

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    1. Hello Nneka,

      Thank you. I’ll admit that the red lipstick lent me the boldness that I used in pulling off this look :-D.

      So nice of you to stop by.

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  21. The deeper life comment got me! lmao!
    Who cares? Don’t mind them jare. It looks good and I love how you are rocking it with the hot red lippy! 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by, hun!

    Nice blog!
    Will def be visiting!

    xxx
    ChiChi

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  22. Welcome back!

    My favorite has to be the “Deeper Life” comment. Nigerians! Didn’t they see the lipstick? *smh*

    I’m curious to know what Iya Dayo said … With a name like that, I’m guessing she had comments of her own.

    P. S. Throwing sewing and baking I the same sentence reminds me of Home Economics.

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    1. Hey Sharon!

      Thank you for stopping by.

      Funny enough, Iya Dayo didn’t bat an eyelid when I explained how I wanted my hair done, she was more focused on convincing me that she could deliver satisfactorily, and she did.

      Ah! In Nigeria it’s quite common for a mother to be nicknamed with her children’s name (especially her first child’s). Iya Dayo means “Dayo’s mother”, that’s what everyone calls her 😀

      Lol @ Home Economics, now I remember the first “dress” I actually made., it was a home economics project to sew a night gown with a hand needle. I was 12 years old, It was quite the disaster as I could barely move in the gown.

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  23. Hi Nedoux!

    Definitely missed your presence. I’m at that point myself. Sick of weaves, braids, etc. That’s why I’ve been dealing with my natural hair…yeah, protective styling is great, but it’s also BORING. LOL. I was crying laughing at this ““hmmm, this gehl is bold o, me I kent try dis kain rough play” I can just imagine. I say your hair looks damn good. You can wake up and go about your day without thinking about your hair. Two thumbs up!

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    1. Too funny 😀

      Thank you, I threaded in primary school too, my mum might have found it useful for stretching my kinky coils.

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  29. Haha!
    I’ve tried threading before. Around age 6 or 7 for school. I cried so much that day we had to loosen it that night.
    That looks good. The mature type of threading. And I like the side profile too. Do you!
    P.s- Men looking for good girls- 😁. Not everyone who doesn’t make weaves is a good girl.
    Ps- I want to see what you’ve made!

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    1. Uju dear,

      Yes, “Do you!”

      Lol @ Mature threading. My hair was threaded frequently when I was much younger. There was this assumption that it made the hair grow longer. Now that I’m older, I know this is more myth than fact.

      Threading can be quite painful, I continued to remind Iya Dayo not to grasp my hair so tightly. Thankfully, she complied and saved me from a “panadolled” night.

      Ah! The men seeking seemingly pious-looking girls, I really should have placed them in the Stereotypers group, but they really deserved a group all by themselves. 😀

      I agree with you, I still have the same spring in my steps when I’m rocking my wavy weaves and when I’m rocking my threaded hair. I am still the same person, either way.

      Those who judge a book by its cover, eventually learn that it’s wiser to look deeper.

      I am putting finishing touches, will unveil soon 🙂

      I am glad you stopped by, thank you!

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      1. Why, thank you too!
        And when I’m rocking twists, I’ve met them too although some of those could also be classified as paedophiles (street harassment, long story). Someone really needs to teach them to look deeper.
        Maybe I’ll try threading myself. Good luck. Unveil fast. Looking forward to it.

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    1. Thank you Ene 🙂

      I’m certain that no hairstyle can stimulate hair growth. Hair will grow regardless, it’s ‘hair retention’ that is another kettle of fish entirely, as it depends on factors such as quality products and a healthy regimen.

      I’ve threaded my hair twice this year, I think it’s the best protective hairstyle I’ve ever done. My strands were shielded from manipulation and all I did was spritz with a mix of water and glycerin.

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    1. Lol, very typical. Some people like to insist that they know you even more than you know yourself!

      Thank you Idee, I’m glad you stopped by 🙂

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    1. Lol, they sure do. Some view life through rose-coloured glasses and others do not. Their various expressed perceptions of the same thing is nearly like a game of chinese whispers!

      Thank you Ekene 🙂

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  33. Are you a deeper lifer? hahahaha. I love the hair style. I keep my hair very short because It is easier for me to wash and go. And I exercise 5 days a week so, weaves, braids, etc. wont cut it for me.

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    1. Thank you, Yvonne.

      Ah! The joys of a daily wash and go, your cropped hair suits your facial structure nicely.

      Isn’t exercise just great? Refreshes both body and mind, plus the toned and trimmed physique isn’t such a bad side-effect 😀

      Thanks for visiting!

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  35. Lol! This is so apt!
    Gosh I can so relate honestly.
    The first time I did faux locs with wool, after I got it done a friend of mine said “You this Bookie ehn, you’d do S.U. style but make it look fashionable” while others were just like “She tried oh, I can’t do it, it won’t look as good on me” yadi yadi yah, lol I couldn’t laugh.

    http://www.bookiekunlere.com

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    1. Thank you Grace.
      Regular wool was used on the inside to add fullness/length and “shoemaker” thread was used to wrap the hair.

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