Award season may be drawing to an end but we thought there’s still room for one more honor. We’ve seen an upswell of everyday women embracing their natural curls and now we’re starting to see the “trend” spill over onto the red carpet. We decided to take a look back at natural hair on the red carpet over the last five years and select our favorite celebrity trend setters.
10
Jill Scott attending The Hollywood Reporters Power 100 Women in Entertainment Breakfast (2012)
We love what Jill’s stylist did with her braids here. Who says protective styles have to be dull?! It looks like her braids were plaited into one big braid off to the right side of her head and then pinned under. If you try this look just remember not to pull too tight on your edges. This is a quick and dirty style perfect for day and night.
9
Ledesi at the 45th NAACP Image Awards (2014)
Ledesi’s locs are as infamous has her powerhouse voice. Here she turns up the star power wattage by pinning her colored locs loosely to one side. This shows off her dress’ delicate lace neckline perfectly. And did Ledisi lose weight? No matter. She looks fabulous at any size!
8
Janelle Monae attending the 2013 BET Awards
In true Janelle style she hits the nail on the head with this coiffed updo. We love how Janelle isn’t afraid to experiment with her natural hair, switching effortlessly from curls to straight hair but always keeping her signature bouffant. This look caught our eye because she’s still able to slay on the red carpet in a stark white, buttoned up tuxedo. We wish more celebrities would leave certain things to the imagination.
7
Corinne Bailey Rae at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards Red Carpet (2012)
Corinne is so adorable and this look couldn’t suit her more. Her notorious loose curls have grown tremendously since she arrived on the music scene back in 2005. Here her hair is swept loosely to one side in a messy “I woke up like this” ease. To recreate the look twist your hair into medium/large twists, unravel when dry, swoop and pin to one side then simply add your favorite red lipstick.
6
Nicole Ari Parker at the 5th Annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon (2012)
Nicole’s flat twists and side bun combo never fails her. The great thing about this style is you don’t need long hair to achieve it. Simple buy hair extensions that match your hair texture and color then add your own homemade bun. Nicole polishes off the look with big earrings and smokey eyes… we totally approve!
5
Solange Knowles at the Samantha Thavasa Disney Collection Launch (2009)
Solange shocked her fans by big chopping suddenly back in 2009. The move was controversial to some but she quickly shushed her nay-sayers when she made an appearance in Japan sporting this fabulous look. TWAs can be equally as elegant as long, flowing hair. They scream confidence and showcase your unique features. Switch things up by add a small side parting.
4
Viola Davis on the 2012 Oscars Red Carpet
How glorious was it to see Viola proudly sport her TWA on Hollywood’s biggest night?! We couldn’t ask for better curly representation. From the jewel green dress to the bronze toned hair, Viola may not have taken home the Oscar but she was a winner to every natural girl and woman out there.
3
Tracee Ellis Ross attending ELLE’s Annual Women in Television Celebration (2014)
Tracee is a natural hair veteran so there should be no surprise that she’s on our list. We did, however, decide to pick a straight look for Tracee as opposed to her legendary big curls. We love how she still maintained some volume and soft curls even though her hair is blown out. To achieve this look without extra heat, use big, foam rollers wrapped in silk (just purchase some scraps of silk from your local fabric store).
2
Lupita Nyong’o at the 2014 Golden Globes
What is there left to say about this red carpet darling? Lupita has so many stunning looks we had a hard time picking just one. We narrowed it down to this look because we noticed Ms. Nyong’o had actually straightened her TWA then given it a little bump. How genius! In fact, her hair this entire award season have been so versatile giving short haired naturals everywhere endless inspiration!
1
Teyonah Parris at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2013)
Teyonah Parris wowed everyone when she stepped out onto the red carpet with this show-stopping updo. She instantly raised her star profile and inspired numerous video tutorials on how-to recreate this look. Don’t believe us? Just do a search for “Teyonah’s hair” on Google! We picked this look as our number one choice because the hairstyle is so innovative. Better yet it’s easy to recreate on all hair textures. Even if your hair isn’t quite long enough you can add some extensions!
GET THE LOOK
Ms Vaughn has an excellent tutorial on how to achieve our number one pick…
THE CLOSE UPS
