Woven: The Inspiration Behind my Braids

A few weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to get my hair braided again for the first time in over 4 years. I mediated on the decision for a few weeks before finding an incredible stylist on instagram and getting the hairstyle of my absolute dreams.

I got the idea for these box braids with an undercut from my manager at Lululemon. He reminded me that my style muse and woman crush forever and ever, Zoë Kravitz wore her long, flowing braids with shaved sides. A few google searches I had all the inspiration I needed: a collection images of Black women absolutely slaying this style. I knew I had to give it a try.

Once I knew exactly what wanted the style to look like, it was time to find a braider. I searched “Chicago Braider” on instagram and started looking through all the different accounts until I settle don @chi.merem.artistry. The pictures on her account are beautiful and I appreciated how professional and transparent she is about safety protocol for COVID, pricing and what to expect. I sent her an email listing all my information and we set a date for my appointment

Altogether the style took about four and a half hours from start to finish. I process was simple and made me feel nostalgic. I spent many hours of my childhood at the hair salon getting braids. It’s such a special experience that I cherish. And the result was so worth it.

I’ve learned so much about myself through my journey with my hair one of the biggest lessons being that my worth does not lie in my hair nor any other physical aspect of myself. My appearance is an outward expression of the parts of my personality that I want to express; nothing more.

I’m excited to continue exploring new styles and being adventurous. My natural hair is beautiful as is and how I choose to style it is simply an expression of my creativity.

With that in mind, what should I try next? Leave me some suggestions! The crazier the better :)