THE HAIRPOLITAN MAGAZINE VOL 5 APRIL 2017

“I can actually
see how
bizzarre my
request sounds
“
Image credit:Silvia Mwendia
Farida Tou @ Euroma2 Mall,Rome
ask much easier. There are a few who say no, and
that’s quite a downer, but I suck it right up as the
hashtag must go on.
In Nairobi, when I appraoched people, I always
have this feeling like they think I am mad! Looking
back, I can actually see how bizzarre my request
sounds. Once, I did meet two women who declined
because of monetary issues. One was of the opinion
that she had to pay for the photo and despite me
explaining that it was absolutely free, she still didn’t
get it. Another insisted on being paid stating that
I just could not use her photo for free. Her friend
tried convincing her but to no avail. I don’t know
if it was the salesperson in her but she would not
budge. I vowed to keep off saleswomen. There have
been some LOL moments as well. There was a time I
almost got off at the wrong bus stop just because a
natural had also alighted there.
Nzilani Muya @ Khoja Stage
I moved to Italy late last year. Obviously
#KinksOnTheStreet was not going to end, only
expand; and true to my words it has! Despite the
language barrier (Google Translate is my friend), I
have found out that the women I approach here are
able to understand me just as well. Perhaps we should
add natural hair to the list of global languages.
It has been fun doing #KinksOnTheStreet. We have
seen alot of beautiful manes from TWAs to afropuffs,
well laid edges to kinks that dance to the beat of
their own drum. We also cannot forget the variety
of Locs coming in different colours and lengths. The
more I do #KinksOnTheStreet the more I valued the
world wide growth of the Natural hair community.
FOLLOW SILVIA & MAKENA ON THEIR WEBSITE:
www.nywelenatural.com
Tebby Vena @ Tubman Road
12 13