5 Natural Hairstyles for the Office

One of the challenges a natural will face on their journey is adapting your hairstyle for the office. I often feel my hair ambition is to wear it free and unrestricted. By this I mean twist outs, braid outs, wash and go styles etc. However on a Sunday night I find I have to give some thought to the work appropriate, professional look. 

A big, bouncy, curly Afro is beautiful and will win you some compliments from the trendy corner of the office, but in most offices, it probably won't go down so well with your boss. Just as you will have a 'work wardrobe', as naturals we really ought to have a selection of professional hair styles appropriate for the office. Most of the styles I've chosen here happen to be protective too, which is an added bonus! Here are 5 of my current favourite corporate styles.

I love this look, mostly because I really like a hairstyle with height at the front. Get your parting neat and clean and have your gel and bobby pins handy.

This style will get you through the week quite nicely. A little complicated for my limited skill set so it would mean a trip to the hair dressers for me, but well worth it as it's neat, tidy and protective. The loose twists at the top can be restyled in a different way. You could also add extensions to accentuate the volume and /or height at the front, giving you more styling options.

This is a great style that will transcend easily from day to night. Tone down the make up and wear with more subtle earrings for the office.

I like the loose but tidy twist at the front on this style.

Yes a TWA can be worn in a professional environment. Tame those edges, add some texture and grab your laptop!


What do you think of these styles? Which ones would you wear for work?

Strictly £100 + Topshop Sale = RESULT!

The Topshop Sale is on NOW so I thought I'd do a £100 budget challenge. I found a lot of the Sale items are from their Winter collections. However there quite a number of items which will transcend into Spring and Summer. So armed with a mere £100  (actually I spent £102 in the end), these made the cut! 

Couldn't resist a bodycon dress, especially in this lovely emerald green colour.Think black strappy heels or scandals and gold statement jewellery. Here's the really good bit - Its only £15!!

I've been in search of an alternative Gym bag for sometime now. This one answers all my prayers. Topshop have described it on their website as a Luggage bag but it suits me perfectly for carrying all my gym stuff. Opens by zip across the top and feels a bit like a Mary Poppins bag as I seem to be able to just keep throwing stuff in there! £15

A clutch is everything this Spring and I love this caramel number from Topshop. It's quilted and its 100% genuine leather! Can't believe it's only £15. It also come in a pastel pink and blue - they too are only £15. With that £100 limit in mind, I really can't have the other 2 as well, however tempting.

This Cream leather belt is a amazing at £7. 100% genuine leather. I'd wear it with a plain back jumpsuit as on the Topshop website or to brighten up dark florals from your Autumn/Winter wardrobe.

I'll start by saying the Midi length on this beautiful sequinned dress worries me a bit. Midi length can be a difficult one to wear. Personally, I'm going a little radical with this one - I'm having it taken up so that it falls just over the knee and I'll wear it with strappy scandals or heels for a summer party. Its been reduced from £59 to £30 and its by TFNC at Topshop.

I have long been obsessed with monochrome and there are no signs of my love diminishing.  This Black & White PU skirt is £20. I love the checks, the diagonal zip and that hint of extra length is genius. I'd wear it with a plain white tee tucked in and some black heels, add statement necklace and large clutch. 

Happy Shopping my fellow clothes lovers

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5 Natural Hair Quotes I love

I love reading natural hair quotes. I find that they range from motivational and inspirational to illustrating plain and simple truth. Of course there are the ridiculous which only serve to to deter people from exploring Natural hair. Naturally the latter will be given no air play here. These are a few I'm really into right now..

How often have you heard people say this? I know I said it through out my transition. We seem to forget we are natural at birth and for many years after, so we are in fact returning to Natural hair and not trying it out for the first time

Ironically, hair is under more stress when Relaxed than when natural. Of course, over styling your natural hair will cause stress, but when you truly embrace your natural hair, styling and management are no longer stressful because you know what works for you and your hair. And if you've been doing it a while or are a quick learner, you probably have a few go to hair styles you can rely on. This quote says it all

Any Mother worth her title (Mother) knows that amongst many other responsibilities to her children, she must be a role model to them. For mothers who have daughters, that responsibility flows through to how you carry yourself and indeed how look. Ultimately you are role modelling self love

Natural hair is definitely trending in a big way right now. I've even called it a renaissance in a previous post. However I do think there is a significant slice of the Team Natural population who have embraced their natural hair because its really trendy at the moment. I would like to think most Naturals are about that renaissance rather than the trend and I hope most of us stay Team Natural forever. 

I love this quote! It really tackles what now seems to me like an absurd thing to say "not for everyone". Other non black cultures rarely embark on a lifelong commitment to change the structure and pattern of their hair in an effort to conform, fit in or 'be beautiful'. 

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy these quotes

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