Glow With the Fro: Hair Event

Coils & Curls Talk CPT


 

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On the last Saturday of the month of Spring, we headed off to the Glow With the Fro event, hosted by Karabo and Michelle. This tall chocolate and bubble concoction made it easy for everyone to feel at home. And towards the end of the afternoon at wine o’clock, we had a little too much fun, but that’s a story for another day.

 

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We were pleasantly surprised by the intimate choice of venue, Seven Circle cafe in Gardens. Usually brands make it a point to invite everyone in their numbers to  You can trust that the cafe in the heart of Gardens had modern interior designs, as well as aesthetics great for the ladies, and gent, who needed a shot for the gram. We all appreciated having a close and intimate setting where we could all have a say in the #CoilsAndCurlsTalkCPT and our personal hair journeys.

 

 

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Genna Julies, from @GennaDoingThings, shared her story with us on how her natural hair journey started. What we found empowering about her statement for the day was that she actually wore her hair straight! This may not be a biggie for some, but for a few new natural hair enthusiasts, it is. We often shy away from doing anything that isn’t typically natural, mainly out of fear for what the peeps will say when they “seent it”, DSC_1131right? Everyone always has something to say, especially when you do the BIG Chop. Don’t even try trimming your hair after it’s reached the length of the heavens, because you’ll definitely offend someone, and they will come for you. Going natural has almost become a political statement these days. Doing anything different to your natural hair, once you’ve pledged your allegiance to the natural hair gang, is practically an offence to some of the die-hards. Straightening, relaxing, curling using heat is seen as unconventional. But wasn’t going natural seen as unconventional in the beginning. It took us a while to start embracing our natural hair, and  heat-shaming is only taking us back.

 

We should be able to do what we want with our hair. It is, after all, your natural hair journey. What you do to your hair is part of your journey. The Coils and Curls Talk reminded us to own what’s ours and celebrate and learn from each other’s journeys.

Michelle even shared the perfect clapback which was something along the lines of how we used to have to conform to the Westernised standards of beauty, which were essential reflected as the world’s standard of beauty. That’s why we relaxed our hair, or made sure we had or hair braided before going into an interview, because Becky effortlessly fit the norm, where we had to conform.

 

There is so much beauty in celebrating every coil and curl that grows out as our crown. We are fortunate to be able to mould,  define, curl, colour and diversify our crowns. However we choose to wear our crowns is part of the journey. And whether it’s up on Monday, down on Tuesday and to the left on Wednesday, Becky better remember Solange’s words, “Don’t touch my hair”… no seriously, don’t touch it. There is no need to tell us our hair “looks different today”, we seent it girl! We were in front of the mirror when it happened! We’ll always be aware of how our crown fits when we step out of the house.

 


Being in the presents of such beautiful ladies and forming a sisterhood that felt genuine and safe was an experience we haven’t had the luxury of experiencing at other events.

A great thanks to our lovely hosts, who made sure we all left with lovely hair goodies from their generous sponsors. To Liesl, owner of Curl Chemistry, who came our and took the time to personalise her brand to us, which is almost rarely seen by most hair companies. And to all the ladies who attended the event and were brave enough to share their stories and experiences.

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We look forward to seeing the exciting new things these ladies have to offer along their journey.


 

Out & About: The Sweet Things in Life

This girls’ trip, out a few kilometers from the city,  was long overdue. For years we would always talk about going strawberry picking, but we just never could get to doing it. Finally, a vac week granted us the opportunity of taking this trip to Stellenbosch for a day.

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On our way to Polkadraai Strawberry Farm, we were greeted with magnificent view of the Cape Fold Mountains. A breath-taking site the closer you approach the Hottentots Holland Mountains. We were surprised by how quick our trip was into the farm area. And of course the first thing we did when were got out of the Uber was to take pictures for the gram.

We each picked up our own buckets, The Harvester, from the store at R55. Just a heads-up, you’re meant to fill the bucket just to the brim, but some of these ladies had their cups “runth over“. Nevertheless, picking the strawberries was a breeze. We practically had the farm to ourselves and could choose from any of the rows filled with big, bright red juicy berries.

DSC_0797 For those who have yet to go strawberry picking, the trick is to pull them off from the plant by the stem, so that they preserve their freshness for longer.

We wouldn’t, however, suggest eating them right off the plant, because you still have to wash the pesticides and earth off. You might see a few harvesters eating away at the berries. But just to be on the safe side, wait ti;; you get to a tap before you start munching away. Surprisingly, we had enough self-control not to attempt licking a single berry.

Last tip of advice is to pick every strawberry in style. Make it fun. Make them your own. Make yourself and the berry one. We promise that is the secrete to keeping sweeter for longer.

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And of course we didn’t leave the site without taking more pictures. Before starting our blog, we were never as picture crazy as we are now. There was something about having this great site all to ourselves that gave us the confidence to take advantage of the perfect lighting on such a beautiful day.


Next location: Skilpadvlie Wine Farm

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At this wine farm we were greeted with six different wines to taste. Two whites, one crisp rosé and two firm reds, both full bodied. Sharing our cheers to the great views of the vineyards, and most importantly, to feeling like we have our lives together  based of the success of the day. We ended up purchasing a bottle of a dry red we enjoyed out of the six options we tasted. However, our favourite out of the six can only be found at the wine farm. All enough reason to get us to visit Skilpadvlei soon. We also didn’t get to take pictures at the vlei before we left because the sun caught up with us after our full bellies slowed us down. We had been on a roll with taking pictures until we had our plates in front of us. Luckily we all wore outfits that would accommodate the food babies we were nurturing and slowly bringing to life.

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We each order the Tuesday Special. 400g of ribs with calamari, calamari heads, wings and chips. The second star on the plate, after the ribs, was the blue cheese dip sauce. At some point Farai and Precious would peek over into the three plates to see how far everyone else’s blue cheese was surviving. Of course these two finished their own dip at around the same time and dove right into Chantè’s plate and attempted to share the the sauce equally. Can you guess who had more of the dip.

Exploring the sweet things in life on this trip meant more than the strawberries, succulent ribs or the rosè; or even the waffles and ice cream we snuck into our food-baby bellies after rolling ourselves into the closest Spur we could find. Taking the time out from a five day vac break and allowing ourselves to enjoy a guilt-free trip. As friends whom study together, we have become accustom to going about our academic routine during the term and focusing on catching up on sleep or work during vac. Taking time out for ourselves was the sweetest treat we could have spoiled ourselves with during our vac week. We had the chance to share good laughs like embracing the amazing views of the vineyards and Cape Fold Mountains.

The sweet things in life are experienced subjectively by everyone. But for us, it had to be choosing to dip calamari, chips, calamari heads and ribs into a blue cheese sauce. On a serious note, taking the time out to recharge was important for us. It was necessary. We look forward to more days like this. Days where we have to force ourselves to take a break to truly relax without feeling guilty for not doing anything but relaxing. That, is part of the sweet things in life.

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The Journey Begins

Welcome to 19’twentiez!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

19’twentiez is a blog which explores the world of a group of friends through their hair, beauty, fashion and lifestyle journey in their twentiez. We all started our hair journey relatively around the same time and thought it would be a great idea to document it together as we discover what works and what doesn’t. In doing, so we hope to inspire other young women in exploring their natural beauty and challenging the status quo. We believe beauty comes in all shades and sizes. Our hope for this blog is to show how natural beauty can be celebrated, unapologetically.

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