vol.1
Editors note Knots&Curls, is a fashion magazine focusing on the dope style of black hair culture for the millennial generation. We create progressive content around natural hair and to the millennials who wear it. Not only focusing on the millennial generation, we also have our 90s-inspired mini zine. A personal archive of family photos that gives a nostalgic feel to how black hair culture was in the late 1980s and early 1990s. We want to encourage and inspire our readers to love their natural hair and believe we shouldn’t be filtered and can express our personal style through our kinks. We want to be a source of inspiration for the black millennials
Editor, creative director, writer: Armani Williams Illustrator: Ayberk Keskin Photographers: Brooke Tobie Bianca Valentine MUA: Amy Louise Inwood Models: Tanaka Chawora Taja Jade Ali Tino Sanka Gwashavanhu Freddie Gwenzi Tia McMahon Kat Michelle McLeon Okon Chase Paul Brooke Tobie
CONTENTS curls of a millennial PG.6 JUST DO IT! PG.18
pg.20
CONTENTS pg.36
STRAIGHT ENDS AND CURLY BEGINNINGS PG.50
Curls of millennial Curls of millennial Curls of millennial Curls of millennial
a a a a
The millennial woman is sassy, independent and fierce;
of women over using this that it has destroyed hair, burnt scalps leading to an explosion in wig wear.
The natural hair encompasses culture and history and role models encourage independence and a strong sense encourages the black woman to stand proud. Today, I would of self worth. Over the last couple of years, so many Black say black hair culture is very influential, so much that our women have been rocking their natural hair and SLAYING IT. The culture is reproduced by many white celebrities (aka Miley natural hair movement has made a huge success on helping Cyrus, Katy Perry, Iggy Azalea and The Kardashians) have all us love our fros (afros) and it’s great that flaunting it has rocked black hairstyle not because they are shunning their become mainstream due to black hair tutorials populated own culture but because the natural black hair style is a via social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, fashion statement for the young of all styles and is part of the music, film cool culture. giving tips and tricks on helping young women and even men on understanding their natural hair. There’s also a lot more people of colour with natural hair in the media and now. The revolution of natural curls has become more than a Black female icons like Solange, Lupita Nyong’o, Viola Davis, fashion statement it is one of the foundations of self- esteem Janelle Monae, Issa Raye and Tracee Elis Ross having been and identity and a reawakening that our hair is part of who giving us the curlspiration and encouraging us that, Yes, our we are. During the 60s/70s the natural hairstyle was a hair is acceptable and COOL AF. political statement of standing black and proud fighting racial injustices whereas now it is a shout out to identity, Unfortunately, like many black women I know, I hated my hair self esteem and a love for the black culture. There is also at a young age, it started for me, as it did for most of us, sat a bonding of gender as natural curls also helps her to cross legged between your mum’s legs and having your hair stand in unison with her brothers, black men for years have tugged and pulled just to be styled. I hated how long my celebrated the natural hair style and this has also become hair took to style and I hated that couldn’t flick my hair like a sense of community for them. Black men use the styles of the other girls at school, as this seem to be there identity their hair to form a brotherly bond in the barbershop on a status. Although other girls use to compliment me on my cute weekly basis, hairstyles are flamboyant, artistic and creative cornrow hairstyles I always hated that my hair wasn’t out. as they compete for that boss hairstyle, but it also brings It was sad to know at that time that I favoured a Caucasian the community together not just as a place to be pampered type hair rather to my own, as the only imitation out there but also to put the world to rights with discussion. Black for me was processed hair and the lack of black women in females are now able to be part of that as many barbershops the media had me thinking that beauty was in flowing locks supply stations for women to join in the community debates portrayed in the media by mainly white women. The thought and have their natural beautiful locks pampered with that only straight hair was classed as beautiful for so long, natural oils and remedies used from the old country such as had gained so much popularity in the media which led so many Shea butter and coconut oil. The natural curl helps women women to straighten their hair to feel accepted. to stand alongside her Blackman and feel proud of her own identify and style knowing he is no longer looking for the artificial look portrayed in westernised magazines. A young me at one time even use to think that once you got to a certain age your hair just magically went straight. Silly; I know, but not unbelievable for a little black girl. Little did Black curls of the millennium are not just a fashion statement, I know a little creamy crack and a couple weave tracks was it is a bonding system for the sisters to the world around the perfect illusion for showing that long flowing creation them, more importantly for me it is who I am and where I want to be in this world. of straight hair. Creamy crack is not a drug but it might as well be as addictive. ‘Creamy Crack also known as a Relaxer also known as a Nappy hair Antidote, also known as its government name Sodium Hydroxide. Something I and a million other black women was (and still is) a victim of. There have been extreme cases
don’t touch
LYRICS FROM: A SEAT AT THE TABLE, SOLANGE, 2016
my hair
Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair Hair
is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is
a a a a a a aa aa a a a a a a a a a
foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation foundation
of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of
self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem
and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and
identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity. identity.
“just do it!”
Interview with Brooke Tobie
How long have you been Natural? know it’s scary going through it like transitioning So, I’ve been natural for about 5 years, more or less. and everything. It’s a long process. I’m not going to lie to you... Before that I used to straighten my hair 2 or 3 times every single day and I relax my hair with chemicals, [Laughter] so it made it horrible, dry and brittle. But I hated my curly hair... It is. why did you hate it? You honestly learn to love yourself so much more. I don’t know, all my friends around were obviously Like I’m so much more confident with my curls now. like white and had really straight hair and my mom I hate straight hair. I might straighten it like once a year. has straight hair and it’s like ‘I wanna be like you’. But then, it was also the fact that even girls when you first went out with your curly hair, did you feel liberated? with like curly hair in my school wore it straight. It’s a thing that everyone goes through To be honest, I didn’t. because it was such a big change for me having straight hair so often to having curly. Were you a teenager? The thing is... I went out with my curly hair when it was Yeah, so from like when I was about 13 to 17 still relaxed, so it wasn’t curly, it was like straight I did cut... I did a big chop to my hair but I kind of like and dead but wavy. So, it looked horrible. But I don’t cut it into a bob style... know. I kind of liked it. But then after chopping my It was horrible. hair off and then having like actually curly hair, I hated it so much but it had to done. I still continue I didn’t like it as much because it was so thick and to straighten my hair off the bat but I kind of found short. It looked like it had no length. I don’t know. It was scary. Let’s put it that way. more love with my curly hair. After I stopped straightening my hair for a good while, I threw away my straightener, all my curlers, all gone in the bin... What advice would you give to new naturals now? [Laughter] Just look after your hair, I do protein treatments on my hair twice a month. Literally, leave it in for like 2 hours or something and then wash your hair But yeah. I’m so in love with my curly hair right out and then just experiment with your hair. it took now. me ages to find the right products for my hair it’s so stressful cause it was so dry and I never knew What advice would you give to girls who are too what to do with it but once you find the other great scared to go natural? products it works for you, it works well, so ... The advice I’d give to girls who are too scared to go natural is, just do it! You might be scared but the end results will be amazing. You will love to Learn to embrace your culture, your heritage, your nationality, your curl pattern, you’ll embrace it. I
Don’t be scared.
Black is beautiful
I AM NOT THIS SKIN
I AM NOT MY HAIR
LYRICS FROM: Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, india.aire,2006
I AM THE SOUL THAT LIVES WITHIN
Straight E n d s & C u r l y beginnings My story on my Love/ hate relationship with my past relaxed hair and my present natural hair.
“Why can’t my hair be like that?”
said 5-year-old me. I was always envious of the girls with long, straight hair when I was a child. It seemed like everyone had straight hair around me; Family, friends, people on Tv and Magazines, even my Barbie. Straight hair was so fascinating to me; it was long, flowy and just gorgeous in my eyes. I was Jealous and hated my little cornrows. My mum always put my hair in cornrows and the only time I saw my hair is when she took it out to wash it. Having such thick long hair, my mum could not manage it. So, at the age of 10, she took me to her hairdressers and I got my first kiddie relaxer. I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to run my fingers through my new silky straight hair. Surprisingly my first relaxer was a walk in the park. I hadn’t received any irritation or burns from the treatment (but that didn’t last over the years). I was so fascinated by the results. this was the first time my hair was flat, smooth and flowing freely. I was getting so many compliments and for the first time in my life, I felt beautiful. As a teenager, I was still relaxing and straightening my hair but I realised that my hair didn’t grow pass a certain length. I would always get burns and my hair was thin. So, I did some research. In 2013, I discovered the
Natural Hair Movement. There was so many blogs and websites about keeping your hair healthy and turning natural and it literally sucked me in. Then I stumbled across natural hair tutorials on YouTube and became obsessed. I was amazed by the length, the curls and just how stunning it looked. I was intrigued by all these women cutting off their relaxed ends (Big chop) to a small fro so it can go grow long and healthy into a big beautiful mane.
in my life, the ‘Big chop’ and start over again. The shortest I ever had my hair was when I cut it into a bob’ and this was about chin length and that’s not even considered a short hair style. I was scared but wanted my hair cut because it was so damaged. I asked my mum to cut it. 30 minutes later the floor was filled with hair. I stepped to the mirror and I was shocked. I didn’t know if I hated it because it was so short or I didn’t know if I loved it because this was me in my purest form. I had 2 inches of hair on head and the more I looked at it, the more I Although I was fascinated with natural hair, I couldn’t hated it. Due to the heat damage my curls were still limp and imagine big chopping my hair. I had stop relaxing my hair but brittle. I was not ready to go out in public like that, so I threw then saw how quickly my new growth was growing. To blend on a wig every day. my new growth and straight ends I started to experiment with natural hairstyles like twist outs, which is unravelled 6 Months later, my hair was growing great and my curls were two strand twists, which creates a curly look. I saw a great blossoming but I was still afraid to let it be free except in my change in my hair and my hair got incredibly thick and my own home. I started to play around with styles and it started new growth curls were adorable. After a while I got bored growing on me. I pulled up my big girl panties and put my hair of these hairstyles. There was a limited amount I could two cute puffs, and walked out my house. This was one of the do since I wasn’t fully natural. So, I went back to heat and most terrifying moments of my life but once I got outside became addicted again. I was straightening my hair every day I realised no one cares except me. The anxious feeling that I and sometimes twice a day which led my hair to extreme heat once had soon turned into me feeling the most liberated in my damage. life. After 2 years of Heat damage, I hated my straight hair. It was dry, brittle and so much had broken off so I told myself “no heat” and started to consider protective styles like braids, weaves and wigs. While keeping, my hair protected I was trying every possible treatment to restore it. Hair Masks, Deep Conditioners and Protein treatments. Nothing was reviving those dead ends. This led me to do the most terrifying thing