Bold • Natural • Beautiful with Juanita Henderson

Bold • Natural • Beautiful with Juanita Henderson
Natural Hair and Body Care from the Founder of Chocolate Kinks & Kurls

by Juanita Henderson

The following paragraphs contain mild spoilers for the dope flick, Black Panther (2018), currently killing it at the box office.

Many are talking about the importance of representation in big films. But let's talk about the importance for little black girls to see a reflection of themselves as a Princess, a Queen, and a Warrior, with NATURAL BLACK HAIR  (KINKY TEXTURED NATURAL HAIR) and a variety of skin tones.

I thought the film was empowering, showing all of those things and still showing women who owned their femininity and their strength without compromise. One of the most empowering aspects about this film is how the men of Wakanda respected the completeness of women. That's something black men can learn from this film; black women can be both feminine & strong!
My daughters loved Shuri (Letitia Wright) and the science component to the story. I think that’s something profound for our girls to see, that a scientist doesn’t have to look a specific way. We are accustomed to seeing a specific type of scientist on television. Typically, they are white, wear glass, and have straight hair. Kids pay attention to those things.

Hair

Black women have worn their hair in Bantu knots for centuries. Bantu knots, when knotted, look like a graph, with little crowns all over your head. The knots are made after you take strands of hair and wrap it around each other.
Typically, when you see women wearing Bantu knots today, they’re not wearing them in the traditional sense. In the movie, Nakia did; her Bantu knots maintained their shape. They looked regal and spoke to her boldness.
The current trend of women doing Bantu knots involves taking them down once they are completely dry. This creates a wavy, loosely curly voluminous look. Though beautiful, I’m hopeful that we will see more traditional Bantu Knots being worn.

Maintenance

Nakia’s Bantu knots are really easy to maintain; you can do it yourself. All you do is put your bonnet on. That’s it! Hydration is an important part of any healthy style. As an option, you can mist the hair lightly every couple of days with Chocolate Kinks & Kurls Lemon Rose Hydrating Mist. You absolutely want to keep some hydration going to avoid your hair drying out. You also want to apply a lightweight oil in your parts to keep your scalp looking and feeling great! The Chocolate Kinks & Kurls Lemon Rose Renewal Oil is a great option!

Kurl Tips

Scalp health is very important. It’s something that in my experience a majority of my customers that happen to be black women neglect. When doing Kurl Koaching, I see women focused on the style of their hair, but unfortunately don’t focus on their scalp health.
You want to shampoo thoroughly, enough to break up the build-up of products (the oils, the butters, the cream-based products) that have accumulated on your scalp. You can find the products mentioned and more at ChocolateKinksAndKurls.com!
Black Panther was intentional about showing natural hair. The women were either bald or had kinky/curly hair or the locs (Angela Bassett’s Ramonda had her grey locks, showing that mature version of just owning your beauty). Even the men had kinkier texture hair. We owned the uniqueness of our looks and how our hair grows naturally from our scalps. Isn't that a Beautiful Message?

Until Next Time Be Bold, Natural, & Feel Beautiful  
- Juanita Henderson

Juanita Henderson watched Black Panther twice in the first week, taking her teenage son's opening night then her daughter's the following night.

Photo: Marvel