It’s time for Rihanna and her blood-red hair to scooch over and make room for the music industry’s newest hair trendsetter: Willow Smith. Ever since it premiered last month, we can’t stop obsessing over Willow’s music video Whip My Hair – and not just because the 9-year-old diva has more swagger than just about every other R&B artist out there. The video, which is all about embracing your hair, no matter the length, style, or texture, encourages women to “whip your hair back and forth.” We respect Willow for recording a hip, age-appropriate song, but what we really love are her braids.
The opening scene of Willow’s video shows her, boom-box in hand, with a huge heart-shaped braid on top of her head. Just in case this wasn’t the most outrageous look we’ve ever seen, the leading lady switches her ’do into hundreds of small, hip-length braids waving them back and forth, with paint in her hair and sequins on her lips. These eccentric braids seem to have become Willow’s signature look, and if it isn’t a bold, bedazzled Mohawk on the red carpet, it’s a huge French braid that runs all the way down her back.
Thanks to Willow, the braid seems to be evolving once more. Just a few years ago we were all going crazy over Lauren Conrad’s effortless side-braid, and not long after, Blake Lively’s Oscar ’do had beauty blogs buzzing for days. So what will Willow contribute to this historical look? Would it even possible to recreate her “Whip My Hair” braids?
Love braids as much as we do? Here are some more braided styles to try:
