by
Black Girl With Long Hair
Congrats Laila!! Thanks for inspiring us in 2011!!
This year dozens of beautiful naturals appeared on Black Girl with Long Hair to dish on their regimens, and share their styling and haircare advice. We thought it would be fun to select a 2011 favorite! We narrowed it down to the 10 style icons whose profiles received the most views this year. Check out the gallery of gorgeous women (click their names for the full style icon profile), and vote in the poll below!
The most popular style icons of 2011 (in alphabetical order) are:
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.
96 Responses
Thank you!!!! omg ! i’m actually very very shocked right now. Thank you to everyone that voted to me! it mean so much to me, especially being a Brit.. .. Thank you thank you!! And CONGRATULATIONS to all the other beautiful ladies that graced the pages of the site in 2011, you’ve all inspired us. A big thank you to Leila for having me on the site and thank you to my big sis Meosha. You all ROCK!!!
CONGRATS LAILA!!!!!!!
Lol sorry Elle! haha
Thank you to those who voted for me. Very much appreciated but I have to agree with most, this is a hard decision to make! All of these ladies are absolutely fly, amazing and beautiful!!!
Happy New Year Everyone!
Thank you, Cipriana for freely, willingly and kindly sharing you hair care tips. My hair is 4a, 3c and I have two daughters with your 4b, 4c hair type. While I have learned a great deal from a variety of people, only you, an African sista on Youtube named Sera2544, and another YouTube sista named Cynthiarf gave me sufficient off-the-grid tips on not just being gentle with tightly coiled hair, but being VERY gentle with it and my daughters’ hair. My hair was breaking off near the crown and not retaining anymore length past APL. One of my daughters had issues with thinning because of tight protective styles. You, Cynthia, and Sera both advocate dry detangling and primarily using your fingers to do so. I personally, think that is the single most important tip! Protective styles alone don’t help (especially tight ones), moisturizing alone doesn’t help if you are dunking your already very tangled hair in water and raking a Denman brush through sopping wet hair (even full of conditioner) and seeing clumps of curly or coily hair in the brush and all over the sink. I didn’t realize I was literally giving myself a haircut detangling that way. I voted for you because of that and because I love your avantgarde, arty, fun hairstyles and sense of humor. Happy New Year!
Hey Ronnie 😉
Congrats to the beautiful Laila!!!! 😉
Sera2544 is FABULOUS!!!! I freakin love her. Years ago when I saw her detangle video and the patience she had when she detangled, I was like YES I found someone on YT like me who has some serious devoted patience in detangling. It’s work but the end results for me make all that patience worth it. Your little girls are so lucky to have such a wonderful mom who will instill in her children at an early age how to take care of their natural hair. I may have not known what to do with my hair years ago and made so many mistakes with chemicals in the past but the one thing I learned is patience from my mama. She was so gentle when detangling my hair that I actually enjoyed having my hair detangled and I am a twin so she had two heads, lol. Dry detangling isn’t for everyone but when it works for you a magical transformation of your strands can happen. Thank you again so much and Happy New Year! 😉
I just saw this. Wow, thanks for taking the time to respond. I thank you for your compliments. Yes, there will be no relaxers allowed under my household. It is a new day, onward and upward. Sounds like you had a fabulous Mom!
There are all winners in my book. elle and laila are my favs.
I voted for Cipriana, but I think Laila will win. I am most impressed that Cipriana managed to grow her “4b” hair to her waist (stretched), she doesn’t use much heat, she detangles with her fingers, abstains from using a comb, and her hairstyles are arty and avantgarde – I only see those type of hairstyles she rocks in high fashion magazines. But her hairstyles are not for everyone.
Contest aside, I am just happy that we as naturals have so many natural hair icons. That says a great deal about the strength of our community.
I had a difficult time choosing! I’m surprised MeechyMonroe doesn’t have more votes!
These women are so beautiful! I will tryyyy to vote.
Such lovely natural haired sisters.
I chose Elle because her YouTube channel is amazing. She gives great product reviews and hair care advice. I’ve been following her since before I BC’d and she’s helped me to understand and value my hair.
Just to follow-up, I’m not being a hater or complaining! I just wish the short to medium haired subway received more love on ALL natural websites. It’s always a slight tinge of disappointment when its a contest or poll or just some recognition and they aren’t featured. These ladies are all still beautiful. Just voicing a common concern when I view natural sites. Same for plus sized naturals but thats a whole different post LOL!
Happy holidays, ladies and gents!
Much love!
I agree, but I just noticed that the emphasis of this site is sistas with Long hair. As the one of the site managers or moderators pointed out, these ladies have the most views among US in general. We chose these ladies! We as naturals say that we want more naturals with short or medium length hair featured but we seem to be most excited, intrigued or fascinated with the long-haired naturals. Perhaps it is societal norms and standards or the shock and awe of seeing someone with tightly coiled hair grow it past their shoulders that hooks us. People in our society from most cultures – even the natural community – seem to exalt long hair and desire long hair over other lengths.
Okay, so I didn’t really read any of the comments before me. I’ll start by saying all of thesr ladies are beautiful with gorgeous natural hair! They make me proud to rock my poof! It gives me ideas for the next year when my hair is long again. It keeps me up on my game LOL!
I’ll move into the last thing I noticed. All of these ladies have long luscious curls. Gorgeous. But why is it that none of the top icons have short or medium length hair? It couldn’t possibly be that none post or contribute. The first time I went natural, my hair was long like these ladies because I transitioned. Then I burned my hair with heat damage and cut it short. I fell in love with my short hair! Still do. I fibd hairstyles every now and again. But most websites have the same problem: Not enough short-haired divas. Most of the style icons I see have long hair. There is nothing wrong with long hair but it’d be nice to see some short hair appreciated more often.
Again, all if these ladies are beautiful with lovely hair and are a great representation of healthy natural hair. I was just hoping there’d be at least one short haired diva. Most all of us have had or has short hair so it’d be GREAT to see. Short to medium length can be a great representation also.
I agree. There are a great many naturals with decidedly short hair for a myriad of reasons: big chop, styling ease, active sport or exercise lifestyle, stress, illness, etc. It just seems that too many naturals go natural just to have long hair – instead of just enjoying the process and the texture of Afro-textured natural hair.
Well, the site is called black girl LONG hair. I think shorter styles can be fierce but styling options can be more limited. That would make it harder to compare them to someone with longer hair that can do many styles.
Yes, I see your point. The site is called Black Girl with Long Hair. But as for shorter styles having limited styling options, I believe that styling options are only as versatile as the individual makes them. I see quite a few naturals with long hair that wear their hair in generally the same manner or in the same three styles. There are so many women that grow their hair long only to stick it into a pony or bun most of the time.
I was just about to type the same thing! I guess they considered the
style icons with longer hair because of versatility? Idk.
But anyhow, as far as picking I cant decide they are ALL gorgeous and unique. I’m happy that wearing our natural hair is becoming common now, for years I felt VERY alone in this journey 🙂 Happy holidays and New Years to all!!!!
Hello Ladies,
As mentioned in the post, we selected the 10 style icons whose profiles received the most views over the course of the year. That was the only basis for selection.
oh, i see the links underneath lol.. my bad 🙂
only thing is… i’ve never visited many of these bloggers’ sites outside of elle and cip… i WISH their links were included! I’d love to learn more about Yagazie and Fatou and the others.
I have to go with Laila. Told my hairdresser this is my next hairstyle. Well with a little of my own flair but love her stlye LAILA 2011 ICON
I chose Cipriana..because I like her honesty when it comes to how she views and cares for her hair. I have found her tips very helpful.
Elle All THE WAY!! She’s so inspirational, and has helped me through the Love/Hate Relationship I have with my hair constantly! lol.. Best of Luck to All the Contestants!! xD
#Go.Natural.Or.Go.HOme!! heheh
Laila got my vote… amazing hair and a lovely personality. They are all great though.
They all look great. Can I vote for the most adorable family? The French couple and their gorgeous girls stand out in my mind 🙂
Absolutely agree! They were so precious!
Contentwise, I totally heart Cipriana and Nik’s Urban Bush Babes blog because of it’s simple layout, and the fact that they combine hair with food style and culture.. so she got my vote for giving me that worldly vibe!
I think you should have had a vote to narrow it down to 10 because we cant see how many views their profile received!!
They all look great.
The best natural updo is Laila, by far.
The other naturals reflect a wonderful range of beauty of natural hair.
Voted for Fatou and Laila!
Slightly confused about why Yagazie is on the list though. Beautiful hair, but once again, not very informative.
As mentioned in the post we selected the style icons according to how many views their profile received.
According to the statistics, these 10 women had the most popular profiles of 2011.
I actually voted Yagazie because she made me think. Normally when people have hair like hers, you expect to see a disciplined routine. She is a reminder that some natural hair is breakage resistant and will gain and maintain length no matter what you do it.
I find people who can use fine tooth combs without damage very fascinating lol (My mum is one of these people too)
I really don’t know why she was such a controversy to many of you. There were many style icons that were informative, but some of you had to get upset at the ONE that wasn’t. Seriously? Its like you had to make it a bigger deal then what it was.
Anyway I love all of them. I did choose Cip, but I it doesn’t matter who wins to me. This year was a major breakthrough for my hair and the way I handled it. I have to credit so many of these women for helping me manage my hair. Thank you to all of you!
Also BGLH, its great to see how you have grown. Thank you for this blog 🙂
I agree completely =) They all are wonderful, but I just adore Cipriana! Cip’s tips have really transformed my 4abc-z hair and I dig her vibe =)
Fatou got my vte…Love her style..
Fatouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu ! The icon 2011 4 sure !
Naptural85 has to be on the list!!!
We would love to feature her on BGLH, but she hasn’t done a profile with us yet. That’s why she’s not on the list.
BGLH, I can certainly understand why you didn’t include yourself, but you certainly are a style icon! Your blog has given immeasurable advice, hope, and a sense of community for all of us who frequent BGLH. Besides, those updo’s you rock are awesome! Bravo!!
Oooh, hit her up, please! Maybe next year?
napptural85 is a hair goddess. omg. drool.
Elle ftw!
Fatou got my vote.
They are ALL fab!!!
I must say it is a very hard decision everyone’s hair is just so beautiful. If I had to choose it would be Cipriana or Laila.
Ya du level mais Fatouuuuu de loin !! Geeez
I’m voting for the london girl Laila
This is HARD!!!!!
They ALL deserve an award. Gorgeous women with BEAUTIFUL hair.
they are all icons but I had to go with Laila…she’s the reason why I haven’t chopped off all of my hair yet
I love Laila! Her videos are very helpful for a long term transitioner like myself. 18 months and still going strong. I hope she wins!
Agreed I love laila
+1
yesssss. i like religiously follow her videos.lol hahaha thats my girl and i dont even know her.lol
Laila is my girl, lol!She’s lovely, and too much fun to watch on yt! Wish I’d had her around when I transitioned 7 years ago!
I vote for Monica!!
They are all beautifull, but i got to go with the african women.
They all are African women.
lmao jaslene. continentals don’t usually think that way. but it’s weird how just the africans would be singled out. i sorta knew someone would do that.
+1
No there is a difference.. they are not all African.
Why not? When someone is of Asian descent or Asian American they are still considered Asian. Why can’t someone of African descent be considered African?
because the would make sense apparently.
Sometimes I don’t get other peoples logic
Me either.
They’re not all African women though they may be of African descent.
That is an unfortunate comment!! Our ancestry is all the same! Why should it matter where anyone comes from? I am from an African country and live in one, but I would never vote for anyone based on that. This makes me sad – why do some people like to bring division?
well i wasnt trying to divide. I was born and raised in an african country, then i moved to the states. My comments has more so to the do with the culture similarities that i feel with other african from countries outside of my own. I have more in common with other africans than i do with african americans. That’s why i choose the ones that i can relate too.
I think this poll is regarding STYLE and not culture.
Somehow, I had a feeling the poll was reflecting this type of mentality! So sad and pathetic! I bet these women are voting for the same style icon over and over again to make it look like more people are voting for a specific person than another! It would be nice if one could place her vote based on what the individual style icon has done for the natural hair community.
sadly u cant vote more than once, i tried and coudlnt so…
anyways, i hope Fatou win, i love the fact that she is african like me, there i said it. good luck to the rest of the icons, they are beautiful too.
I think all the ladies have beautiful hair and I never even thought of their ethnicity..didn’t cross my mind.
So not only are you discriminating but your trying to rig the election. SMH
Ermmm laila is actually African too! Ghanaian to be precise. She mentions it in one of her videos.
Laila is Ghanaian & Egyptian; Yagazie is Nigerian; and Fatou is Nigerian, Senegalese & Malian. So there are three great African women, and 10 great women in total!
Correction, Yagazie is Nigerian & Malaysian
I see where you are coming from especially because I don’t consider myself an african American. I’m a black amereican. You are very right. You do have more in common than black americans do.. I know from personal experience from living in Africa for 10 weeks. That’s just how I feel. No one has to agree with me, but the point of the matter is that IT’S ALL ABOUT HAIR. If that’s your choice because your hair and lifestyle is more like hers than that is it. I don’t think anyone should bash you for your choice. They probably think that you ONLY voted for her because she was African, and that even if her hair was OBVIOUSLY not the best, then you would still vote for her…either way it is what it is……
I do think that and she OBVIOUSLY stated that was the only reason.
thank you, i obviously said i like her style and the fact that she is african. I do not see the difference between me doing that and black people in america supporting/voting for someone just because they are black even if the event has nothing to do with race (e.g. OBAMA).
There is no difference its wrong either way. But then again its nice that the black people (Did you mean African-American and African because to you there is a difference?) of America are supporting Barack Obama who is black (he’s African by the way). So African-American people can support someone that is African and the president of our nation but you being African have to single some women out just because they were born in America.
There’s no difference? having lived in both africa and america, i know personally that there is a BIG difference between african and african americans.
My comment was not meant to divide, i never said that i didnt like the american ones, i said they were all beautiful. i like fatou style the most and the fact that she is african. what is wrong with that? i dont see anything wrong with it.
I meant there is no difference between you voting for someone because they are African and someone voting for Obama is black. You didn’t mean to create a divide but you did. You never mentioned Fatou in the beginning you were just cheering ONLY for the African women and singling out others just because of their birthplace.
I agree it’s sad, we are African or “of” (like islanders) the African race and it go beyond just Us Blk/Blk indigenous Americans (really most of all mankind) sorry another subject. Still Sad …
What a sad comment
This is why I actually prefer the term “black”, lol. But for the sake of the discussion, I am an African-American woman, and I voted for an African woman who lives in England (interestingly, I haven’t heard blacks in the UK refer to themselves as African-Brtish. Does that happen?) To add to the mix, I live in Israel where there are blacks of multiple nationalities (Ethiopian, Eretrian, Sudanese, American, etc). Yup, black works for me.
I chose Laila with no reference to her nationality, but simply because I LOVE her personality, and what she does with that fabulous hair of hers. She’s creative, keeps things funny, and is drop dead gorgeous. I have also found that the other women are beautiful and inspirational, but I understood the poll to be based on style.
Just as an observation, I think that some of the awkwardness in relationship is that African Americans (and those in the Caribbean) have more of a psychological distance from Africa than people of African descent who live in other nations outside of Africa. Our separation from the continent occurred forcibly and without any input on our part, and we don’t really know how to relate well to it’s specific characteristics. Therefore, Africans who come to America and relate to African-Americans often notice a marked difference in attitude, behavior, culture, etc.
Ok, that’s the end of the psychology lesson that you didn’t ask for, lol!
There is always an unnecessarily long winded debate about ancestry or the supposing difference between African and African American’s on natural hair sites these days. Why? I wish as much effort would be put into supporting one another and propping up each other’s self esteem (which on the whole is diabolical) or even addressing the reason why you think there is a divide instead of continuing them *sigh*
I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to cause further division, but just point out why people get so hung up on the issue. I WAS trying to address the reason for the divide, not continue it. I was trying not to be/come across as divisive in my comment, because I am also saddened by the division. Maybe my problem was stating my observations without stating how I choose to interact with it. I actually make a conscious effort not to perpetuate the division by being open to and interacting with different African cultures and peoples. Because I’m aware of the differences that have developed, I try to overcome them through my behavior, watching my attitude, and getting to know black people who are African, and can share their reality with me.
I don’t think that there is anything wrong with having the discussion, as it is a clearly an issue that is unresolved. The only way that it will be resolved is if it is addressed through discussion. Granted, it shouldn’t end there, but it is a start, and the black hair “community” seems like a natural place for the discussion to take root (wow, I really didn’t intend any of those puns, but they work, lol.)
@reebe, I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to cause further division, but just point out why people get so hung up on the issue. I WAS trying to address the reason for the divide, not continue it. I was trying not to be/come across as divisive in my comment, because I am also saddened by the division. Maybe my problem was stating my observations without stating how I choose to interact with it. I actually make a conscious effort not to perpetuate the division by being open to and interacting with different African cultures and peoples. Because I’m aware of the differences that have developed, I try to overcome them through my behavior, watching my attitude, and getting to know black people who are African, and can share their reality with me.
I don’t think that there is anything wrong with having the discussion, as it is a clearly an issue that is unresolved. The only way that it will be resolved is if it is addressed through discussion. Granted, it shouldn’t end there, but it is a start, and the black hair “community” seems like a natural place for the discussion to take root (wow, I really didn’t intend any of those puns, but they work, lol.)
Hi Tanya
Black people in the UK do not refer to themselves as African-British, that is an American only thing. People in the US are very divisive what is with all this Italian American, Jewish American crap, people went to the US to escape discrimination and the first thing they do is label themselves.
In the UK some people identify themselves as Black British, this is used in the census which happens every ten years also government departments and the police may ask for your ethnicity and you can choose Black British or Carribean or African origin. (The same for Asians as you have Indians, Chinese, Japanese etc who would be insulted to be lumped together due to the differences in culture and features.)
I would say that Carribean and African people are very different and do not like to be lumped together, I’d find it insulting to be mistaken for a Carribean we have very different cultures. My parents are from Ghana but as I was born and raised in the UK I am British and this is how I identify myself on the census if you ask my ethnicity then I will say African.
Back to the subject of the Style Icon I voted for Laila as I love her style, identify with her hair type and I like to copy her styles, not because she is a Ga like me. Now that Kimmaytube has become boring and never releases new videos Laila is the one to watch also Kimmay can be patronising, Laila is fun.
For 2012 how about interviewing my Natural Sistas, Naptural85, 160days2lose, Simplyounique and Br0nzeqt for starters.
Hi, Natalie. Thanks. I didn’t think that term (African British) existed, as I never heard it while I was in the UK, and have never heard any blacks there use the term or anything even remotely like it. I don’t know if it came across, but I was actually being a little bit cheeky (not in a negative sense) when I asked that question, because I know thatthat terminology isn’t used much outside of the Americas. It is truly an “American phenomenon”.I also agree with you fully that people in the Caribbean would not like to be classified as African, nor vice versa. The cultural realities are distinctly different from one another.
This is why I prefer to just use the term black, and that is actually a result of my going to England in 1993, and having to continually modify my language with when referring to the black people I met or interacted with there. It was so drilled into us to Use the term African-America in the US, that many blacks in America made it synonymous with black, but that doesn’t work outside of the US. I abandoned the term back then, and only use it when the people I’m speaking to have already used it, or seem to prefer it (and in those cases I use it to avoid drama. :-)) I think I used it in the comment above to clarification since I was referring to black people from so many different places a that point.
Now, about the whole, Italian-American, Jewish-American, etc, etc distinctions in the US, that’s a whole nother (:-)) situation. I don’t know that I’d call it crap, as it has alot to do with the time periods in which each group came and established it’s identity in the US, and the foolishness they had to deal with upon arrival. However, most people in the US identify themselves as American, and if asked their ethnicity, they will state something specific like Italian, Irish, Indian, Pakistani,Korean,Chinese, etc. But because the US is such a hybrid mixture of cultures and people (which I think is great), people feel a strong need to “remember their roots” and so try to hold on to their ethnic identity as well. That’s just my opinion, but I think that’s why those hyphen-American terms get used so much (although people don’t really use them in common, day to day life.) And like I said, I just say black, and hope no one catches an attitude about it, because otherwise, it just gets too complicated. 🙂
No Angelique Noire?
Really nice nominees this year!
I wish I would have seen Kali B. up here. Her hair and fitness were such an inspiration for me 🙂
yeah. i didn’t vote. they are all quite lovely, and represent natural well. 🙂
It’s impossible!!! I caaan’t choooose!!! They all need an award! 🙂