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EveryHairstyle

Style capital, Senegal

Dakar

Senegal's capital, home of Senegalese twists and braiders who took their craft to Harlem, Paris and beyond.

Dakar, on the Cap-Vert peninsula at Africa's western tip, is known for its braiders and for Senegalese twists, long rope-like twists made with extension hair. Senegalese women are also known for elegant headwraps. From the 1980s, braiders from Senegal and its neighbours opened salons abroad, especially on 116th Street in Harlem, an area called Little Senegal, and in Paris.

Senegalese twists

Senegalese twists are two-strand twists made with long extension hair, wound tightly so they hang straight and sleek like ropes. They take several hours to install and can be worn for weeks, and they are popular because they are lighter than many braids. In Dakar's markets and neighbourhood salons, braiders also make box braids, cornrows and newer styles from photographs, and they work fast, often in teams.

Braiders abroad

Senegalese braiders were among the first to open African braiding salons in New York and Paris, where many work long hours and teach newcomers. Their salons helped spread twists, box braids and cornrows to customers of many backgrounds. Some cities required braiders to hold full cosmetology licences, which led to court cases and law changes in several American states that created separate braiding permits.

Hairstyles of Dakar

Box braidsBraided in Dakar's salons and abroadHead tieThe Senegalese musoor headwrap

Still to be written: Hair twists.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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