The sexiest men in hip hop (reloaded)

On a lazy Friday night, browsing the internet with kolkolkolblog's newly appointed beauty editor Helen, we came across a slide show of hip hop's sexiest men on Hip Hop Wired. Thinking this would be our weekend eye candy, we discovered, to our greatest shock, pictures of Busta Rhymes, LL Cool J and.......... Jay Z! Really? We had to put things right. Being sexy is not about trying too hard, that's why the likes of 50 Cent and Nelly should not come near this ranking. So here's kolkolkolblog's official top 10 ranking of hip hop's sexiest men. Tell us if we forgot anyone.

10.Ludacris - for the craziness

9.Bow Wow - sorry but he's cute (and we're not judging his sound)

8.Layzie Bone - wrongfully overlooked

7.DMX - Just raw

6.Pharrell Williams - for the swag

5.Tupac - do we need to explain?

4.Warren G - The guy next door (we wish!)

3.NAS - The Mind

2.Common - The Body

1.Method Man - l'Homme Fort

IBWO: Precious Lunga, epidemiologist

 

 

Born in Zimbabwe, Precious Lunga is an epidemiologist specialising in HIV prevention in Africa. She was named at the Yale university fellowship in 2008. 

 

Precious made her first public appearance with husband Jon Show, presenter of Channel 4 prime time news, on 25 october at the screening of a documentary in London. 

 

 When Snow, 63, married Precious, 36, earlier this year, the news made the headlines in UK newspapers not only because of their age difference but also because Jon never tied the knot before. Do you think 27 years is too much of a gap in marriage?

IBWO: Willow Smith's 'Whip My Hair 'music video

Willow Smith, nine year old, released the music video of her first single 'Whip My Hair' on 18 October. The daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith shows off the versatility of afro hair with six styles in four minutes. Her song is number 17 on the US R&B Billboard chart.



Willow Smith - Whip My Hair ( Official Video HD )
Uploaded by tyhansofficiel. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Flowin' braids

Sculptural updo

Mowhawk

 Bantu Knots

Behind the Scenes: Ciara's Photo Shoot for German Vogue

'How I grew my hair to mid-back length' by Ulovemegz

Ulovemegz's Youtube channel is an amazing source of hair styling demos, product reviews,comparisons but also make up and beauty how to's. She is relaxed but her advice can also be useful for natural ladies. It is mainly inspired by the Longhaircareforum. kolkolkolblog caught up with her to find out how she grew her locks to mid-back length.

What is your current regimen?
In my regimen I wash my hair once a week, co-wash twice a week, and deep condition twice a week. I do pre-poo about twice a month and I do protein treatments once a month. I moisturize and seal every single night and also wear heatless styles and protective styles. Moisturizing and sealing helps preventing breakage and defiantly aids in retaining length. The act of moisturizing and sealing helps keep the ends health since its the oldest part of the hair and that's what we want to keep as long as possible.I also stretch my relaxers to 10 weeks and never anything under 10 weeks. I know for some 10 weeks isn't a long stretch but I'm working on stretching longer. I dust my ends monthly and receive trims only when needed in order to retain length. I have been doing this regimen for going on two years now and it has worked well for me and my hair and it has been a successful journey so far with no set backs.

What habits really helped you retain length?
I think my regimen as a whole has aided in retaining length overall. I do believe that oils do help with aiding health and growth to the hair overall, so incorporating oils, regular deep conditioning and moisturizing and staying way from heat helps retaining length. The purpose of doing these things is to avoid any breakage of the hair so that it gets longer. But the priority is sticking with a regimen and having patience and wanting to see results with your hair.

 
Do women in your family have long hair? Have you always had long hair?
Yes I have family members who have long hair. My grandmother naturally had long hair reaching about mid back length as a teen. My grandmother's nationality is mixed with Native American and African American so she had a slight waves to her hair along with her 11 other bothers and sisters. 

How do you know if your hair needs protein or moisture?
I know when my hair needs protein when my hair tends to shed. A lot of ladies experience different things when they need protein but that's how I know when I need protein. When my hair needs moisture it feels a dry or my hair doesn't have a lot of elasticity and that shows when you hair is just try.

According to Kimaytube (a natural Youtube vlogger), water is the best moisturizer. She does co-washing / rinses helped her retain more length. Do you agree?
Yes I agree from my personal experience since I am relaxed. My hair is wet three times during the week when I do shampoo washes, co-washing and deep conditioning. Also doing this hydrates the hair, it keeps the scalp clean with aids to healthy hair. Healthy hair starts within the scalp. Since Ive been getting my hair wet in some kind of way whether it being a shampoo or co-wash it has benefited my hair along with many other ladies who are on hair journeys.

Ladies with neck length hair may find it challenging to do protective styles outside microbraids and plaits. Braid outs, twist outs, buns etc all work better with long hair. What would you recommend to someone with short or medium hair?
I would suggest trying half wigs, phony ponys, and bantu knots. I've seen a lot of ladies do some of these things as protective styles while growing out their hair. I do believe its all about being creative to find a style that suits you.

Watch ulovemegz on Youtube

10 protective hairstyles

It's October, it's getting cold and you know flat ironing, perming and blow drying is putting too much pressure on your hair. It's time to hide your ends with a protective style. 

Doing  a protective hairstyle is wearing a style that allows you to hide your ends. Protective styles are crucial when you want to retain length because air dries out your hair which promotes breakage. 

The negative effects of air on hair are explained in Wanakee's Practical Guide to Haircare: "Remember the ear of corn with the husk again: protective styling is like taking the dry tip of the silk, and tucking it safely underneath the husk, out of the air. But if your ends go up dry, they’ll come down dry."

Protective styles don't have to be ugly or old fashioned. If you think protective styles are not attractive or if you don't know where to start, here are 10 ideas:

1. Updos

2. Low Bun

3. Twisted roll

4. Braids

 5. French roll

6. French Braid

7. Two Strand Twists

8. High Bun

9. Low French Roll

10. Hats

Stylish New Ponytail Hairstyles for Women

Ponytails are classic and easy hairstyles that can be worn as a last-minute fashion, as a fallback plan for a bad hair day, as a athletic hairstyle, or as a fun and flirty or graceful and sophisticated style. They suits all personality and various face shapes. Ponytails are a versatile hairstyles that can be personalized to suit just nearly any face shape, type, texture or style of hair. People having short hair or layered cut hairstyles find it difficult to contain a tail without the help of hair spay. Long and medium length hairs are best for wearing a ponytail. They are a popular options for young-aged girls.

• Short Prom Hairstyles | Prom Short Hairstyles
• 2010 Prom Hairstyles | Homecoming Prom Hairstyles
• 2010 Fall Hairstyles | Haircuts
• Silky Long Hair | Silky Long Hairstyles
• Straight Long Japanese Women Hairstyle

2010 Curly Ponytail Hairstyles for Girls

Women love medium curly hairstyles,most of the time, they do not know toss the hair up into a ponytail, which hair style is really sexy! Yes, of course, if you toss your hair in a hurry,there is no reason that the ponytail hair style can be created glamorous, stylish and looks great – regardless of where you are going! Yes, take some time and make your hair look more stylish and glamorous!

The first curly ponytail hairstyle can be easily completely with curly hair is to pull all of the hair to one side, in a low ponytail and secure it with small elastic. The smaller elastic the better as it should be hidden by the hair. Use pins to secure the other side of the hair and immediately glamorize the hairstyle.

Trend alert: the African boubou

Olivia Palermo in a modern boubou (left), African woman in an original boubou (right)

The boubou, a traditional robe worn by men and women in West Africa, was ever-present at New York Fashion Week. When Gwen Stefani launched her new L.A.M.B collection, we couldn't help but notice the similarities between her outfits and African fabrics. Reality TV star Olivia Palermo also wore several afro-inspired outfits including a black dress with African embroideries. Would you take the trend on the highstreet? 

Gwen Stefani, L.A.M.B collection

Gwen Stefani

Street style: french braids

Spotted: lovely young lady who masters the art of braiding. She achieved this look by braiding the sides and back of her hair in the shape of an arch. French braids are one of our favourite protective hairstyles. On top of the hair, her outfit is perfect too: a beige cardigan matching her complexion with a fine leather belt, the huge glasses and the satchel bag. She's got it all right!

Gap UK - 30% off all denim

Click here 

Offer applies at Gap stores and concessions in UK and Ireland and on www.gap.eu for limited time period and subject to stock availability. Not available at Gap Outlet. Only applicable once per transaction. Discount applied at register/checkout. Cannot be combined with any other discount or multiple offer and applies to regular priced merchandise only. Not valid for cash or cash equivalent. No adjustments on previous purchases. Further restrictions may apply – ask in store or call 00800 06006666 for details.© Gap 2010.

Top 12 outfits from NY Fashion Week

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The Spring/Summer 2011 collections at New York Fashion Week were everything but shy. We saw side pony tails with plaits at the front, bold colours, transparent skirts, oversized dresses reminiscent of the 80s and gigantic geometrical patterns. Check our top 12 outfits from NYFW.

Does Kelly Rowland read kolkolkolblog?

A few days ago, we were discussing Kelly Rowland's hair style here at kolkolkolblog and recommended her to ditch her shiny weave. Well a few days later, Rowland made a stunning appearance at New York Fashion Week with a brand new cropped hair style that definitely suits her better. We can't help but wonder if she read kolkolkolblog...

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week: backstage with Eunice Olumide

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week is on until 16 September in New York. Model Eunice Olumide, our very own IBWO (Inspiring Black Woman), takes us behind the scenes...