Elle Canada Did An Awesome Piece Called “Natural Anthem" Featuring All Black Mod

Recently Elle Magazine did a photo shoot called “Natural Anthem” and it was published in their September 2016 issue. The concept was pretty dope because it featured all black models and their beauty secrets. Each girl had a different style and dished on unique things about themselves.

From Elle Canada:

“Natural Anthem” was originally published in the September 2016 issue of ELLE Canada. Photographs by Saty + Pratha; Beauty direction by Vanessa Craft; Hair, Justin German (P1M.ca); Makeup, Sabrina Rinaldi (P1M.ca); Manicure, Miyuki (P1M.ca); Fashion direction by Juliana Schiavinatto; Art direction by Brittany Eccles.

For example this is Cassandra from Toronto:

She gave her thoughts on Self-acceptance as well as her beauty routine:

ON SELF-ACCEPTANCE “Being multi-racial, I had mixed feelings about my hair. When I was really young, I wanted straight hair and I kind of resented my untamed hair.

It was quite fuzzy, and it had a mind of its own. I used to get bullied for it a lot. The kids weren’t racist, it was just different and they didn’t understand. I didn’t know how to deal with my hair either, so it wasn’t the best kept. As I grew up and there was more awareness of how to do up my hair, I felt more comfortable. My hair is something that really launched my career, so I have begun to accept it and like it.”

BEAUTY ROUTINE “I have very dry and brittle hair. I wash it once a week, and I condition it a lot. I use a lot of natural products. SheaMoisture and Live Clean are the two brands that I use a lot. SheaMoisture is my favourite because it’s for people who have curly or coily hair.

I use at least three tablespoons of conditioner and I finger comb it through my hair. I like SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie. It smells really good and it makes my hair lightweight. I feel like a lot of mixed girls put too much product in their hair and then it looks way too weighed down. Then I use coconut* and olive oil* on top of the curl cream and let it air dry because that results in the least amount of damage.”

Naro from Kenya:

Naro said this about her hair

HAIR DRESSER “My boyfriend is a barber, so he just cuts it for me. I cut it every month or so. I like to keep it short.” [Editor’s note: Naro naturally keeps her hair shaved.]

It would have been cool to see her natural hair, but this is a great start, baby steps!

This is Idil from Toronto

On her beauty routine and hair:

“I grew up in Toronto in a predominantly black community. Everyone had my hair…. I think our perception of beauty is changing. [The acceptance toward] sizes are changing, heights are changing. The look is changing. It’s really nice to see. It’s good to live in our time.”

FAVOURITE HAIR PRODUCTS “I wash my hair every day. I use SheaMoisture. I comb it with my fingers. [After my shower] I leave a little bit of conditioner just on the ends. Then, I use coconut oil* on the top of my hair and leave conditioner on the bottom so it keeps up that curly. I scrunch it up and let my hair air dry”.

This is Alissa from Toronto:

“My sister is a hairdresser. I started with braids. My mom wouldn’t let me wear a weave* because she said it would be too grown-up for me. Grade 5 graduation was the only time I could wear one; it was a clip-on ponytail. In Grade 8, I got to wear a long weave*. I loved it! I would get it sewn in. But I would have to straighten it and comb it out, or brush it out. In high school, I started wearing all natural. [Wearing a weave] is too much time. You have to maintain it.”

MUST-HAVE PRODUCTS “I wash my hair probably twice a week. I use Moroccanoil shampoo and conditioner. I put more [conditioner] than I’m supposed to be, just to cover my whole hair, and then I wait two minutes and then I wash it out. Then I towel dry it and then let it air dry. After, I just moisturize it with a grease. And I always have Blistex in my pocket.”

This is Kiera from Ontario

The picture is black and white so you cannot see her red hair but this is what she said about it

“My sister has really dark, dark, dark hair. And she’d always be like, ‘Kiera you’re adopted!’ So, I’d cry. Nobody has red hair in my family. And nobody has freckles either so I was the oddball. I never really noticed my texture. I wanted it darker like my sister. But then modeling happened and then I got used to it. I’ve never colored my hair ever! When I was younger I was super orange. Now it’s a dark auburn.”

BEAUTY ROUTINE “I never, ever, ever use shampoo. I always just condition and then sometimes I use a leave-in conditioner* by OGX. Then I have this leave-in conditioner* called Parnevu, which I’ve been using for years. And then a curl cream.”

LEAVE-IN TREATMENT “When I’m off of work, I load up all my good products and that’s when I let them soak in. Sometimes for a week! I comb it out and then I twist it almost like little braids and then I tie it up. You really notice a difference; it’s so much softer.”

Catch the full piece here.