By Mwabi Kaira

The versatility of our hair and all of the hairstyles we can pull off is just one of the many reasons it's great to be melanin. I recently wanted a cornrow style and searched images to show my stylist and ran across an image of eembuvi braids that left me breathless. The black and white image was of three women with their backs turned and braids down to their ankles. Eembuvi braids are worn by women of the Mbalantu tribes from the Namibia. It’s a style that requires preparation from a young age when Mbalantu girls use thick layers of finely ground tree bark and oils– a mixture that is said to be the secret to growing their hair to such lengths.