Curly haired girls rejoice! Now is your time to shine. A big, full head of curls is totally in. Not so texturally blessed? Straight haired gals can get in on this look too. But first, the difference between a faux fro and a twist out.

Haven’t you always wanted to sport an Afro? To those of us with straight or mildly wavy hair, this look may have seemed an impossible dream. Well get ready to go big, because the faux fro is currently on trend and here to help those with limp, straight or otherwise uninspired locks.

Here’s the deal though. The ‘fro may not be new, but is news as a possibility for women with straight hair. An article in the August issue of Allure magazine features actress Marissa Neitling with a faux fro created by celebrity hair stylist, Chris McMillan. The look is cool, modern and … controversial?

After the issue ran, a backlash soon broke out over cultural appropriation. Many readers felt offended over the idea of teaching white women how to create this traditionally black hairstyle.

While there are many natural versions of this hairstyle roaming around out there on people of all races (looking at you, Seth Rogen), the same goes for straightened hair and many other style. So  maybe the style needs a different name when worn on white women. The coil? The twist? The big bounce? One reader on Twitter claims the look is actually called a “twist out” when done this way. Kinda love it!

We certainly are not intent on offending anyone, and admire and accept women and hairstyles of all kinds. Whether you are natural or do some styling to get your locks straight, curly or somewhere in between, do your thing.

How to Rock a Twist Out (aka, Faux Fro)

Heat Styling: If you want to get the look in less than a few hours time, go for the heat method. This method works best on wavy hair. Blow dry with a diffuser attachment until hair is completely dry. Now use a tiny barreled curling iron on tiny sections of hair. Didn’t say the process was fast, but quicker than the air dry method.

No Heat Styling: If you have the day off or are spending the night in, this is the method for you. Remember rag curls? Same idea only you’ll be using smaller sections of hair. Rip an old, soft Tshirt into skinny strips and roll from roots to scalp. The tinier the sections, the better your curls will look. Let air dry completely and remove the cloth strips.

Now gently loosen curls with your fingers and *voila* you are ready to go. For either method use an ample amount of sturdy mousse or styling product before drying or rolling. Try Rahua Hair Wax for long hair, Yarok Feed Your Curls Defining Crème for wavy hair, or Yarok Feed Your Roots Volume Enhancing Mousse.

*Disclaimer: Help support EcoSalon! Our site is dedicated to helping people live a conscious lifestyle. We’ve provided some affiliate links above in case you wish to purchase any of these products.

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Image of girl with curly hair via Shutterstock

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Diana Vreeland, the legendary 1960s Vogue editor, is popping up everywhere these days. The passion for the eccentric fashion doyenne and her visionary layouts clearly endures. The question is: will today’s fashion and fashion magazines hold the same allure in 50 years?

“Allure is a word very few people use nowadays, but it’s something that exists. Allure holds you, doesn’t it? Whether it’s a gaze or a glance in the street or a face in the crowd or someone sitting opposite you at lunch… you are held.” – Allure by Diana Vreeland

Forgive me. I’m obsessed with Diana Vreeland, the legendary Vogue editor and style visionary. And it seems as if I’m not alone. The recent release of Amanda Mackenzie Stuarts’s biography Empress of Fashion: A life of Diana Vreeland caps off a three-year period of veritable Vreeland-mania. In addition to countless recent tributes and editorial layouts devoted to her bold signature style; and a widely celebrated documentary and accompanying book by granddaughter-in-law Lisa Vreeland, The Eye Has to Travel, Chronicle books published a third edition of Vreeland’s Fashion Classic Allure, with a foreword written by designer Marc Jacobs. Clearly, we can’t get enough.

Images: William P. O’Donnell/The New York Times

All this nostalgia for the past has me wondering if there’s a kind of cynicism growing for the future of fashion.

 Vreeland’s daring take on style and her ability to connect the dots between what we wear and the larger world of history, art, film and literature is inspiring us now more than fifty years since she left American Vogue. The current state of fashion inspiration begs multiple questions: Is today’s world of celebrity, fast-fashion, brand building and product placement leaving us hungry for something more? Has the focus on buy, buy, buy finally rendered the medium of fashion meaningless to its more intelligent followers? And shouldn’t we have our own version of Vreeland by now?

Whatever the explanation, the fact is we’re enjoying a mid-century moment in fashion that is truly worth embracing. For those starving fashion lovers wanting to embark on a journey of Vreeland-mania all of their own, may I suggest, in my best Vreeland impersonation, “Why don’t you… Get hold of a copy of her best-selling volume, Allure and see for yourself.”

Images: William P. O’Donnell/The New York Times

Authored in the ’80s, it’s a magical stream of Vreeland-consciousness paired with the work of some of the greatest photographers of all time – Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn, Horst P. Horst and Man Ray. Edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Allure also captures the 20^th century’s most iconic cultural figures – Coco Chanel, Maria Callas, Greta Garbo, Fred Astaire, Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger, Rudolph Nureyev and Audrey Hepburn.

As the great lady once said, “Fashion must be the intoxicating release from the banality of the world.” So if you’re sick of flipping through yet another predictable style magazine makeover, join the legion of new fans currently enjoying Diana Vreeland’s timeless and witty allure.

Check out the trailer for Diana Vreeeland: The Eye Has To Travel.

Top Image: WWD

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