Amazigh haircare ⴰⵎⵣⵉⵖ ⴰⵣⴰⵖⴰⵔ
Hair
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Cheveux
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Hair ⵜⵉⴳⴰⵡⵉⵏ Cheveux ⵉⵛⵉⵔ
The internet doesn’t provide much research or writing on the history of The Imazighen, let alone their hair styles and It’s significance to their culture. I love my country and my culture, but I am lacking on my history knowledge and It’s something I’ve always wanted to know more about. I am especially drawn by indigenous cultures, their traditional practices reflect a holistic approach to skincare and haircare, which focuses on natural and locally sourced ingredients. By the end of this short blog I hope I can teach myself and you a little more about the lost history of the Native North Africans.
Amazigh Hairstyles have a deep rooted cultural, social and historical significance. It’s amazing how rich and ancient their heritage is. Amazigh culture dates back over 5000 years, they have preserved and protected it from the French, Arab, Roman and Spanish rulers. Although very aesthetic, the amazigh hairstyles and jewellery have a lot of meaning and symbolism, including, social and martial status, age or tribal identity. There are many ways the Imazighen woman and man style their hair, it usually includes intricate braids that are modelled into 3D designs with beads and metal jewellery tied within.
SOME hairstyles ARE named after a specific tribe or area.
Taguemout, Common among the women of the Atlas Mountains, this hairstyle involves braiding the hair into multiple tight braids and often incorporating decorative elements such as beads and coins.
Tawesna, In the Sahara region, women may wear the tawesna, a style characterized by braids that are decorated with beads and shells, signifying beauty and status.
Chedda, in the Rif Mountains, the chedda is a traditional bridal hairstyle that is highly elaborate, it involves the use of a headdress and jewellery to signify the bride’s new status.
Aggrab al fadda beads are metal ornaments attached to hairstyles also common in West African cultures e.g. Mauritania
These are only some of the hairstyles that Amazigh women wear.
Amazigh women & Argan oil
Amazigh woman traditionally used many raw ingredients to hold their hair in place, give It more volume or lengthen their hair. As well as keeping their hair in protective hairstyles they especially used Argan oil to keep their hair shiny, soft and manageable. Keeping their hair in braids for long periods meant they were prone to breakage and brittle hair. Argan oil helped with strengthening their hair strands and nourishing it. Southern Morocco is known for It’s harsh/dry environment. The intense sun and dry winds can be quite damaging. Argan oil was used to protect their hair from this harsh environment.
The Imazighen hold their hair to high standards. Well maintained hair is a symbol of beauty among them. Argan oil plays an important role in maintaining this standard. Amazigh women have extracted Argan oil for centuries, when we visited Morocco and looked for local cooperatives we found many independent groups of ladies and children gathered and manually extracting the oil from the kernels. The protection and preservation of their culture is extremely important to them and seeing it all live was a surreal experience.
A young woman from the Southern region of Morocco, manually pressing the Argan seed.
The Imazighen had many natural haircare and skincare secrets. Rhassoul, which is a clay formed in the Atlas mountains (a product we plan on launching soon) was used for both hair and skin. One ingredient with many uses, same goes for Argan oil. They also used herbal infusions to assist hair growth and even add fragrance to hair. Imagine how much we could do with raw ingredients we have in our cupboards!
Today we see so many women and men embracing hair styles from all over the world. I started PEAU because I want to celebrate all cultures, wherever they come from. I love learning and embracing how people live and their rituals to better skin, hair and bodycare. After writing this blog I was inspired to try a simple Amazigh hair style. I braided my fringe in two small braids and attached them behind my ears with some gold earrings looped in. Hopefully I’ve inspired you to try a new hairstyle. Stay curious!