Yes, Michelle Obama is my summer hair inspiration and soon she’ll be yours too. On Mar. 20, the former First Lady posted a clip of the latest episode of her podcast IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson. In the video, Obama was dressed in an oversized blazer, a blue-and-white button up, and gold accessories to pull the look together. Her hairstyle of choice? A stunning braided mohawk that I will be swiftly re-creating.
For the '90s-inspired look, Obama parted her braids into the sections from the bottom of her head all the way to the top, creating three ponytails. She then wrapped the ends of each to create small buns that ran along the middle of her head. Finally, she left a few braids out toward the front, allowing them to act as flirty face-framing pieces.
Obama, who has publicly admitted that she purposely didn’t wear braids while in the White House, has been having a lot of fun with the style since reacclimatizing to life as a civilian. She’s seems to be a particularly big fan of goddess braids and has styled them in everything from half-up half-down styles to Barbie ponytails and even space buns. As someone who can admittedly be a little boring with their braids, it’s deeply refreshing to see someone as esteemed as Michelle Obama get so creative with the protective style that is a staple for Black women everywhere.
If you’re feeling as inspired as I am, keep scrolling to see how I plan to re-create Obama’s look when I get my braids in for the summer.
One of my favorite ways to jazz up a ponytail or bun is to use an oversized scrunchie. My version of the mohawk will be decked out in the largest, frilliest versions that I can find.
The longer you wear your braids, the fuzzier they become, so if you're a stickler for super neat plaits, keep a tub of edge control on hand.
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