Bejewel Your Hair: Accessorise With Individuality

A beautiful hair ornament atop a stunning hairdo is surely the icing on the cake of the ultimate style statement.

To get it right, select the accessory that unites the structure and textures of your hair with the colours of your clothes and the essence of your style. . .

Hair jewellery for a new generation

With the trends towards natural hair and folkloric designs converging, hair jewellery has really come into its own. No longer are our options limited to a few clips with a couple halfhearted sprinkles of glitter on the end. Natural hair, in all of its 3D-ness, gives a rich, and varied landscape atop our heads to adorn. Little wonder so many designers have been inspired to create work that takes full advantage of this topography, while others have seen new possibilities emerge from their oeuvre, as it is put to innovative use by wearers.

DHA's DIY has handpicked some eyecatching designs from the work of independent artisans, who transpose a variety of materials to handcraft creations that set them apart from the pack. Adorning your tresses with these ornaments will accentuate its singular beauty, each in its own unique way!

Clockwise from top left:  Bedeck your blowout or frame your 'fro with a headband of turquoise and red silken roses, by FabricFlowerBrooch, or its counterpart in royal blue satin blooms, with tiny pearlescent carpels. If updos are your thing, pin them in place with this three-prong hair fork, handmade from walnut by WoodArtJewelry, or this rosewood hair pin by Vietnam-based quecraft. And, for a unique twist to your twistout, secure your strands around your face with these Nurichant brown lace flower hair clips. Lovingly crafted by an independent designer from Indonesia, these flowers are entirely handsewn, cut and shaped, layered onto alligator clips.

AfriqueLaChic's innovative online boutique  creates an array of accessories inspired by Africa, both the aesthetics of the Continent itself, and the many innovations of its Diaspora.

This RBG Duafe Beauty Natural Hair Tie, combines the red black and green of the Pan-African Flag, with traditional wood beans and a horn toggle. The main feature of the design, however, is the Duafe, the wooden comb that symbolises femininity and cleanliness in the ancient Adinkra system of Ghana. 

The hair tie doubles up as a headband, with a robust elastic that holds even the thickest hair snug and secure.

Clockwise from top left: From Marolsha comes this antique bronze hair comb with a handcrafted flower collage, composed of an intricately formed chrysanthemum, nestled alongside pearl, rose and ivory daisy leaf. Slide this into your curls anytime you need a bouquet of inspiration. Keeping up the floral theme, PetalMix offers an intricately folded flower barrette of orange silks and black crystal, reminiscent of  traditional Japanese Kanzashi hair ornaments. Meanwhile, jeweller Abby Hook specialises in  handcoiled wire designs, and this embellished, vine effect loop barrette is an example of the elaborate structures that will sit perfectly amidst an updo of tumbling curls, or add flair to an understated ponytail.

Accentuate your uniqueness

With each spiral on your head a singular creation, it makes sense to complement them with matchless designs that aren't making a simultaneous appearance in the tresses of millions of others. From this handbeaded metal comb, a creation of Megan's Beaded Designs, to the handcoiled, handsewn, and handsculpted objects on the rest of the page, we've decided to emphasise designs brought into being by human touch.

Whenever an artifact is made by hand, it carries characteristics unique to the artisan, the materials it is fashioned with, and the time and atmosphere in which it was made – it has its own irreplicable spirit. Some of the designs themselves are strictly one-off originals, with the designer making only one ornament in that particular pattern. If you want to stand out even more, more and more emerging designers will actually work with you to tailor jewellery unique to your style and taste – reviving the tradition of the old-school craftsmen and women who created their every piece around each individual client. This is one way to ensure bespoke charm that befits the one-off creation that is your hair.

So immerse yourself in the possibilities, explore and select ornaments that most bring out the natural beauty stored within your tresses. And maybe the visual inspiration of these crystallisations of creativity will spark your imagination, bringing to life some of the creations waiting to take shape in your mind!

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