This Instagram Star’s Colorful Hair Wrapping Tutorial Is Totally Mesmerizing
“Curly pineapple updo” is the not-so-technical phrase Barbara Simi Muhumuza uses to describe her signature hairstyle. Think: a tower of undulating curls, secured at the base of her brunette mane with vintage silk headscarves from her favorite neighborhood thrift shops. “Initially, I was just going to wear them as regular scarves,” the 23-year-old says of her bright yellow and patterned finds from Rag-O-Rama and Buckhead Thriftique in Atlanta, “but then I found they were big enough to tie all around my hair, so I just started doing that.” And her tens of thousands of Instagram followers took note, pleading for the psychology student and poet to dish her hair wrapping secrets over the platform. “People like to assume I’m a natural hair guru because of the way I look,” says Muhumuza, who goes by @SimiMoonlight on social media, “but I am not an expert—I simply embrace my curls.”
A first-generation African-American whose parents hail from Uganda, the decision to start bundling her hair all the way up came naturally for Muhumuza. “In Ugandan culture, we wear headscarves around our hair to protect our faces from sweat,” she says, recalling her mother’s no-nonsense beauty routine that involved everything from traditional head squares to natural skin care. Now, every morning she first picks out a scarf—something of a ritual, she says, since it acts as a daily reminder of where she came from—and then styles her outfit (“I like to wear monochrome colors, they give me room to wear a scarf that pops,” she says) and beauty look (matte skin, a swipe of lip gloss) accordingly. “I used to feel pressure [to look a certain way], but not so much anymore. At the end of the day, I need to make sure I'm happy with myself—and I can’t let anyone else influence that,” she says.
It’s that same spirited sentiment she touches upon in her debut book of poetry, aptly titled For When You Decide to Be Honest. Vulnerable lines like “You should be body upright, tongue ignited, fists steady, screaming to the world what you warrant,” act as inspiring reminders that one should be unyielding in his or her self-care practices. On the book’s cover sits a black-and-white etching of Muhumuza; her corkscrew curls cascade over her oversize glasses while the back of her headscarf blooms into a bed of roses.
Read More Beauty Stories:
Jennifer Lawrence Has a Bombshell Bare-Leg Moment in Paris—Read More
Kim Kardashian West Reveals a Shocking New Blue Eye Color on Instagram—Read More
The 10 Beauty Products Every Model Uses for Flawless Skin: P50, Embryolisse, and More—Read More
The Best Weight-Loss Diet Comes Down to When—Not Just What—You Eat—Read More
