On the Street: Barcelona’s Natural Beauties

by Lexi Felder of CurlsCoilsAndKinks.com

I wanted to go on an international trip to explore the world and the only thing I knew was that I wanted to go to Europe again. I had only been to Europe once but wasn’t too particular about where I wanted to go. A friend and I put in several destinations from the UK, to France, to the Netherlands, to Spain. We ended up picking the place with the best flight rates. Barcelona it was!!! We then decided while we were over there to go to Paris for a couple of days.

I began to think about vacation hair. What would I do to my hair? I started thinking about my style inspiration Solange and thought box braids would be the perfect way to go. I was a little nervous about how Europeans would perceive my hair.  Plus , I was also nervous about how Americans here would perceive my hair since its such a retro style. Sure, Solange can do it! But for the everyday lady walking down the street, what would people think?

Well, when I arrived to Spain, they loved it! They absolutely loved my natural hair style! All ethnicities, genders and ages stopped me to tell me they loved my hair. Some even stopped to take pictures or even sneaking videos. Even though most of the time I didn’t understand them, when they pointed to my hair and smiled, I knew that was a good thing. I always followed up with Merci in France or Gracias in Spain.

While there, I saw a ton of women with natural hair.  There were women of all races who were wearing their natural hair. In Paris, there is a huge African population so I saw a ton of women wearing their natural hair. In Barcelona, pretty much everyone regardless of race wore their textured hair. Whether it was loose waves, or tight coils, the ladies in Spain were definitely rocking it!

Here are some ladies I ran into and talked about their hair:

Cinthia: 22 years old

“I shampooed my hair this morning with my favorite shampoo.  I used a diffuser to blow dry my hair and left it slightly wet before heading out. The sun helped my hair fully dry. This is how I get frizz free hair”





Ithia, 32 years old

“I shampooed my hair and fingered product through my hair to make my hair big. I let my hair air dry since it’s nice and sunny today.”




Stella, 26 years old

“I wanted to get braids so I got my hair done in Dubai. I like braids because it’s very little maintenance and it lasts me awhile”





Eilham, 28 years old

“For my hairstyle I used mousse and swirled my my hair around my finger to created defined ringlets since I have some different textures. I just let my hair airdry today.”





























Geraldine, 23 years old

“Buns are my favorite hairstyle because it is so easy and cute. I took my wet hair and put some cream through. I took an elastic band to make it stay.”




I learned that women in Europe pretty much use the same natural hair practices as us. Whether it’s protective styles, wash-n-go’s or different techniques, we all do the same things. I also loved to see so many cultures in Spain and France. To see people that look just like me and have natural hair was amazing to see. I encourage everyone to go to different countries and explore their cultures.

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