– by Ieshia McDonald
Editor’s Note: With the natural hair movement carving out a space in the US as something that’s more than just a trend, we were curious about how it was doing in other parts of the globe. As such, we’re dedicating this week to our Natural Hair Everywhere series and are speaking with women in five different countries about the rise and growth of kinky hair in each of their locales.
Dominique Chantal Snip is a very influential part of the natural hair scene in the Netherlands. She is an author, salon owner and founder of a hair care line. Her journey began 10 years ago when she realized that the religious trips to the salon were becoming a little more than annoying to her and the smell of relaxers became irritating. She wanted to completely know her true self and so she decided to big chop in 2004.
Due to the lack of information in Dutch concerning natural hair at the time of her big chop, Dominique began researching natural hair for herself and years later her research would turn into her releasing her book, Crown of Glory. Dominique says that, “the lack of information in Dutch and the lack of professional hair salons where people with curly and afro hair can have their treatments and haircuts,” influenced her book, as well as opening her own salon and producing a hair product line.
“I started my brand, Sheado, with organic and plant-based ingredients in 2012 which has become pretty popular in these last 2.5 years,” says Dominique. She washes her hair about every 10 days using the green tea and chamomile shampoo and shea butter and raspberry conditioner from her line. She then installs one of two of her favorite styles: twists and the twist-out. Dominique also includes protective styling within her hair regimen, most commonly twisting her own hair and wearing the twists in a bun. Other naturals, however, use hair extensions to protect their curls. According to Dominique, the most popular protective style that she has seen in the Netherlands is crochet braids. “Almost everyone wears them,” says Dominique. “I hope that this [wearing extensions] is something that will pass soon because I think that some like the crochet braids better than their own hair.” Other popular styles consist of braids and Marley twists.
Although the popularity of natural hair is slowly increasing in the Netherlands, the afro is still a rarity to see. “Natural hair is not something that you see a lot in the Dutch media,” says Dominique. “There are still people who don’t like natural hair and chemically treat it for that reason. Some find natural hair to be childish and un-presentable. “
Check out the all the profiles in our Natural Hair Everywhere Series.
