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Home • Hair

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016

We slay. All day. 
11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
Hair 2016
By Nikki Brown · Updated October 26, 2020

Be it extensions or au naturel, Black women slay in every and any hairstyle. 2016 was a reminder of that, as we saw so many beauties rocking looks that we would gladly carry into the New Year. Above all: this display of mane moments is a reminder that hairstyling remains one of the greatest forms of self expression. From bantu knots to goddess braids and faux locs, take a look back at the hairstyles we loved this year.

01
Goddess Braids

Goddess braids trended throughout the year and real women showed us that there a million in one ways to take on the regal style. From vibrant hair color (above)….

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@__amarieeeee/instagram
02
Goddess Braids

To different size variations…

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@zanobiaa/instagram
03
Goddess Braids

…and of course, gold accessories. We love them all! 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@temple_styles/instagram
04
Goddess Braids

Plenty of our favorite celebrities rocked the edgy look, too, including Toya Wright. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@toyawright/Instagram
05
Purple Tresses

We’ve seen every color on the Interwebs, but none have trended as frequently as purple. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@magavilhas/instagram
06
Purple Tresses

We also saw a lot of Black beauties blending the vibrant tone with other colors. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@niamarie.me/instagram
07
Purple Tresses

And whenever we saw purple on top of a voluminous afro, we screamed “yaaas!” 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@africancreature/instagram
08
Purple Tresses

Purple hair is a part of Justine Skye’s signature look and she shows no signs of switching it up in 2017. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
Noam Galai
09
Faux Locs

There’s nothing dreadful about this hairstyle, which everyone seemed to be rocking in 2016. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@komb.co/Instagram
10
Faux Locs
The mother of two is the latest celeb to try out faux locs, but with a platinum twist.
11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@blacchyna/Instagram
11
Faux Locs
Our favorite bad gal Rihanna is rocking faux locs for her upcoming role in “Ocean’s 8.”
11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
Raymond Hall
12
Faux Locs
And we were obsessed with Jessica Williams’ lilac locs earlier this year!
11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@msjwilly/Instagram
13
Sisterlocks

And that includes sisterlocks! 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@dreadheadd/instagram
14
Sisterlocks

Women wearing authentic locs is always a beautiful sight to see. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@thehouseofheritage/instagram
15
Crochet Styling

The pain-free styling technique continued to flourish in 2016, too. Beautiful Black women everywhere have worn a spectrum of head turning looks, including cute coils….

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@kilahmazing/instagram
16
Crochet Styling

…larger than life fros, like this goddess…

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@lillylouhemian/instagram
17
Crochet Styling

And pinned to the side. We loved seeing the versatility of this go-to look in 2016. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@krochetkulture/instagram
18
Space Buns

This easy do is definitely one of the more versatile looks in the bunch. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@miccheckk12/Instagram
19
Space Buns

We loved seeing them styled into half up, half down looks. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@ronkeraji/Instagram
20
Space Buns
Pint sized cutie Skai Jackson sported space buns at a Las Vegas event in February.
11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
Gabe Ginsberg
21
Space Buns
And Janelle Monae added an eye-popping twist to her space buns while promoting “Hidden Figures.”
11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
Slaven Vlasic
22
Wigs

And of course, Black women continued to slay in the most beautiful wigs. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@premierluxeext/instagram
23
Wigs

And they were worn in many fabulous ways, from sleek and straight to big and curly. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@themariaantoinette/instagram
24
Wigs

Yea, we’ll never grow tired of faux fabulous manes! 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@itsmyrayeraye/instagram
25
Bantu Knots

We’ve seen this style appropriated countless times, but no one rocks bantu knots like us! 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@melanin_mermaid/Instagram
26
Bantu Knots

They looked even more fab in technicolor! 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@keishadesvignes/Instagram
27
Bantu Knots
In April, Blac Chyna debuted her engagement ring and these gorgeous bantu knots during an appearance with bestie Amber Rose.
11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
Tom Briglia
28
Natural Textures

This list certainly isn’t complete without the women who decided to flaunt their natural tresses year-round. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@adoredonnie/Instagram
29
Natural Textures

We loved seeing glorious 4c manes on our timeline! 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@ilovealimara/ instagram
30
Natural Textures

Beautiful afros were not in short supply. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@naturallyfashionable/ instagram
31
Natural Textures
Countless celebrities embraced their natural hair this year, but one of our favorites by far is Jill Scott. Her baby’s breath do at the Soul Train Awards took our breath away!
11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
Mindy Small
32
Waist Length Locks

Naomi Campbell realness was achieved by countless women who rocked waist length hair. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@shaebutters/ instagram
33
Waist Length Locks

From beach waves…

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@teairawalker/ instagram
34
Waist Length Locks

…to cute curls; long hair is the trend that will never die. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@princess.kaae_/ instagram
35
Waist Length Locks
Remy Ma’s epic comeback year included plenty of flawless mane moments, including those where she sported long hair.
11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
Manny Carabel
36
Pretty Pixies

Plenty of us were about that cut life in 2016, wearing short hairstyles in a number of different ways. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@fromelo/ instagram
37
Pretty Pixies

And they weren’t afraid to embrace vibrant colors, too!

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@itstoian/ instagram
38
Pretty Pixies

Short coifs are forever chic. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@youngatstyle/ instagram
39
Pretty Pixies
Our favorite celebrity pixie moment goes to Keke Palmer, who looked flawless at this year’s American Music Awards.
11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
Steve Granitz
40
Braids, Braids, Braids!

Lastly, beautiful Black women slayed every kind of braid (as usual), like braided updos. 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@klassykinks/ instagram
41
Braids, Braids, Braids!

And sky high ponytails…

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@voiceofhair/ instagram
42
Braids, Braids, Braids!

And teeny side swept ones. No matter the style, we loved it! 

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
@inkedsunshine/instagram
43
Braids, Braids, Braids!

Celebs continuously slay the braid game, but our 2016 favorite is Erykah Badu, who wore epic shoestring sized braids while hosting the Soul Train Awards.

11 Hairstyles Black Women Continued To Rock Flawlessly In 2016
Kevin Winter/BET
TOPICS:  Afros Braids Faux Locs