Former first lady Michelle Obama took to the stage at the Superdome in New Orleans for the 25th annual Essence Festival and made a statement by wearing her natural hair and showing off her curls.
Wearing a dazzling sequin jumpsuit, Michelle sat down with Gayle King looking like a modern superhero. But it was the fact that she was wearing her hair natural that made fellow curly girls in the audience and across the Internet go crazy, happy to see a reflection of themselves in their “queen.”
Sharing a photo from the night on Instagram, Michelle wrote: “What a great night here in New Orleans celebrating 25 years of #EssenceFest and #BlackGirlMagic,” Obama wrote on Instagram. “Thanks to @GayleKing for sitting down with me to talk about all things #IAmBecoming, relationships and just how hard it is as women to put ourselves first.”
“The hair!!!!!! I love everything you stand for and I also love your hair!!!” one commenter wrote, while another said, “Curls!!!!! Magical, beautiful, wonderful!!!” It was a popular topic, clearly, with fans writing comments like, “Your hair your outfit your message 😍😍😍” and “These natural kinks and coils blessing my feed are all I need to get by!!!!!!!!”
And while the audience was hooked on her every word, they also couldn’t take their eyes off her new hairstyle, created by Miche’s go-to hairstylist Yene Damtew.
Damtew lightened Michelle’s dark brown hair using an ombre technique which involves hand painting strands. This low maintenance option is perfect for someone with darker hair as any hair regrowth is less noticeable due to ombre’s inherent grown-in look.
This isn’t the first time the New York Times bestselling author has worn her hair curly – she famously showed off her curls on the cover of Essence magazine back in December. Michelle has been vocal about the public’s perceptions of her as “a strong black woman” and on Saturday, she spoke about how during the 2008 campaign trail, that was used against her by people on both sides of the aisle.
Speaking candidly with King, she addressed her life after leaving the White House and personal topics including her relationship with husband former President Barack Obama, saying they went through counselling at one point.
“There are a lot of young couples that look up to me and Barack,” Obama told King according to MSN. “We’re hashtag relationship goals. And young couples think, all they see of us are the fist bumps and love… Marriage is work, marriage is hard.”
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