Chic African Culture Blog

Did you know?

1. No African country names begin with the letters F, H, I, J, O, P, Q, V, W, X, or Y.

2. Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent.

3. The Republic of the Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa.

African Culture is World Heritage

Appreciate Africa through African art, food, proverb sayings, folklore, biographies, spirituality and African living history.

Love Yourself and Your Gravity Defying Hair

For centuries, African hair is treated as an artist’s canvas. Unique African hairstyles were a fashion and status statement for women and men. Taking care of black hair is an iconic tradition from Africa to America. Take care of black coils and curls with conditioned scalp and drinking water.


Black hair care in Hamar, Ethiopia
Black hair care in Hamar, Ethiopia

Love Yourself and Your Gravity Defying Hair.

Everywhere we look, we are bombarded with images of beautiful women with long straight hair, selling us just about everything from makeup, cars, jewelry, music, movies and more.

Magazines and television sell us the latest fashion trends with beautifully constructed images in Adobe Photoshop, leaving little trace of the women whose photo is actually being taken.

What can you do to fall in love with your natural hair? It is important to understand that the images of women portrayed in the media do not correspond to reality.

This can help you accept yourself as you are and feel better about your own hair. Identify the social messages that wrongly associate physical appearance with health, happiness and success, and the strategies used by the media to communicate these messages.


The best Black African hairstyles that turns heads because life is too short to have boring hair.

Take Care of Black Hair with a Conditioned Scalp and Drinking Water

Two issues impeding the growth of natural black hair is taking care of the scalp and drinking plenty of water. Many black hair naturals ask questions on how to grow hair very long and quickly; well the normal rate of growth is actually 1/2 inch per month on average. Black hair tends to break more easily hence, the myth black hair does not grow.

Just know your hair scalp is the foundation of hair growth. The first step is to clarify your hair and condition your scalp, here why it is important. Your scalp is where your hair is growing out of so you want to make sure that you are giving the hair that is coming out of your scalp the best chance that it has to grow.

Collecting dirt, product build-up especially if you like to use hair butter like shea, otjize paste and oils are not only the clogging the pores on your scalp but also making it difficult for your follicles to come out healthy.

It also can become an irritant to your scalp and if your hair follicles or roots become irritated or the skin on your scalp becomes irritated you are susceptible to issues such as alopecia or dandruff from blocking sebum on your scalp.

So many things can happen when you do not wash your hair more than once a month. You have to clarify your scalp every week or two weeks. Natural hair it tends to be drier due to all those curls and coils make it hard for the sebum from your scalp to travel all the way down the hair because it has all these loops to go down.

You really have to make sure that you moisturize your hair inside and out so internally make sure you are drinking enough water. If you do not have enough water in your body you are really you are really messing your natural hair care routine up, your hair going to get dry brittle.

African Himba covers their skin and hair with a creamy mixture of fat and red clay
Himba Otjize Skin and Scalp Protectant

Himba Otjize Skin, Scalp and Hair Protectant

Hair in Africa is an iconic statement treated like an artist’s canvas. Himba women spend hours creating the iconic hairstyles. Himba women, as well as Himba men, are famous for covering themselves with otjize paste, a cream mixture of fat and ochre pigment clay.

Otjize is a paste of fat and red ochre sometimes mixed with scented oils. Himba women apply otjize each morning and afternoon to their skin and hair, giving them a distinctive red hue.

Otjize is used as a scalp and skin protectant to protect from sunburn; it forms a protective barrier to prevent irritation from the harsh sun and wind.

Together we build awareness that boost harmony, education, and success, below are more links to articles you will find thought provoking.

  1. Historical African country names
  2. Top 20 Largest Countries in Africa
  3. How many countries does Africa have?
  4. Paying Money To Tour Slums in Africa
  5. What Is the Wettest Country in Africa
  6. African Kente Cloth Facts
  7. Where is Shashamane Ethiopia the African Rastafarian Promised Land

Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet=

Africa is surrounded by water but is not an island, here are a few African Island facts.

Madagascar is the 4th large island in the world and is located in the Indian Ocean supporting a unique biology, about 90% of its plants and animals are found nowhere else on earth.

Composed of 155 islands, Seychelles is Africa's smallest country. By far the largest island is Mahe, home to about 90% of the population and the site of its capital city of Victoria.

Cabo Verde has a strategic location 310 miles or 500 km from the west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site.

Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent. Continents can not be considered islands because of their size and also by historic definition since many people who study geography define islands and continents as two different things.

This Week’s Best Posts and Pages

Nature Holds Many Secrets | Hurricanes, Angry African Ancestors

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Eastern coasts of Caribbean, United States, and South America, are in danger of being blasted by hurricanes wind and rain during hurricane season from June through November. But, why? The scientific reason why is because of Africa’s Sahara desert dust storms and the transition of thunderstorms off the west coast of Africa. The waters in the North Atlantic Ocean are typically at their warmest while the Sahara is at its hottest from July through October, so the chances of a hurricane are highest during these months. African legend, the paths hurricanes follow. Hurricanes are gigantic weather systems using convection, the movement of hot and cold air, to create dangerous storms. They are rotating heat engines powered by the warmth of tropical waters having three main parts, the eye, the eyewall, and rainbands. Hurricanes cannot form just anywhere in the world due to the need for hot and humid air. They normally form close to the equator and move west or northwest. Hurrica
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What is the difference between ugali and fufu

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How to make the popular African recipes Ugali and Fufu and what is the difference.  Ugali is a starch dish in Kenya and Tanzania made of fine cornmeal cooked in boiling water into a soft dough. Fufu is a thick, dough-like West African food made by boiling then pounding a starchy vegetable such as yam, plantain, or cassava or a mixture of starchy vegetables. The main difference between fufu and ugali is fufu is boiled first then pounded while ugali is simply boiled. Ugali recipe. Easy Ugali Recipe Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 30 minutes Total time 30 minutes Ingredients 4 cups finely ground cornmeal 8 cups water Directions Heat water to boiling in a saucepan. Slowly pour cornmeal into boiling water stirring continuously. Add more cornmeal if necessary until it is thick as soft bread dough. Serve immediately with vegetables, stew, or any dish you would use a spoon with to soak up the sauce, ugali is purposely bland tasting on its own. What is the difference between ugali and
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South African Beef Curry Recipe

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Perfect South African Apricot Beef Curry Recipe South African beef curry recipe is a South African food recipe to share around the world while learning about South Africa rainbow nation food history and favorite recipes of Black African, Colored mixed race ancestry, White, and Indian. South African Beef Curry Recipe When it comes to quick and satisfying slow cooker crockpot meals South African Apricot Beef Curry recipe is at the top of the African food dinner recipe list. Use your slow cooker for this simple South African Apricot Beef Curry recipe, it is full of apricot jam, spices and tender beef to serve with rice and grilled bread. How to Make Perfect South African Apricot Beef Curry Recipe Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture By Chic African Culture African food recipe South Africa food is one of the most diverse on the African continent. South African apricot beef curry is an easy delicious slow cooker dinner recipe to make on a weeknight. South Afr
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How to make sweet Nigerian Agege bread

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Pronounced ah-gay-gay agege bread is century old sweet tasting bread very popular with Hausa people in the West African country of Nigeria. Traditional Agege bread is not sold as sliced bread.  Agege is a district in the Ikeja Division of Lagos State, Nigeria. The name Agege bread was created by a Jamaican immigrant, Alhaji Ayokunnu in the town of Agege. His Agege bread was a popular street food for people on the go therefore he opened up a full-time Bakery to where he was providing bread to different stores.  Bread is not an indigenous food to Africans. Agege bread is popular because that's where the first bakery opened up selling this new style of African food on the street to busy Nigerians.    Agege bread is a delicious bread with a very soft center, sweet taste with crunchy crust. Traditional Agege bread is not sold as sliced bread. You can substitute coconut oil for the butter for a different version of Agege bread. Agege bread was created by Alhaji Ayokunnu How to m
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African cultures express, encourage, and communicate energy

African cultures express, encourage, and communicate energy

Support African History and Culture

Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet are dedicated to discovering, collecting and sharing African history and heritage celebrating 14 years of service in 2021. Share and support in the pride of being part of an important cultural and educational resource.


Being African in America I have grown up learning about different ethnic cultures. My father and mother are historians of African culture and history and their influence expanded my activities to several best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded products, and a popular African culture and food blog.

Chic African Culture

Be better than average and support African history and culture. Since 2008 Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet highlight Africa through her food and culture. Contact us culture1africangourmet@gmail.com

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