Meet trendy African artist who is turning heads with her bold hairstyles

African hair has been on the receiving end of many a crude jokes for decades due to its texture and style.

For decades it has been ridiculed stigmatized and even made unacceptable in the corporate sector.

The phenomenon has been so entrenched in our societies and propelled by the beauty industry that African women are constantly bombarded with messages of how they should change their kinky hair with soft silk long hair imported from the west.

It is no wonder that hair weaves is booming business in Africa.

A young artist from Cote d’Ivoire is however changing that narrative with her bold hairstyles.

Hair sculptor Laetitia Ky has made a career out of creating interesting visualisations in order to emphasise black women’s natural beauty, which she says is “undervalued” in the fashion and entertainment industries.

The 21-year-old artist recently made headlines when she found a unique and an eye-catching way to draw attention to the #MeToo campaign, a simple social media campaign set to spread the awareness of sexual harassment.

Laetitia sculptured her hair into the image of a man lifting a woman’s skirt and broke the internet in the process.

“Like everyone, I saw the wave of women who were speaking out, and this touched me immensely,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“I hope women everywhere wake up and revolt.”

Ky posted a picture of her hair art on Facebook and Instagram along with the story of a friend who had narrowly escaped rape and invited other women to send her messages if they wanted to share their stories.

Here are more of her bold and funny hair styles that continue to turn heads and win adoration.