I can barely do a French braid. Despite a patient professional hairstylist's efforts to teach me, I still end up with knots. Laetitia Ky, on the other hand, can braid her hands into hands, heart, and sunglasses. The 21-year-old from Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa is taking over Instagram with her incredibly intricate hair sculptures. As soon as I saw her works of hair art on BuzzFeed, I knew I had to talk to her." They make my simple crown braids look like a children's art project compared to her masterpieces. Seriously, pictures of her creations deserve an exhibit at the Met.When she was five, Ky tells Allure, her mom started to teach her how to braid. "I loved it, so I'd push her to teach me more," she says. "I'm naturally gifted with hair, but I've never studied it." In fact, Ky is actually an aspiring fashion designer, not a hairstylist.
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Last year, she started posting her hair sculptures on Instagram. She has
since turned her hair into hands playing guitar, the shape of her home
country, and a ballet dancer — and that's just to name a few.
Each of her masterpieces arises more amazing than the next, and the ones
involving hands are particularly her favorites, she says.
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Each hair sculpture takes Ky anywhere between 20 minutes and
two hours. Typically, she uses thread, a needle, fabric, wire, wool,
and, of course, hair extensions to bring them to life. "When I imagine a
new hairstyle, I try objectively to imagine what I will need," she
explains. Ky's inspiration comes from all around her — not one specific
thing. "My ideas generally come spontaneously without reflection," she
adds.
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With each of her hair sculptures, Ky says she hopes to
encourage people to be themselves. "I want to encourage people to
express themselves, to explore their creativity, to not be afraid to be
who they are," she says. "I want to show that being different is
beautiful and it doesn't only attract bad reactions." Preach. As far as
negative reactions go, Ky says she only focused on good ones because "I
only want good vibes around me."
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