Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things that may interest today's African girl.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, Titi, this week's subjects: The Hottest African Hairstyles Taking the Fashion Scene by Storm, Birkin bags double its market, UTI, RocoMamas beef burgers and Republic Day

The Hottest African Hairstyles Taking the Fashion Scene by Storm. Hey fashion lovers! African hairstyles continue to showcase their incredible versatility, cultural richness, and innovative spirit. This year, the trendsetting styles blend tradition with modern flair, making bold statements on runways, social media, and streets worldwide. Let’s dive into the most popular and inspiring African hairstyles of today! Bold Braided Statements: Braids remain a timeless staple, but 2025 is all about reinventing them with a contemporary twist. Think oversized box braids with metallic accents, colourful beads, and intricate patterns. The “Goddess Braids”—large, sculptural braids that cascade down the shoulders—are especially popular, often paired with accessories like gold cuffs and charms to elevate the look. Colour-Blocked Locs: Locs have been a mainstay for years, but this year, they’re getting a vibrant upgrade. Colour-blocked locs in shades of neon pink, electric blue, and fiery orange are making waves. The trend combines natural dreadlocks with bold, contrasting colours, giving a rebellious and artistic vibe perfect for street style and editorial shoots alike. Curtain Bangs with Twist: A fusion of classic and contemporary, curtain bangs are being styled with textured afro and loc styles, adding softness and framing to bold hairstyles. It's a versatile look that works well with both natural textures and styled protective styles, making it suitable for everyday wear or special occasions. Sculptural Afros: Afros are being sculpted into geometric and artistic shapes—think asymmetrical cuts, layered volumes, and even shaved designs within the afro. This trend celebrates natural hair while pushing creative boundaries, perfect for those who want to make a bold statement without compromising their natural texture.

Birkin bags doubles it's market. The Birkin bag is one of the most popular high-end handbags in the world. Prices start at $20,000 and a Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Birkin 30 with white gold and diamond hardware fetched over $500,000 at a recent auction. Lead times are 6 months or more and you can only buy on invitation. People are queuing and fighting, and even a pre-owned (a euphemism for second-hand, trash) Birkin bag can go for 10,000 $ and more. Why? This defeats most economic laws and logics, but then, fashion has never been about laws and logics. The bags are made by Hermès, one of the most successful high-end fashion companies in the world, with a market capitalization of about 275 billion $ (Ghana's 2025 budget is about 25 billion $). Hermès is only beaten by Louis Vuitton but is ahead of brands like Chanel, Gucci, Dior, Rolex, and all the others. So what have they done to double their market, the number of people who may want to buy one of their handbags? They are now telling the world that it is cool for men as well to walk around with a Birkin bag. So next year's Father's Day, you know what to give hubby?

UTI. Ghana has 32% more female infertility cases than Europe. Why? Largely due to untreated infections. Untreated urinary tract infections (UTI) are one of the big culprits here (13% of women end up infertile, resulting additional infections also take their toll), and UTIs are very common, especially boarding schools continuously infect students, both female and male, and you can also pick it up at any publicly used toilet, like in a restaurant. Some of us hardly have any symptoms. But don’t be lazy here, the moment you feel or see or smell something unusual, go to the lab, collect your container and the next morning bring your first urine for a urine culture. That will cost you about 130 GHC. And if you are positive (meaning you have an infection), you'll have to treat it with antibiotics at a cost of about 150 GHS. After that you have to check again to make sure that it is gone. If not you need to visit a gynecologist. Yes, all this is indeed an expensive exercise, but an untreated UTI can cost you a lot more, like your marriage!

RocoMamas beef burgers (45 Ndabaningi Sithole Rd, Labone, Accra) has a combined menu/ordering sheet; they give you a sort of multiple-choice menu (you'll not fail this one) and once you've ticked your choices, the waiter takes it and that's the order. However, things can get complicated nonetheless. I wanted a straightforward burger, which they call a “smash burger” (at GHS 100), but it came with tomato, red onion, and their RocoMayo, which I did not want; I wanted tomato ketchup. Somehow, this multiple-choice sheet gave too many choices and was not able to communicate to the cook what I wanted, and the waiter had to come back 4 times to sort things out. I thought I was never going to get peace and all I wanted was a beefburger with onions and tomato ketchup. But it was worth the wait, though not perfect, I would give their burger a B+. They also sell spare ribs, beef, and pork, as well as nachos and cheese bombs. Their burgers have exotic names, such as Old Skool, Hot Chic, Slacker, or Shakster. And if you order a double vodka, they come back to make sure you don't want two vodkas in two glasses, but rather all in one glass, a double vodka.

Republic Day brings us double blessings: history and a long weekend. The beach is calling, but please be careful if you go swimming, almost every year one or more people drown! And the beach is about looking fabulous too. So get a stylish swimming suit, several Ghanaian designers offer the latest, like Ahuof3 bikinis, Dauvia, Dejack clothing, Figs, Hollantex swimwear, Mikoko Deluxe, Shezuri Swim, Slay African, Swimbydidi, and several swimming suit fashion shows are given throughout the year, like Afro Swim Week Ghana, Designer showcases, Ghana Fashion Week (December), and swimwear. Or you can sport a flowing kaftan, crochet two-piece, Ankara shorts, or go full Gen Z with cargo pants and shades. Look good, feel good, but stay breathable, boo!

Lydia...

Do not forget to hit the subscribe button and confirm in your email inbox to get notified about our posts.

I have received requests about leaving comments/replies. For security and privacy reasons my blog is not associated with major media giants like Facebook or Twitter. I am talking with the host about a solution. for the time being, you can mail me at wunimi@proton.me

I accept invitations and payments to write about certain products or events, things, and people, but I may refuse to accept and if my comments are negative then that's what I will publish, despite your payment. This is not a political newsletter. I do not discriminate on any basis whatsoever.