One of the things that set me on my journey to natural hair was not only the realisation that my hair wouldn’t break and fall if I stopped relaxing it but also the possibility of being able to create so many different styles with it. It blows my mind the versatility of natural hair and what some people are able to do with it.
You’ll normally find these people on YouTube creating beautiful hairstyle tutorials for us to enjoy and replicate and, honestly, this is one of the best things this social platform has to offer us, natural hair sistas. However, you should take hair care advice from YouTube with a pinch of salt – what works for one person will probably not work for you and there is a lot of wrong and misleading information there. Still, when it comes to styling curly hair and looking for motivation by following other people’s hair journies, YouTube is great!! 😀
Despite all this, I’m guilty of not taking full advantage of the raw creative material that my hair is, but then again I don’t have a natural creative ability for hairstyling that many YouTubers have – it’s a gift! Additionally, I like simple and easy and much rather have someone else do some of the more hands-on styles on me, like a hairstylist than myself. I got no patience at all.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not completely deprived of hairstyling skills and being able to replicate some of what I see, NO! Compared to the wash and go, bun, ponytail and flat ironed hairstyles I used to do in another hair life, what I do today – twist, braids, braid outs, twist outs, french braids, wash and gos, buns, puffs and side twists – is a great improvement.
Still if, like me, you alternate between the same hairstyle options and would welcome something different to break the routine or you’re just starting out and want to dabble into some of the versatility that natural hair offers in terms of styling, stick around. I will introduce you Chime Edwards, one of the first natural hair YouTubers I subscribed to and one my favourite when it comes to hairstyling, she is very creative.
The hairstyles I propose here are just different spins on achieving a different curl pattern from your natural one or the one you achieve with a wash an go. Hopefully, you’ll feel excited enough by the results of these tutorials to try at least one in a coming wash day.
#1| Heatless Pin-Up Curls
With this technique, it’s almost as if you’re going back in time. This retro pin-up curl style is easy enough for anyone to achieve it, you just need to have some bobby pins and what respected curly girl doesn’t have any, right? If you don’t, you can easily get some in the ‘hair & beauty’ aisle of your regular shop.
Take a section of your hair, not too big or small, twist it around your finger until you get to the head and pin it. Let it hair dry or sit under a dryer and voilá!
#2| Bantu Knots With A Twist
If you’ve seen a few curly hair tutorials chances are you probably bumped into bantu knots tutorials. Most will have you section a small area your hair twist it around itself and start twisting the hair twists at the base of the scalp. However, with this technique, you literally make a hair twist and then twist it at the base of the scalp to form a knot. It’s hard to explain, jut swatch the tutorial below. 😉
#3| Curlformer Curls
For this hairstyle, you need to invest in a hair tool – Curlformers. It’s not cheap but on the bright side it will help create beautiful, silky curls without using any heat and once you’ve mastered the tool it may actually become a regular in your hair routine or a stylish option for a special occasion. With this tool, you can choose to have corkscrew curls or spiral curls.
Ready to dust off your hairstyling skills and spice up your hair routine? If so, I have a few tips for you.
Tips
- I’m sure you’ll do fine, but don’t get disappointed if at first, you don’t succeed. Practice makes perfect. 😉
- Remember, for any of these styles to set well and last you need a clean canvas and that means hair that is properly cleaned with a well-formulated shampoo like Uncle Funky’s Daughter Rich & Funky’s shampoo or TGIN Moisture Rich Sulfate Free Shampoo. Once this is out of the way, continue with conditioning and styling your hair.
- Depending on the size of the sections you make and the outside temperature, if you like to air-dry your hair it can take a few hours to a couple of days. You can, of course, speed up this process by using a hairdryer but in any case, you must dry your hair completely!
- When the time comes to unravel or manipulate your dried style rub a little oil in the palms of your hands before this.
If you’re looking for something different you can also read these blog post tutorials for head wraps, Valentine’s Day, parties, satin lined beanies, updos, bun styles, wash and go styles, twist outs and more.
What is the most creative way you style curly hair?
