Don't Be Afraid to Style your Naturally Curly Hair

Hi Fellow Naturalistas,

Now that I'm a little over a year natural,  I realized that I've been way more creative with my hair as a natural than I ever would when I was relaxed.  When I was relaxed, I wore my hair in a bob. Period.  I mainly did this because it really never grew past mid-neck.  My maintenance routine was to keep a reoccurring 2 week appt at the salon, get a relaxer every 6 weeks, and in between my appts, wrap my hair every night.  Repeat.  This led me to years of never really successfully knowing how to do my own hair.

When I went natural, one of the things that was a goal of mine from the beginning was to learn how to "do" my own hair.  That included cleansing, conditioning, and styling.  Since I'd never done this before, it was a daunting goal, but one that was necessary.  Now I'm the first to admit that I'm not a creative genius when it comes to styling hair.  But with all of the natural hair videos & blogs that are available online I don't have to be!  I'll also admit that styling my hair is an investment of time but it's an investment that for "me" returns great dividends. 

I'm happy to report that, I primarily style my own hair (though I do treat myself to a natural hair stylist about once a quarter.  Shout out to Taji!).  I "know" my hair and most importantly I am comfortable with styling my hair.  Can I do all kinds of super complicated styles?  Nope.  But I have found a few go to styles that work for me & look forward to trying many others.  Many naturals often ask me, how did you do that style?  I could never do that!  My response is always, try it!  I direct them to the Youtube links where I've gotten my style inspiration.  Some try them and some don't.  Here are the words of encouragement I share with them and I now share with you:

1.  It's important to "know" your own hair.  Your hair is an extension of your body.  Just as you should know about your other body parts you should know what works for your hair.  Is your hair protein sensitive?  Does it like butters or creams?  Does it respond well to gels?  Is it thick, normal or fine density?

2.  Learning to style your own hair shows you what looks "work" for you.  Though I believe that anyone who desires to wear their hair natural curly/kinky/wavy can, I will say not every style works for everyone. There are styles that will compliment each natural's facial structure better than others.  Some of this is due to not using the correct products on your hair & some of this is due to the style just not working for you.  You'll never know what your options are if you don't experiment with a few styles.

3.What if my hair is not long enough to do the styles that I like? or My rendition of the style doesn't look like what I saw online or in the blog.  Don't distress.  Most styles can be tweaked to the current length of your hair.  Depending on your curl pattern, your style might not look exactly like someone elses. That's ok.  Every head of hair is unique.  This is also part of learning your own hair.  You'll see what your  curls will look like when styled a certain way.

4. I tried a style I found online and followed all the steps perfectly and my hairstyle was a FAIL.  Everyone, and I mean everyone who does their own hair WILL HAVE a hairstyle fail from time to time.    It's ok.  Doing your own hair is trial and error.  Sometimes your styles will not be successful but it's great that there are a number of quick fixes to still have your hair looking fabulous in a few minutes!  If your hairstyle attempt goes awry you can always mist your hair with some water and pull it back with a nice headband, create a bun if it's longer, and there is always the option of a puff!  During your next wash session, go to a trusted style that you've mastered for encouragement, and then when you get up the nerve, try the failed style again with some tweaks!

Failed Roll/Tuck/Pin

Converted to fab side puff with flat twist in front.

Have you ventured out of the box when styling your hair?  If not, what is holding you back?