My Holiday Weekend Hairstyle...(Easter Hair)

Easter wouldn't be Easter unless I tried to look my best for the holiday.This Easter I spent the weekend out of town celebrating with a loved one, but I didn't make any hair plans until the morning of Good Friday. I woke up realizing that my hair was in no shape to travel. I had to figure something out before I left for work and before I got on a plane that night. Lightening bolt of inspiration and I realized that Bantus would be the best bet. I refreshed my hair (made sure it was damp, oiled, and sealed) and did my hair in 12 -14 large two-strand twists that I then wrapped into Bantu Knots and out I went.

I have to pause right here and say that absent the fact that I had to go out of town that night, I would not have gone to work with my hair in Bantus. Although I love the results, I just don't like them for work. (Are there any styles that you won't wear to work? Why not?) I thought that I would be ok on Good Friday because I truly believed that on my casual work day, and a holiday, that I would be quietly sitting in the corner until I could leave for the airport. Unfortunately, it was decided that we would have a meeting that day - so I had to be out and about more than I expected.

Anyway, after I reached my destination, (as in after the plane landed, but before I exited) I undid my Bantus, but left in the twists. I went to the bathroom and pinned them down into a style that I thought would hold. It lasted through dinner, dancing, sleeping, exercising, and getting through the next day.

Easter morning, I took the back of my twists and did a modified French Roll, with the front and sides pinned up. (See first the photo and these pictures below.) How did you wear your hair? And what are your go-to week long styles? 

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Unknown bantus, hairstyles, maintenance

Bantus - on three textures

 


Twists - Loose bantus

Quick post on Bantu Knots. I really like the texture and curl pattern that Bantus can add to my hair. I have several styles in One Hairstyle, Thirty-one Ways that are based on Bantu Knots, but I have found that hair curled with rollers, curl formers, or flexirods can produce similar results.  In any event, I've done Bantus on my relaxed hair, on my loose natural hair, on my twisted hair, and now on my straightened natural hair.  I liked the results for each, and I now know that if I am going to do Bantus on my hair certain rules will always apply....



Loose bantus



1) The size of the Bantus will determine the curl pattern. The smaller the Bantu, the tighter the curl.

2) Always dampen your hair before forming the Bantus. Without dampening the hair - usually with a light mist of refreshing spray or leave-in conditioner, the curls will not hold.

3) Make sure that your hair has fully dried before taking the Bantus out. If your has not fully dried your curls may only turn out to be waves, or the curls will not hold as they otherwise would.

4) Bantus will always be cute! Even if your hair doesn't form perfect ringlets or even waves, the added texture will give you many styling options. 

 

Loose bantus



It turned out that I didn't love the results of Bantus on my straightened natural hair because I did not leave my Bantus in long enough. I only kept them in for about 4 hours, and I know that 6-7 hours or overnight would have resulted in more defined curls or waves. Additionally I realized that it is a little more difficult to form Bantus on straight hair because they are more prone to unraveling during the process. I made accomodations by twisting each piece of hair 2-3 inches at a time until it turned on itself (beginning to form the knot) then twisting the next 2-3 inches of hair into the knot, and continuing in that manner until I finished the whole knot.

Straight - Bantus

Straight - Loosened bantus



I don't think that my straightened hair can hold the texture of Bantus as well as twisted or loose natural hair, but as I said it could have been because I didn't let the hair set long enough. It could have also been because I didn't dampen my straight hair as much as I would my loose or twisted hair (because I was concerned about changing the texture).



Straight - Bantus pinned to the side

Straight - Pinned to the side (earlier version)

In any event, although I didn't love the results, I did really love the side pin up thing that I ended up with, so I will deem my experiment a success!

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Unknown bantus, book, hairstyles, loose, straight, twists

Bantu Knots, an easy two-strand twist style

I have had my twists in for almost a week - and they are still going strong.  Wednesday night I put my twists in Bantu Knots - it took me about twenty minutes to get my hair into the style.  I sprayed my hair with a rosewater and grape seed oil mix, then I took 5-6 twists and twisted them into until they started to coil on themselves and I could guide them into knots.  I ended up with about 15 of them. 

I liked the way I looked with the Bantu Knots in, but the parts weren't very neat since I just grabbed sections of twists to make them - instead of thinking about how they would look if I wanted to go outside with them.

The next morning, I had a head full of really nice ringlets, and I used them to do a knot-out, a faux-bob, an asymmetrical style, some side twists - and some other styles that are featured in my book, One Hairstyle, Thirty-one Ways - coming soon.  Check NaturallyTwistedHairstyles for book updates and demos (both coming soon) and photos that you haven't seen here.  Also follow me on Twitter NaturllyTwisted to see my style of the day, and friend me on Facebook: NaturallyTwisted Hairstyles to see an album of Twitpics and Blog pictures.

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Unknown bantus, hairstyles, twists