Q&A: Curly Afro (Part 1)

Hello.
My name is Holly and I was browsing the internet looking for ways to
get a curly fro..thats not a lot of maintenance, and i stumbled across
your blog. I currently spend hours twisting my hair but it tends to
lock up on me and takes a long time to redo. Ive been told to go to a
salon and have them fro it for me but id rather do it myself. Do you
have any suggestions?

thanks
holly.

A: Hmmm... This is a tough one

One way, is the method that I think your already using. Which is double
twisting your hair, when its slightly damp (applying hair food to your
hair as you go). When your hair fully dries, gently untwist the hair
leaving your hair looking like cute curly ques, that are both soft and
moisturized.

Another method, is by using the straw affect, which is typically used on
women with relaxed hair (which I find ironic, since it mimics the whole
Afro look).

In the case of nappy type hair, you could use a wooden skewer stick
(the flat end) and wrap each section of dry and oiled hair around it
tightly (works better with tiny sections, and shorter hair) . Gently
pull out the skewer stick... your hair should naturally stay in the
curl, no fritz needed...


Avoid using beauty supply beeswax, real beeswax, or black hair care
store bought products on your hair for this. The chemicals will most
likely make your hair frizz, later. The beeswax will clump your hair.
All you need is an organic batch of shea butter (or even your own
organic homemade hair food recipe) to keep your hair staying
moisturized.


Hmmm, you could try doing the double twist effect, again. But using a
blow dryer or hair dryer to evaporate to excess moisture, and keeping
the hair curled.


Sadly, I don't think there's a hair style that can naturally last for a
long time... other than the usual cornrows, braids and twists. If well
kept, your curly Afro should last for about 2 days.

If you desperately want it to last longer than that...

You would probably have to resort to using a hair spray... which might
damage and strip your hair later... leaving your hair yucky frizzy at
the end of the night.

If you decide to go to a hair salon, mostly likely they will put your
hair into a "cold curl" (aka Jerry Curl) or relax your hair then do the
straw effect or put some sort of chemical texturizer in your hair. But
don't take my word for it, ask around... observe what they say FIRST
then go on your way and then, research maintenance and technique, BEFORE
you let them touch your hair.


I prefer the double twist method, because I like having a day look (with
twists) and a night look (my curly Afro)

Another tip, might be when you take your twists out. Gently wash your
hair with a homemade organic shampoo, rinse, then towel dry until lightly
damp. Add a light hair oil (an almond oil blend works nicely or even
Shea butter oil) for conditioning, after the wash/rinse.

I found that my hair became tightly curled/ wavyish... quite cute, if I
say so myself.


All and all, having nappy hair requires a bit more patience. Changing
your schedule around to better maintain your hair regularly, might be
the best thing.

Latoya