bantu knots

Nov 17, 2011

Keziah has been looking for a way to get curls in her hair for a while now. We have used curling irons, store-bought soft curlers, rag, and sock buns, all with varying degrees of success. Her hair is thick and it will curl, but the curl has a really hard time staying put.

This week we tried Bantu knots. We googled it and watched a few YouTube movies and then we set to work. Some sites recommend putting in two to six knots, but we put in sixteen in the hopes of having luscious curls. We read that you can leave them in for three to twelve hours, but we left them in for thirty-six, again in the hopes of getting some real results.

Doing sixteen knots is a bit time-consuming, but it is easy. You simply grab a section of hair and then twist it starting at the root and working your way to the end. Then it will start to coil on itself and you coil it around and around with each coil getting closer to the head. When you get to the end of the twist, tuck in the end and bobby-pin to hold it all secure.

Freshly unknotted, not combed or fingered-through.

Fingered-out

Hurrah! It worked! Bouncy curls!

Next time we do it, we will put some silky leave-in conditioner or product like Anti-Snap in before we knot. I think that will make the curls softer and easier to work with. If you try it, I would love to see your results!