How to Stretch Natural Hair Using Bantu Knots

stretch-natural-hair-bantu-knots

As the mother of a teenage daughter I am constantly on the look out for ways to style her hair naturally without using heat or chemicals.  She has a head full of thick gorgeous hair and up until now she has been satisfied to wear her hair in twists, braids and/or plaits. She is older now and will be entering high school soon so we have been experimenting with loose styles and trying out appropriate styles for teens with natural hair.  I have taken great care of my daughter’s hair throughout the years and it hangs below her waist when it’s wet.  Shrinkage quickly camouflages the fact that she has any length at all with her hair shrinking up to her shoulders when it goes from wet to dry.  Since I refuse to put any heat or chemicals on her beautiful virgin hair I had to find another way to stretch her it out to show some of that incredible length.  We find that Bantu Knots are a great way to do just that.

bantu-knots

To create a Bantu Knot you simply 2 strand twist a section of hair and then take that twist and wrap it around itself. You can do this on wet or dry hair.  This process stretches the hair while creating massive ringlets and beautiful natural curls.  The size of the curl and the amount of curls can be controlled by the size of the sections of hair that you use.

We decided to install these Bantu Knots on my daughters freshly washed and air dried hair.  When you do this on dry hair it actually stretches it a bit more.  You need a little bit of moisture and a good thick butter to make it happen.  I filled a spray bottle with water and added a little bit of my favorite leave in conditioner along with some Sistah Buttah to twist with.  I sprayed each section enough to dampen not drench the hair and applied the Sistah Buttah to my hands to transfer on to the hair while twisting.

We left the Bantu Knots in all day and removed them (just the knots not the twists) right before bed so that she would be comfortable sleeping.

bantu-knots

The next morning with oiled hands I untwisted the hair. As you can see the process of twisting the hair then wrapping it around itself creates a spiral pattern and when pulled apart the curls are endless.  The leave in conditioner holds this pattern.  The Sistah Buttah seals in moisture and adds shine.

bantu-knot-out

To maintain this style we “pineapple” her hair at night.  Here is a pretty updo that we created from the same style.

Bantu Updo

With Bantu Knots I can create some of the styles that she wants and wearing her hair like this make her happy. Plus, it’s fairly easy to maintain.  When her hair is not loose it is kept in twisted plaits and protected.  To re create this style just follow the steps above.  It will work on wet or dry hair and each time you do it (in between washes) the hair will stretch longer.  Its a great way to show length with out adding harmful chemicals or dangerous heat.

stretching-natural-hair

Do you have a teen girl?  How does she prefer to wear her natural hair?

 

 

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Thank you for visiting my site. My name is Stacey Taylor aka “The SistahChick” I am the Head Sistah-In-Charge here at TheSistahCafe.com.   I am an Atlanta based Professional Blogger who spends my time enjoying the beauty of everyday life and sharing that here on my blog.