Written by Chiteu who writes about her natural hair journey on her blog Coils and Strands
So you’ve embarked on this natural hair journey, whatever your reasons for it you’re excited and love how it looks and feels. For the first few months you can simply wash the hair and carry on, for some your hair is growing like wild fire and you like what you see when you look in the mirror.
Suddenly you’re at that in-between stage where you don’t know what to do with the hair, its not long enough to do all those amazing things you’ve seen on all those online pictures and YouTube videos but its not short enough for you to get away with simply washing and walking out the house.
I have to admit this stage comes with a fair amount of frustration *it was during this stage that the staring match with the creamy crack happened*. One of my good friends called me last week and said with much sighing “I don’t know what to do with it!!!!” So I thought I’d share a few pointers that I shared with her earlier in the week.
1. The first thing is no matter how frustrated you are, make sure you are looking after your hair so be sure you wash,condition, moisturise and seal your hair weekly and spritz daily.
2. Don’t be afraid to try styles that may seem like they are only suited for longer hair and have fun trying out styles you haven’t tried before.Extensions such as Marley braid can be added to compensate for the lack of length.
3. Accessories ARE your friend. The quickest way to turn hair that you may be feeling blah about into something cute and trendy is by accessorising. A flower or clip can make all the difference. Scarves are all the rave this season so play around with different ways of tying them to achieve fun yet gorgeous looks.
Check out Aisha’s 30 ways to wear accessories here http://www.myfroandi.com/p/30-ways-to-wear-hair-accessories.html.
4. Cornrows are making a comeback and are a great way to protect your ends as well as help you achieve some of the styles that seem like they are the preserve of longer natural hair. Cornrow styles also make it easier to jump over the hurdle of “appropriate” styles to wear to work. Zambia has a more conservative work culture and environment and this can make in-between stage hair very difficult to work with. (look out for a series on work hairstyles next month)
5. Braids are a great way to add versatility to your hair as you can try out different styles and helps hair growth because there’s less handling and manipulation of the hair. Be sure to protect your edges by not pulling at the braids too tight or keeping them in too long (6 – 8 weeks with regular spritzing and sealing is a good length of time to keep braids)
So there you have it. A few ways to make your in-between stage a little more manageable.
Here’s 7 more reasons why shorter hair is more fun too, http://blackgirllonghair.com/2012/07/7-unique-advantages-of-short-natural-hair/
*images courtesy of Pinterest*
