BN Beauty: Relaxed Hair Can Achieve Bantu Knot Outs Too! Here are 5 Tips to Help Out

I have a confession to make – about 2 years ago, I decided to go natural. Not because I wanted to see my natural curl (I was/am leaving that for later), but to have those lovely curls I thought could only be achieved on natural hair. Instagram photos of Naturalistas had me ready to transition just so I can achieve twist outs too.

Even though I eventually gave up my Natural hair goal because my bantu knot outs looked a hot mess, I later found out that even though my hair was relaxed, I too can get great looking curls in my relaxed hair. So I gave it a go – it didn’t come out the way it would have if my hair was fully natural because it lacked the stretch; but I did get curls, and they looked great!

So, for all of you like me who want to find out how to achieve a bantu knot out on your relaxed natural hair, here are a few tips to help you out.

Enjoy!

1. One of the key things to getting a smooth curl/coil is conditioning. It is important to wash and deep condition your hair, and apply leave-in conditioner post-wash to get smooth and healthy looking curls. Doing this also helps make working through the hair easier with less tangle probability.

2. You need some moisture in your hair so your knot out can be smooth and structured without frizz. After your wash, you should air dry or use a hair dryer on your hair till its 90% dry. The moisture left over helps the twists have more definition while drying and helps lock in moisture.

3. Tighter twists mean more definition – however, do not apply too much tension when twisting/ knotting your hair. This is so you don’t ruin your hair follicles while creating your hairstyle. Tension means damage.

4. A great way to secure your bantu knot out is to use bobby pins to secure as you twist the ends into a bantu knot. A technique that helped was to stack the bantu knot on top as you twist, as opposed to letting them dangle or slide left or right.

Because your hair is relaxed, it lacks the stretch that regular natural hair would have which makes the curl hold in place better. Using a bobby pin would be great to secure the knot so the entire section can get curls through out the stretch of hair.

5. When your hair is completely dry, apply some oil to your fingers and use them to unravel the sections while spreading the curls for a more voluminous look. The oil also helps give your hair a shiny look that screams “Fresh from the salon“.

Watch TheChicNatural achieve a fab bantu knot out on straight hair; and be sure to share your bantu knot out tips and tricks with us!

Photo Credit: TheChicNatural (Youtube)