The Hair Journey: Bantu Knots

Hey hey hey!!! I've added a new style to my repertoire! Bantu knots!!

I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out (I've done them before with longer hair), but I needed another protective style to wear since I've noticed some breakage (especially in the front). 

Bantu knots are named after the African tribe called the Bantu.  The Bantu is described as many African tribes that speak Bantu languages.  The geography of where the Bantu lived spans from central Africa to southern Africa.  Countries like: Zimbabwe, the Congo, Tanzania, South Africa and Malawi, all have inhabitants that considered themselves to be Bantu.  Bantu means: people. 

The hairstyle consists of hair that is twisted into a coil reminiscent of a "knot".  It's a popular hairstyle for women with natural hair and quite easy to do.  Take a look at how I achieved my new look!

What I used: 
Soil pomade
Large tooth comb
Shea butter
Spray bottle
My hubby's hands/fingers (since he did it!) Big Up!! :)

Method:
1 - I started with damp hair
2 - parted hair with fingers into sections
3 - combed out each section and applied shea butter and soil pomade
4 - twisted into coils
5 - kept the knots in all night(covered with satin) and released them in the morning

Total time: 35 minutes



Fresh Bantu knots (from all angles)



Released Bantu knots

You can see that the coil pattern of the released knots is not very uniform.  I'm sure that has something to do with how each knot was created.  I'm okay with the non uniformity.  It's kind of funky!



Released Bantu knots

The next step I'll take is puling each released knot apart to create a curly fro.  For now, I'll leave these in for the next few days.  At night I  re-coil the really big ones with the least spiral and cover with a satin cap/scarf. Very low maintenance for sure!

More to come!

Peace and love!