The other day, a girlfriend on Facebook asked me for some tips on creating a curly hairstyle for her natural hair daughter. It took me awhile to learn how to really manage Ayva’s hair and have it looking nice. I think I’ve figured it out now, and instead of tears (her) and yelling (me), I can create a lovely hairdo in an hour or less with minimal pain and stress for either of us!

Since Ayva is only 5, I don’t like putting heat on her hair. Occasionally I will blow dry it (occasionally = twice in her entire life), but the great thing about natural hair is that it’s super pliable. You can twist it or curl it on itself and come up with lovely styles without damaging heat or a lot of products.

For Ayva’s first day of kindergarten, she asked for a really special hairstyle. I’ve done bantu knot styles on my hair for years, so I decided to see how it would turn out on her gorgeous, thick locs. We both loved the way it turned out, too! The only thing is, it’s pretty foggy in the Bay Area in the mornings, so that moisture got to her hair and her curls dropped pretty quickly. The textured fro that she was left with was still pretty, and her huge smile (along with the tossing of the hair all day long) let me know that Ayva liked it, too.

Here’s how you can create the same style:

1. Wash and condition the hair.

2. Detangle the hair with a wide-toothed comb.

3. Rub coconut oil all over the hair.

4. Separate hair into sections about 2 inches wide.

5. Take one of the sections and split the hair into 2 equal sections.

6. Rub gel or another holding product to the sections.

7. Twist the 2 sections together to make a 2-strand twist.

8. Twist the 2-strand twist around itself and tuck the end. If the ends don’t tuck under, use a bobby pin to hold.

9. Let the hair dry overnight or under a blow dryer.

10. Take the twists out and style.

If you decide to do this style, send me a picture! I want to see how it turns out!