Posts Tagged ‘bantu knot on 4b’

Bantu Knot Out – Stretched

I do bantu knot outs all the time. I absolutely love them! Sometimes I get bored with the cute little shrunken look that I get from my bantu knot out fro, so I opt for a much larger, stretched bantu knot out. It is still pretty basic and simple.

A picture from my air dried bantu knot out a few months ago can be found here. This was done on wet/damp hair. The tutorial is in my previous post. It’s a more tamed tightly curled look.

I choose to go with a bigger, fuller thicker look when I do the blowout bantu knot out. I get better at it each time I do it!

The Process:

1. Prepoo, Wash/Co-Wash, and/or DC as usual.
2. Braid detangled hair into about 8 sections (more or less depending on how thick & coarse the hair is.
3. Let the hair air dry (make sure it is at least 85% dry before blow drying)
4. Apply a heat protectant, take down each section and blow dry lightly combing through from end to root. Do not straighten the hair with the blow dryer. Remember we want to keep the afro texture, just stretched out a bit.
5. Apply a small amount of a leave in (optional).
6. Part the hair with your fingers and Apply a very small amount of product for hold. I use Aloe Vera Gel mixed in with my shea moisture concoction.
7. Begin to twist the hair and do the knots as usual.
8. Allow the hair to fully set and dry.
9. Take down, fluff and style!

Optional: Omit step #4 and let the plaits dry fully before putting in the knots.  Plaits will stretch the hair w/o applying heat.

After this, I was totally ready for a fun night out with my big bantu knot out as my best accessory! My BFF featured in the photo has a Curlformers Set…more on that in the future.  Happy Healthy Hair Styling!