Bantu Knots are having a bit of a moment with celebs such as Letitia Wright and Leigh-Anne Pinnock sporting them.
The hairstyle originated from the Zulu people of southern Africa. The hair is sectioned off, twisted, and wrapped in a such a way that the hair stacks upon itself to form a spiraled knot.
Celebrity hairstylist, Stefan Bertin, gave us some tips on how to create Bantu Knots and how to look after them.
I always say start on a good foundation of freshly hydrated and nourished hair. By that, I mean freshly washed and conditioned/deep conditioned. I advise to do this style on either damp or dry, stretched hair. Ultimately, it’s your choice but it can take forever to dry if done on really wet hair.
Section off your entire head into more manageable portions. Four works well.
Unravel one section, apply your products to that one section and thoroughly detangle
Products that I love to use to create this style are the Coconut and Hibiscus Smoothie and Gel Souflee. These layered together help to give both smoothness AND hold. As well as these two products, also have a bottle of water to slightly dampen down any sections that become dry as you go.
Decide how big you want your bantu knots to be and create a subsection. With this subsection, divide the hair into two and create a two strand twist. Twist each strand around the other until theres no more hair.
With one hand, hold the base of the twist. With the other hand, wrap the two strand twist tightly around that base. Do this slowly so you have more control. You’ll know that you’ve used enough tension if the knot stays in place by itself. However, you can also use a bobby pin to secure it.
You can keep this style in or you can take it down to reveal the results of your hand work. However you choose, just always remember to protect your hair at night with a silk scarf or pillow case.
