10 Ways to Style Your Afro this Summer
The sun is out, the 'fro is out! Summertime is when most people ditch their protective styles and wear their hair in its natural state, in order to let their hair breathe. From attending music festivals to spending time with friends in the park, choosing a way to style your hair this summer szn will be easier. Below are 10 hairstyle inspirations you can try - ranging from simple to complicated.
1. The Power 'Fro
Channel the 70's with this simple style that requires minimal effort. To execute, comb out your hair with an afro pick or a wide tooth comb and rock your afro in its natural state. That's literally all you have to do to achieve this style!
2. The Sidelines
Still letting the 'fro roam, add a few cornrows or flat twists on one side of your hair and you're good to go! Be as creative as you want for the sideline design and beautify it with some hair jewelry.
3. The Pineapple High Puff
The bigger the 'fro the more amazing this style will look. To achieve a high puff, put an elastic band around your head and push it up until it sits in the middle of your head. You can use a pair of old tights if you don't have any elastic band available. Just make sure your high puff isn't too tight, if not it might give you a headache by the end of the day.
4. The Sleeked High Bun
During a heatwave, you don't want to get hot and bothered with hair constantly sitting on your shoulders or around your neck. Wearing your afro in a sleeked high bun will keep your hair neatly tucked away. Using your favourite styling gel and edge control, gather your hair into a bun and secure it with a hair elastic. To finish off the look, use a wooden brush to smooth the flyaways. You can also add some hair extensions to your "bun" to give it more volume - which is what I did.
5. The Side Parted Low Puff
This style is very similar to the sleeked high bun. To achieve this look, create a side part and use some gel and edge control to gather your hair into a low puff. Don't forget to smooth your flyaways and feel free to also add some hair extensions to your puff if you'd like more volume - this time I decided not to.
6. The Mickey Mouse Ears
Wearing your afro in two mickey mouse ears is such a cute style to rock in the summer! It might seem like a childish hairstyle but it's still one I wear quite often. It's so simple to execute, all you have to do is part your hair down the middle and put each side into puffs using an elastic band. Literally, that's all! This style is great for those with a TWA (teeny-weeny-afro) who can't yet fit all their hair into one puff.
7. The Mickey Mouse Ears with Accents
If you think the mickey mouse ears style is too cheesy, you can add accents to the front to jazz it up a bit. Using the same method, divide your hair into two sections, braid or flat twist the front part of your hair and gather the rest into two puffs. Be as creative as you want with the design in the front and beautify it with some hair jewelry.
8. The Fulani Frontal
Fulani or tribal braids are such a summertime look, especially for when attending summer festivals! To properly execute, you'll need to know how to cornrow - so this is one of the more complex hairstyles. To get the look, first divide your hair horizontally into two ; the front part will be the Fulani braids and the back part will be the puff. For the Fulani frontal, first cornrow a braid down the middle of your head, then cornrow two or three braids running down the sides of the middle braid. Now gather the rest of your hair in a puff with an elastic band. To complete the look, add hair jewelry like beads and cuffs.
9. The Space Bun Mohawk
This style is more like a "tidied up" mohawk. It's adventurous and can also be a great hairstyle to wear to summer festivals! To achieve this look, divide your hair horizontally into three or four sections, then use gel or edge control to gather each section into a bun. This style is almost like having bantu knots running down the middle of your head. I went a bit extra and added a lil braid down the middle of the front bun and placed two gold cuffs on it - but you don't have to do this if it's too complicated for you. Honestly, this style can be modified and elevated in many ways, making it a great style to rock to festivals this summer.
10. The Scarf
For those lazy summer mornings when you have zero motivation to style your hair, just use a scarf to accessorise the 'fro instead. The scarf can be worn as a halo, a half wrap, or a full turban coverage. For the halo, tie the scarf around the perimeter of your hair. For the half wrap, tie the scarf in a way that it covers the back half of your hair. For the full coverage, first line your hair with a silk or satin bonnet so your hair doesn't dry out, then wrap the scarf around your head so it covers your entire hair.
To summarise,
of course this isn't an exhaustive list on how to style your hair this summer, they're just a few examples to get you started. If you do try any of these styles above, feel free to send me a picture on Instagram @LushBraidsByB - I'd love to see them!
So, which style is your favourite?
B.