Short Natural Hair Styles

So you have natural hair, and you can’t wait to remove the weaves and braids and just let the whole world see you rock it. The only problem is that you feel it is not yet long enough to be released and you are anxiously waiting for it to grow.
Personally, I think the problem the core African Naturalista will face at this stage of medium length is hair styling, especially for those who don’t use extensions. I mean for how long are we going to carry the afro before we get tired of it? This  might not be much of a problem when one’s hair is very long or very short, but in the stage when the hair is just long enough to park, styling will be a major problem, especially for people like me that are not so creative in parking the hair.
Having natural hair is not an excuse to look tacky. The key is to remain neat and beautiful
Here are some styles I have done to get me by. At least, I can try to help those who don’t want to use weaves for a while

1. Afro- I had to use keira care hair defining custard to keep it in place, as my hair is too long for the ordinary afro. If I did not use a custard, my Afro will look too wild, uneven in length and rough. My hair is Type 4, applying this custard on a Type 3 hair will give it a different look

Without head band
With head band

2. Threading with coloured knitting wools (coloured kiko). The hairdresser is to make the thread longer than the hair. You can use more than one colour, but it’s better if they are calm colours. The advantage of this is that you get beauty and length. It is also official enough to take to work




3. Big puffs brushed together- though my hair is way too long for this now. The front, side and back of the hair is to be brushed while the puffs converge to the centre. If they are not brushed, your hair might end up looking the the small kids in primary school carrying the 'puff puff' style.



4. Corn rows with afro. You can make your corn rows longer that the one in this picture, I have done that before. I also have to use the defining custard for this style, in order to calm the hair down. With the custard, any way you comb the hair, the hair obeys you. I guess that is why it is called 'defining'



5. Short Twists. Simple and straightforward. You can do it yourself or get a hairdresser to do it for you. Some people use was, while others use moisturising gel.



6. Mohawk- some employers might not take likely to this, though


7. Regular packing


8. Twist out. I loosed the twist a week after I had twisted it in order to get this style. So you get two hairstyles out of one attempt, or something like that.


There are so much more. If I knew I was going to have a hair blog, I would have been more committed in taking pictures. But these would do for now

Remember, styling short natural hair is not a problem, the main thing one needs is is creativity, then you can always come up with your own way of styling your hair.

What are your ideas on hair styling? Please, share with the naturalistas and if possible send pictures cos frankly, we all need them. Thanks.



22 comments

  1. Lovely pictures, I love the threading idea, a great way to straighten without heat.

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  2. lovely styles and you are very creative too.

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  3. Styling has always been an issue and thats why i just braid or wear weaves; however when I need to style, i settle for the twists... works perfectly.

    My hair is way too long for an afro/ packing so to avert a major bad-hair-day crisis, twisting it is and I love the fact that its easy to loose!

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  4. @ 9jaFOODie: Yes, I agree with you, but you will need to condition your hair before threading for long on order to guard against hair loss

    @ stelzz: Cool, let me know how it goes when you try them

    @ Okeoghene: Thanks so much. Reall?

    @ PET Project: Lol, you entered the lazy mode, you don't want to think too much abi? Seen your hair and agree that its way too long. Trying the custard will give it another look, though

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  5. Hi Natural Sister!! I'm so happy to see Natural in Nigeria. Heart your blog and your hair styles!!
    Peace, Love, and Natural!

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  6. i went natural three days agao wooho! my hair used to be so thin when relaxed een though im blessed with natural gold coloured hAi. i threaded for a while to let it grow long then cut it. i feel so free!!

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    Replies
    1. Freedom is cool. Don't need to be inhibited by your hair or any other thing

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  7. My hair isn't yet long enough for any of these styles though. I did the single plaits on my hair after my weekend DC. Started out because I was bored but realised that it was properly more beneficial to do it so I didn't have to comb my hair everyday and it also makes it easier to moisturize my scalp. However, because I am so rubbish at plaits, the results were not at all neat, so I wear a wig when I'm going out. I am happy with it though. I know these things take time. Looking forward to being able to try out these great hair styles!

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    Replies
    1. If your hair isn't long enough for these styles, then you are cool o. Please, enjoy your short hair while it lasts because there will come a period when styling your hair might be a big headache.

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  8. I had my big chop just this Saturday (screaming in joy and relief). Right now, I have just half an inch of natural hair. Question(s), what's the best leave - in conditioner that can be found in Nigeria? Where can I get those little hair accessories especially the flower petals. Thanks a mil

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  9. What are the treatments applied to the hair to make it longer?

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  10. So you can put your hair in some styles!

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    Replies
    1. Lol. I did not do most of these styles myself. This was ages ago sha.

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  11. Mostly I am very lazy when it comes to styling my hair. I will love to have it out more often and still look better. Will learn a few of these styles I love the threading to. www.secretlilies.com

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  12. hi. i had on cornrows for a while that a friend made for me but i had to loosen it after almost a week because they were really painful. but its already 8 days since i loosened it and my scalp still feels kinds sore or painful in some places. what do you think i should do please?
    p.s. i have washed, and deepconditioned within the last 8 days and have on bantu knot out which doesn't stress my scalp in anyway but i dont know what to do about the soreness/pain still from the cornrows

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    Replies
    1. 8 days after loosing, and you still feel pains? Wow, must have been really something. I want to believe the pain will go down soon. Have you tried using pain relievers?

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    2. thanks..the pain went away after a while... that was my first cornrow since my bc so i guess my hair wasnt used to it any longer

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  13. Microbraids matted my hair so I had to cut it all off last night. I need to get it shaped up but I need to know how to maintain natural hair. My hair is really coarse and I would like to soften it up.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Monique, microbraids is one of the protective style i spoke against a while back. every braid will be matted, but it's more difficult to remove these buildup from microbraids than from a chunkier braid. Also, the longer you leave the braid in for, the more buildup you get and if you didn't wash your hair when you had the style, the build up will harden and can be very difficult to remove. You could have soaked up your hair in a slippery conditioner mixed with oils and then gently use your fingers to go through each "clumped" hair.
      this would take some time and will require a lot of patience, but at least you'll be left with hair.

      To soften your hair, please read this post http://www.africanaturalistas.com/2012/05/how-to-make-your-natural-hair-softer.html
      and to ensure that your next protective style doesn't end up in another big chop, please read this post http://www.africanaturalistas.com/2013/07/when-protective-styling-is-not.html

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  14. Is it possible to shrink your hair without cutting it, and the later bring it back to the normal size

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