The weather in Lusaka is really volatile at the moment. It’s humid one moment and dry the next. My protective styles are coming in very handy. I’ve been trying out a new product for washing and conditioning. It’s a leaf that grows freely across the country and has been used as a traditional cleanser in both Zambia and Zimbabwe, probably in other countries too. So far it’s working out really well. I washed my hair over the weekend, sealed with shea butter and mongongo oil and plaited twists to stretch. Mongongo always leaves my hair soft and fluffy.

This is another style that I “stole” from Pinterest. You might have guessed by now that I spend a lot of time scrolling through that particular social media site. The style is a bit of a combination of Week 1 and Week 2.

Step 1:

Part the hair in three; the biggest section at the back for the bun and the two smaller sections at the front for the flat twists. I tend to part my hair using the arch of my brow as a guide. You could also have a middle parting if you prefer. If you’ve followed me so far you’ll know that I’m not very precise about how straight the partings are. Unless you’re standing next to a giant who insists on looking at the top of your head, no one will be able to see how straight the lines are. If you’d like something a lot straighter you probably need a comb. I do’t tend to use those.

Step 2:

Tie the hair in the back into a low bun. As usual, I used a band made from an old pair of tights.

Step 2:

Flat twist the two small sections. I twisted mine inwards. Pin the ends of the flat twist to the puff.

Step 3:

Loosely twist sections of the hair in the bun and pin them downwards, playing around with them to get the desired shape and size.

I’m not really a big fan of low buns because they remind me of secondary school but the flat twists make it a little more interesting and I really like this style.