This week’s hairstyle is another simple one but it took a little longer to achieve as I had one idea in mind but had to alter it because my hair was not particularly stretched. I washed my hair over the weekend; a one step co wash/conditioner treatment which consists of applying a mixture of conditioner, honey, apple cider vinegar and coconut oil to dry hair, leaving it on for half an hour under a plastic cap and rinsing before sealing and plaiting fikuti (braids).

One of the things that I’ve learned on this journey so far is that you can’t force your hair to behave a certain way. Instead you must learn to compromise and choose hairstyles that compliment the mood of your hair on any particular day. Yes, I used the word mood to describe hair.

I’ve got a set of pictures that are saved on my phone for this challenge. Every time I see a hairstyle that looks interesting, I download it and I must admit I don’t always know which hairstyle I will choose even up to 5 minutes before I do it. I started out this week thinking I wanted a high bun but ended up with a bow instead. This was an amalgamation of two styles that I have saved, one of which is by former Natural Spotlight feature, Esiya.

Former Natural Spotlight, Esiya

I got the idea for the back from this hairstyle.

Part the hair in two, dividing it from ear to ear and tie the front of the hair away. You can also use a hair clip for this.

 Step 2:

Plait a mukule (cornrow) upwards from the nape to the middle of the head.

Step 3:

Tie the front section into a puff. I used a band made from an old pair of tights for this because it allows me to regulate the size of the puff. I wanted the puff to be big enough for the creation of the bow.

Step 4:

Take a section of hair from the front, middle of the puff and pin it to the back to create the look of a band.

Step 5:

Hold together each tip of the remaining halves and pin them backwards puffing them up to create your desired shape.

I cheated a little by plaiting a cornrow at the back because I knew that my hair wasn’t stretched enough to create a bow without doing so. The tip of the cornrow is pinned into the middle of the puff.

And there you have it, an Afro Minnie Bow!

I’ve had many puzzled looks to the top of my head already. This has got to be one of the more outlandish styles that I’ve tried but I must admit, I love how quirky it is.