I am going to show you two bantu knot styles one without weave and one with weave. Bantu knots are like the 8th world wonder when it comes to hair. In the sense that you can wear it in a bantu knot out and you can also wear bantu knot styles.
And so in this post I am going to give you a step by step tutorial on how you an do both. Both a a bantu know out and a bantu knot style AND if you really want to fancy, you can wear the bantu knot style for a week and then take it out for a bantu knot out. Which just goes to show the versatility of the bantu knot styling options. And even though my hair may look tamed, don’t believe the hype. My hair is actually 4b/4c. So trust me, if I am make these bantu knots work on me, then so can you. (contains affiliate links)
Bantu Know Styles ~ Without Weave
Doing a bantu knot out can be intimidating because it seems like a lot of steps and if it is not done correctly your hair can come out looking like a frizzy matted mess all over your head. That is why I am here to show you how to do an error proof bantu knot out to eliminate the likelihood of messing up your style. I am going to through step by step in this blog post, but I also know it is a lot easier to actually see it in video form which is why I also have a video on it which you can see below, and don’t forget to subscribe to my actual channel for more hair tutorials and inspirational content, just click here.
As a sidebar, then following steps on a bantu knot out can be used on both natural and straight hair; my hair is natural (VERY NATURAL) as in my natural texture is a 4c but I did straighten my hair to do this bantu knot out to make my hair more manageable which is why it would be same exact steps on straight hair.
Step 1: Bantu Knot Styles ~ Start on Blown out, straight, or stretched hair.
If your hair is relaxed then your hair is already straight then you can skip this step, which is ideal for a bantu knot out. Or at least in my opinion anyway, especially if you have more of a tighter curl pattern. The reason being is because it gives your hair more length. If I were to do a bantu knot while my hair is in it’s natural state it would be like an inch away from my head, which is what I do not want. Just make sure your hair is detangle. Your bantu knot out will be a mess if you do not fully detangle your hair.
For natural hair, either straighten, stretch, or blow your hair out. I am a natural and I have 4b//4c hair. I find that doing a bantu knot out on natural hair in the 4b/4c will often leave your bantu knot out looking frizzy. So it is better to start on stretched, straight, or blown out hair.
You can use a straightening brush (click here to buy), just because it is a lot faster and your hair does not have to be bone straight to do a Bantu knot out. This brush gave my hair a more blown out look which you be straight enough to do a bantu knot out. Your hair does not have to be bone straight.
Also please note that my hair was fully moisturized before starting this style. You need to make sure your hair is not dry because it if it is then your bantu knot out will be frizzy and look a mess.
Step 2: Bantu Knot Styles ~ Part Your Hair Into Sections
How big you part your hair is up to you. I typically part my hair in about 2 inch sections. Just note that the smaller you part your hair the smaller the curls are. The bigger you part your hair the looser your curls are. Also note that when your curls are small, when you separate your bantu knots it is more likely that your hair will frizz.
You can check out my picture below to see how small you should section your hair. Also note that your parts do not have to be straight. Unless you plan of wearing your bantu knots out in public (in a bantu knot style which I will show you below) then it is not needed for your parts to be 100% straight. Once you take out your bantu knots, then you will not see the parts anyway.
Step 3: Bantu Knot Styles ~ Twist
This is going to be a difficult process to describe in words but I promise you that this process is not as hard as it sounds. And just a reminder you can check out my video above to see exactly what I am talking about and how to formulate the bantu knots.
You want to take the section of the hair and you want to make sure it is detangled. Also, you want to put product on your hair to ensure that the curl is more likely to stay and to make sure that the curls are going to formulate properly. There are two products that I used during this process, curling moose along with setting lotion.
Do not use too product much because you do not want your hair to be stiff and you do not want to soak your hair too much that it does no dry. Just use enough to ensure that each strand of your hair has a little bit of product on it. Next you want to start twisting the hair. Choose to twist the hair in one direction all over your head. Twist, twist, and twist until the twist starts to form a circle.
As you twist the bantu knot will start to form. And as the bantu knots starts to form the hair should circle around itself. As the bantu knot start to form you want to make sure that you continue to twist the hair at the base of the bantu knot. This will not only help the curl form, but it will also help to secure your bantu knot and it will make it easier to take the bantu knot out.
Once the bantu knot is formed keep twisting and secure the ends of your hair at the base of the bantu knot. Once again the video below will assist you in learning how to do this. This way it will prevent you from having to use bobby pins to secure your bantu knots. In the video that I shot a couple of years ago, my hair was a lot shorter. So if I could secure my bantu knots on my short hair then, I am confident that most people would be able to secure their bantu knots. Below is how my hair looks once the bantu knots are done.
Notice how tight the bantu knots are. Make sure that you do not pull out your hair, but having tighter bantu knots will assist in the formation of tighter curls, assist in making the bantu knots secure, and it will assist in keeping your bantu knots overnight so that they do not come out. It is best to keep in the bantu knots in overnight to set the style. Make sure you tie it using a satin scarf.
Step 4: Bantu Knot Styles ~ Taking the Twist Out
There is an art to taking your twist out. You could have done every step perfectly up until this point but if you do not properly take out the bantu knots, you can mess up your entire hair style. As I mentioned before you should have twisted all of your bantu knots in one direction.
So to take them out you need to take out the bantu knots like unscrewing a top off of a bottle twisting in the opposite direction. If you do this the bantu knots should be able to come out seamlessly with the curl still in place. I know I keep referring the video at the bottom, but watching it will tell you exactly what I am taking about.
Step 5: Bantu Knot Styles ~ The Final Look
Bantu Knot Styles ~ Wearing It as a Style
For this style, I actually put weave in my hair for the simple fact that I wanted my bantu knots to be big, which is why I decided to put weave in them to make them bigger. Now before I get into the step by step, you can choose to watch the video below, and also don’t forget to subscribe to my channel for more hair tutorials and inspirational videos by clicking here.
Step 1: Bantu Knot Styles ~ Part Your Hair
Once again you may want to start on stretched hair but you do not have to actually straighten your hair like on the bantu knot out, but you do want your hair to still be detangled and stretched at the very least. Bantu knot styles tend to go alot better when your hair is stretch, trust me. Especially when your hair is natural or at least in my opinion. In this style I chose to do triangles, and I also chose to put in flat twist as well (but that is optional). Click here to get the hair.
Step two: Bantu Knot Styles ~ Braid In The Hair
Even if you do not normally braid weave into your hair yourself you can do this. First, because the hair are in rubber bands first, which makes the hair easier to grip and to place in a braid. And because the braids are bigger and not like box braids, it is easier to place in a braid. And it does not have to be perfect because you are going to put the hair in a bantu knot style anyway, so the hair does not have the be the most perfect braid ever (as you can see from my video) just put it in a braid. You can also add a little color for the flair.
Step 3: Bantu Knot Styles ~ Twist It Around
This bantu knot style is not the bantu knot out where you have to twist it around simply because you are wearing it in a style. With the bantu knot you have to twist it in a certain type of way simply because it has to come out in a curl when you take it out, this case you do not have to be as careful because you are wearing it in a style. So just twist it around itself in a circle. Keep twisting it around it self into a circle. Just remember to twist and twist until you can secure the knot around itself and it is pretty much the same as when you do the bantu knot out.
Step 4: Bantu Knot Styles ~ Finishing Touches
This step is optional in the sense that you can add braids and you can add jewelry (which you can buy here), finishing touches or whatever it is that you want to. Or if that is TOO much for you then you don’t. But either way, here is the finishing look.
Okay so these are two different types of looks. One is a bantu knot out and one is a bantu style and like I said before these can even be one in the same. Of course I did not do it here but you can literally do your hair in a bantu style like I did in style number one. But of course make it look a lot neater than I did, in style #1 because I only wanted mine to do a bantu knot out and did not want to wear it in a style. But if I would have cleaned it up a bit and made it neater then legit I could have been a style AND I could have taken it out and been a bantu knot out.
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