10 Stunning Hairstyles For Natural Hair
Arshiya Syeda is a senior editor at StyleCraze with 7 years of experience. Prior to that, she was a content writer and combined her writing and research skills to write over 200 high-performing articles on hairstyles, hair care, and skin care.
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Listen up, my natural haired ladies. I know you’ve struggled with finding pretty hairstyles to sport on your natural hair all your life. You’ve probably been bombarded with hairstyles that can only be done with silky smooth straight hair every time you turned to the Internet for help. Well, I say no more! It’s time that you were given a variety of gorgeous hairstyles that look great on your beautiful natural hair. Which is why I have prowled the Interwebz and compiled the best hairstyles for natural hair that I came across! But before we do that, let’s first look at what kind of tender loving care you can give to your natural tresses!
How To Take Care Of Your Natural Hair
- Natural Oils: Since natural hair is already coarse textured and tends to dry out easily, make sure you add tons of moisture to it by regularly oiling it. Coconut, jojoba, and argan oil are some great oils that you can use.
- Say ‘No’ To Sulfate Shampoos: Shampoos that have sulfate in them remove the natural oils from your hair, leaving them dry and brittle. So, invest in a natural, sulfate free shampoo that will keep your hair healthy and happy.
- Say ‘Yes’ To Wide Toothed Combs: Aggressively brushing out your natural hair can lead to a ton of breakage and hair loss. So, use a wide toothed comb when your hair is slightly damp to minimize breakage. Start combing from theends and work your way up to avoid pulling on your hair too much.
- Sleep On A Satin Pillowcase: Cotton pillowcases can cause your hair to dry up and break when you sleep. To prevent this from happening, sleep on satin or silk pillowcase.
Now that you know how to take care of your natural hair, let’s look at all the gorgeous ways that you can style it!
10 Stunning Hairstyles For Natural Hair
1. French Twist Ponytail
A great thing about natural hair is that it’s perfect for doing French twists. Thecoarse texture makes sure that any hairstyle you do stays firmly in place. Which is why this French twist ponytail is perfect to be worn during a long day of classes or work.
What You Need
- Rat tail comb
- Hair elastic
- Bobby pins
How To Style
- With the tail end of your rat tail comb, part your hair from ear to ear to section away the front section of your hair.
- Tie the back section of your hair in a half ponytail.
- Part the front section of your hair on one side.
- From the side with more hair, pick up a 2 inch section of hair from right next to the parting and divide it in two.
- Twist these 2 sections individually right till the ends.
- Start French twisting by repeatedly flipping the front section over the back section, adding more hair from the side of your forehead into the front section with every flip.
- Once you run out of hair to add, simply intertwine the 2 sections right till the end.
- Pin the French twist at the back of your head with some bobby pins.
- Repeat steps 4 to 8 on the other side of your parting.
- Fluff out the hair at the back to finish off the look.
2. Twisted Bangs Side Ponytail
Heading out to a fancy restaurant for a date? Or a wedding, perhaps? This side ponytail style with a literal twist is sure to transform you into the belle of the ball. And it takes just under 5 minutes to perfect!
What You Need
- Rat tail comb
- Hair gel
- Hair elastic
- Bobby pins
How To Style
- With the tail end of your comb, create two parallel partings – one each starting from your temple till the crown of your head. Then, create a third horizontal parting at the crown connecting the ends of the first two partings and creating a squared off section of hair.
- Tie the rest of the hair in a side ponytail.
- Part the front section of hair on one side.
- On the side of the parting with more hair, divide the hair into two sections.
- Do a rope braid with each of these sections. To do so, divide the section into 2 parts, twist them individually right till the ends, and intertwine them with each other.
- Place the rope braids down the side of your head, curving them slightly upwards near your ears before pinning them to the side of your head.
- Twist the hair on the other side of your parting and pin it at the back of your head to finish off the look.
3. Twisted Headband On Afro
Add a bit oomph to your gorgeous dowith this simple twisted style. This twisted headband look is perfect for the woman who’s always on the go and does not want her hair constantly falling over her eyes. But not only is this simple style super functional, it also adds a pretty flair to your regular hair look.
What You Need
- Pomade
- Edge control cream
- Toothbrush
- Bobby pins
How To Style
- Apply some pomade to your curls to give them more definition.
- Smooth down the edges all along your hairline at the front.You can opt for some edge control cream and apply itwith a toothbrush.
- Pick up a 4 inch section of hair from right above one ear and divide it into 2 sections.
- Twist these sections individually right till the ends.
- Start French twisting these two sections by flipping the front section over the back section and adding more hair from the outside to each of the sections with each flip.
- Direct the French twisted braid across the top of the head, towards the other ear.
- Once your French twist has reached the opposite side, simply secure it behind your ear with some bobby pins crossed over each other.
4. Half Updo With Side Swept Bangs
Now here’s an all purpose hairstyle that you can wear to work during the day and to go clubbing at night! This simple half updo is given a fancy flair with the dramatic side swept bangs in the front. And all it takes is a single hair elastic to perfect this look!
What You Need
- Hair elastic
How To Style
- Section away the hair at the front and crown of your head and flip it in front of your face.
- Brush back the hair from the sides of your head and tie it together in a half ponytail at the back of your head.
- Now, horizontally divide the front section of the hair into 2 sections.
- Fan out the back section over the half ponytail.
- Swoop the front section on one side to create the side swept bangs and finish off the look.
5. Top Knot With Curly Bangs
Tasteful and timeless are the words that come to mind when I look at this hairstyle. This sweet top knot with curly bangs in the front is the perfect updo to sport on a chill day out with friends, witha pair of jeans and a casual T-shirt.
What You Need
- Pomade
- Fine toothed comb
- Hair elastic
- Bobby pins
- Perm rods
- Hair spray
How To Style
- Start off this hairstyle when your hair is still damp, right after you get out of the shower.
- Section away the front section of your hair, from between your temples.
- Apply pomade to the rest of your hair and slick it back with a fine toothed comb before tying it into a high ponytail.
- Twist your ponytail and roll it into a bun.
- Secure the bun to your head with the help of some bobby pins.
- Divide the front section of your hair into smaller sections and insert perm rods.
- Spritz on some hairspray on this hair.
- Wait till your hair has completely dried before removing your perm rods.
- Separate your curls and swoop them on one side to finish off the look.
6. Faux Tapered Updo
Always fancied yourself as someone who could pull off a mohawk but were too afraid to shave off half your hair? Then this hairstyle is exactly what you need! This tapered fauxhawk looks bold and edgy to say the least and saves you the commitment of saying goodbye to your hair!
What You Need
- Pomade
- Rat tail comb
- Sectioning clips
- Hair elastics
- Bobby pins
- Water in a spray bottle
- Perm rods
- Hair spray
How To Style
- Start off by applying pomade to your hair.
- Section away the hair at the top of your head with the help of a sectioning clip.
- Create a parting from behind your right ear straight up to the crown of your head. This will create a section of hair on the side of your head.
- From the very front of this section, pick up a 2 inch section of hair and divide it into two.
- French twist these two sections by repeatedly flipping the bottom section over the top section and adding more hair to both sections with each flip.
- Once your French twist has gone past your ear, simple intertwine the two sections together and secure the end with a hair elastic.
- Repeat steps 3 to 6 on the left side.
- Part the loose hair left at the back down the middle to divide it into 2 sections.
- From the left section, pick up a 2 inch section of hair from the nape of the neck and divide it into two sections.
- French twist these 2 sections towards the top of your head.
- Once this French twist has reached the crown of your head, simply twist the 2 sections together.
- Now, intertwine the tail of this French twist with the tail of the French twists you did earlier on the side right till the end and secure with a hair elastic.
- Lay this twist across the crown of your head and pin it down wherever it naturally falls on the opposite side.
- Repeat steps 9 to 13 on the other side.
- Unclip the top section of your hair and dampen it with a water spray.
- Divide this hair into small sections and insert perm rods into them.
- Wait till your hair has dried and spritz some hairspray on it before removing the perm rods.
- Separate the curls to finish off the look.
7. Easy Goddess Braid
Though you may love protective styles, sometimes you might not be able to go for them because of the time and money they require. An easy alternative that you can go for in this case is this easy goddess braid style that looks oh-so-cute and keeps your hair neatly in place.
What You Need
- Heat protectant
- Straightening iron
- Pomade
- Edge control cream
- Rat tail comb
- Hair elastics
- Bobby pins
How To Style
- Prep your hair with a heat protectant and straighten it.
- Apply some pomade to smoothen your hair down.
- With the tail end of your comb, part your hair from your left temple to the center of the nape of your neck to divide your hair into 2 sections.
- Tie up one section with a hair elastic to keep it separate while you work on the other section.
- Apply some edge control all along your hairline.
- From right next to the parting, pick up a 3 inch section of hair and divide it into 3 sections.
- Start Dutch braiding these 3 sections by flipping the side sections under the middle section and adding more hair from both sides into the braid with each stitch of braid. Follow your hairline while doing so.
- Once your braid has reached the nape of your neck and you can’t add any more hair to it, simply braid the rest of the way down and secure the ends with a hair elastic.
- Repeat steps 5 to 8 on the other side.
- Cross the braids over each other and secure them to your head with the help of bobby pins to finish off the look.
8. Bouncy Curls
Always fancied the beauty of pin up girls? Well, now you can look like one too! Some bouncy curls pinned up one side are all you need to get the hair look of your dreams. This curly style looks even more gorgeous when done on bright red hair.
What You Need
- Jumbo rollers
- Hair spray
- Paddle brush
- Bobby pins
How To Style
- Right after you step out of the shower, brush out all the knots and tangles from your hair.
- Neatly divide your hair into small sections and insert your jumbo rollers into them.
- Leave them on until your hair has dried completely.
- Spritz on some hair spray before you remove the rollers.
- Run a paddle brush through your hair to open up the curls.
- Sweep all your hair on one side and pin it down with some bobby pins to finish off the look.
9. Twisted Bun
Heading out to a wedding and can’t decide what to do with your hair? All you need is a banana clip and a little bit of hair twisting skill. This hairstyle looks super intricate but takes about 3 minutes to perfect. It looks especially great with a form fitting black dress.
What You Need
- Heat protectant
- Straightening iron
- Banana clip
- Bobby pins
How To Style
- Prep your hair with a hair protectant and straighten it.
- Pin all your hair back with a banana clip.
- Divide your ponytail into 2 sections.
- Split the left section into two and twist them individually right till the ends in a clockwise motion.
- Intertwine these two twisted sections with each other in an anti-clockwise manner and secure the ends with a hair elastic.
- Pull the twisted braid upwards and to the right.
- Pin it down under the opposite end of the banana clip.
- Do another rope twisted braid with the rest of the hair in your ponytail.
- Place and tuck it under the first one before securing it to your head with some bobby pins.
- You can insert more bobby pins wherever you feel the updo is not secure enough to finish off the look.
10. Messy Bun With Headband Accent
Now here’s a hairstyle that I think Cinderella would definitely sport to the ball where she met Prince Charming. This super easy top bun with headband accents created with some hair extensions is chic and elegant at the same time. Wear it to work or to a date to make everyone do a double take when they look at you.
What You Need
- Hair elastic
- Bobby pins
- Weft hair extensions
How To Style
- Pull back all your hair and tie it into a ponytail at the crown of your head.
- Loosely roll it into a bun and secure it to your head with bobby pins.
- Take 3 thin wefts of hair extensions and tie them parallel to each other across the top of your head to finish off the look.
The great thing about natural hair is that because of its coarse texture, any hairstyle you do with it can stay put for a couple of days. Here are some things you need to do to take care of your ‘do.
- Tie a silk bonnet or scarf around your hair before you go to sleep to prevent your hairstyle from getting ruined while you sleep.
- Use some pomade and a fine toothed comb to smoothen down and tuck in any sections that may loosen up or come undone.
- Smoothen down the hair on your hairline every morning with an edge control cream before heading out.
Well, there you have it, ladies! Our rundown of the best hairstyles that can be sported on natural hair! Comment below to let us know which ones you’re definitely going to try out!
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