Trial and Error: The Bantu No-No

I have never experienced so much heat and humidity in my life. My hair is crying out for some help. If you read my Simba Goes International post, you know that wearing my afro is not an option, neither is my normal flat twists out style. Any style that has my hair in my face or on my neck is a “no-no” On top of the drying heat in the Philippines, I also have tons of sweat and rain water dripping from my tendrils. This is not the type of moisture I want for my hair.

My two strand twists work fine but they are always straight with no personality. So this week I saw a few bantu knot styles on my social media pages, So I took my week old two strand twists, rehydrated them and twisted them into bantu knots. The process of putting in the bantu knots were a breeze and I had high hops for the results. I took them down the next day with a disappointment. They were not the curls I was expecting but they were well defined, also since I had them in two-stand twists the hair was clumped together and there was no volume just strands of hair. I fluffed and separated only a bit because I knew the sweltering heat would expand my hair. 

Sure enough I chose the hottest day on earth to wear my hair out. As soon as I stepped outside of my home and onto the main road to work, I regretted my decision. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead and I knew it was only a matter of time before I was drenched in moisture and swatting my curls from my face. I spent the day flipping my head back to avoid touching my hair with my hairs and pushing the sweat into my edges. After the day was over, I placed my satin bonnet on my head and decided to deal with my hair in the morning. 

The next morning, I dreaded removing the cap but I knew I needed to see the damage. As I peeled the cap, I saw most of my hair was stretched but the ends remained clumped together from the bantu know out. As it came down to it most of my week was spent with a headband on my head and an occasional ponytail to keep the hair off my skin. 

However, I am resilient. Now that we know Bantu Knots are a “no-no”,  the rest of this month will be dedicated to finding the perfect hairstyle for this heat and humidity. 

#TheNaturalTravelista