30 Badass Ways to Wear Bantu Knots and Protect Your Curls
If you are short of ideas about your next protective style, here is our tip — Bantu knots. In addition to safely tucking away your vulnerable ends, this style radiates exotic vibes, not to mention it is really easy to create and is totally wearable in different scenarios.
What Are Bantu Knots and Their Origin
Bantu knots are twisted or braided sections of hair wrapped around themselves to form stacked buns on the crown. Bantu knots’ history can be traced back to some Central and South African ethnic groups speaking Bantu languages, hence the name. In the modern world of international fashion icons, they were sported by Rihanna, Cardi B, and Beyoncé, among many other A-listers.
How to Do Bantu Knots
If you need a quick Bantu knots tutorial, you are in the right place. Basically, you just need to section your hair, twist the strands, and wrap them into knots.
Start with clean deep-conditioned and thus well-hydrated hair. What products to choose? They must be for your hair type and texture. Detangle hair. You may need to use your usual conditioner or serum for this.
Can you do Bantu knots on wet hair? Do you need to dry it? A lot of women say that they prefer Bantu knots on damp hair. Try and choose your option.
If you want 4 buns, section your hair into 4 square parts, securing each with a clip. Then, you can just twist the strand around its base as it is or make a 2-strand twist or a braid before this. You choose.
How to secure Bantu knots? If they are tight, and your hair is naturally curly, you can just tuck the ends underneath in most cases. If this doesn’t work, secure each knot with a bobby pin or small elastics.
30 Beautiful Bantu Knots Hairstyles
Time to see how you can adopt this trendy and versatile style.
1. Triangle-Parted Bantu Knots Hairstyle. This pretty style gets the most out of sectioning and turns the neat geometric parts into a dramatic backdrop for the knots to shine out.
2. Sky-High Bantu Knots with Braids. This style catches the eye with the extra height of the knots, but we wouldn’t miss the reverse braids on the temples and the springy ringlets on their ends.
3. Messy Bantu Knots with Weave Hair. This stylish half-up features only three bumps on the crown yet creatively combines their undone finish with the pin-straight weave in the back.
4. Classic Bantu Knots. One thing we like about Bantu knots hairstyles is that they don’t need to be artsy to feel regal, such as this crown of no-frills mini buns.
5. Cornrow Bantu Knots with Face Framing. Here, each of the spiraled buns gets its own cornrow design to create a unique style complemented with face-framing braids.
6. Intricately Braided Bantu Knots. Apart from the side braids running in the opposite direction, this style includes a couple of braided strands stretched across the crown.
7. Fluffy Bantu Knots with Locs. Bantu knots give you a nice chance to showcase the texture of your locs in a different light, especially when they are spiced up with color.
8. Dramatically Big Bantu Knots. Longer hair or the use of hair extensions will let you easily recreate these plus-size balls catching attention with their dimension and nicely braided texture.
9. Center-Parted Bantu Knots. Don’t forget to take into account your face shape when choosing among various Bantu knots styles, and make a note of this placement accentuating the symmetry of the girl’s face.
10. Jumbo Bantu Knots with Popping Purple. Purple is the right hair shade to make a statement, and this combo of a head-turning color and a jumbo size ensures a double dose of admiration.
11. Fun Bantu Knots with Curls. Leaving out some curly ends when spooling your Bantu knots is a smart move if you want to add fullness and bounce to your style.
12. Big and Sleek Bantu Knots. Despite the seemingly simple design, hairstyles with Bantu knots are extremely diverse, and these perfectly polished twirls serve as a testament.
13. Spicy Bantu Knots. We are always ready to turn our thumbs up on Bantu knot hairstyles spiced up with color, and these miniature cinnamon rolls are no exception.
14. Cornrows Plus Bantu Knots Half Up Half Down. This fancy style is filled with different textures, from tightly braided cornrows through fleecy knots to stunning bushy curls.
15. Zigzag-Parted Bantu Knots. If you wonder how to do Bantu knots with plenty of zing, try and mimic this edgy parting that takes the smooth buns to the next level.
16. Bantu Knots with Irregular Parting. You are not limited to one parting pattern throughout the head, so get creative when styling Bantu knots and ask for a charming design like this.
17. Small Bantu Knots with Beaded Side Braids. This cute style proves that an abundance of tiny swirls can look no less spectacular than full-size knots, swapping volume for texture.
18. Scaly Zulu Knots. Here is another way to add a unique touch to your style through an off-beat parting while paying tribute to the South African Bantu knots’ origin.
19. Bantu Knots with Golden Details. Although we’ve already seen quite a bunch of Bantu knots styles with braids, this one stands out for the bold approach to decoration.
20. Tapered Bantu Knots for Short Hair. Even short strands leave some room for creativity, and this girl didn’t miss an opportunity to don a full set of pyramid-shaped micro knots.
21. Bantu Knots with Neon Green Insertion. The acid-green bun is the first thing that jumps out at you when looking at this sassy style, and it really chimes with the psychedelic parting.
22. Large Bantu Knots on Natural Hair. While many styles are created by smoothing down the naturally kinky texture, this Bantu knots version embraces the frizz and translates it into a WOW moment.
23. Accessorized Bantu Knots on Short Thin Hair. Smaller parts can derive a whole lot of petite buns from short and thin hair while catchy accessories won’t let them go unnoticed.
24. Bantu Knots with Golden Highlights and Braided Parts. This style brings in extra shine with the golden blonde strands interwoven into the swirls and gives a frame to the face with two braided strands running along the parting.
25. Bantu Knot Mohawk with Buzz Cut. This daring style fakes a mohawk by placing a set of knots in the middle of the crown and complements the avant-garde look with the ornately shaved back and sides.
26. Simple Box Parting for Bantu Knots Twist Out. Bantu knots are known as both a protective hairstyle and a popular heat-free way to curl hair, so steal this option to arrive at uniform tight curls after unraveling the buns.
27. High-Contrast Bantu Knots with a Halo. By wrapping a couple of knots with golden blonde hair extensions, this girl gets a focal point emphasizing the sophisticated pattern of her style.
28. Non-Uniform Bantu Knots with Artistic Edges. We like how the carefully styled edges present a contrast to the effortlessly spooled braids forming the fanciful Bantu knots.
29. Towering Bantu Knots with Smooth Finish. If you opt for this low-key style, you won’t need to tinker with Bantu knot take down since the removal will be as smooth as the finish.
30. Double Brown Bantu Knots on Straight Hair. This naturally straight hair gains visual interest with the mismatched sectioning and the caramel brown swirls against the dark base.
Now, we have only a couple of questions to be answered before you come to a decision. How long do Bantu knots last? You can enjoy them for a week or two, depending on the particular style and aftercare. You should arm yourself with a nourishing hair oil to keep your buns from frizzing and think through how to sleep with Bantu knots to avoid unraveling (our tip: use a silk scarf or bonnet). Anyway, when removed, this style leaves you with springy damage-free curls perfectly ready for several more days of wear; so, give it a try!
