From Relaxed Hair to an Afro

Yaya DaCosta hair — Yaya DaCosta - Photo by PR Photos

Q: I have relaxed hair. It stops at my neck. I want to know: how can I make it LOOK like an afro? Not the afro from the 1970s but the newer version of it. Like Yaya DaCosta's hair from America's Next Top Model.

A: One of the easiest techniques to add fullness and texture to hair actually requires no real styling tools.

Take the hair and divide it into small sections usually 1/2-inch square in size. Braid these sections of hair into thin box braids. This can be done when the hair is wet if desired, and you can ply the hair with styling product to make the hair easier to work with.

Once the entire scalp has been braided, re-moisten the hair and apply a generous amount of styling product. Use a styling lotion, or mix styling gel with water in a 1:4 ratio, and saturate the braids with the solution.

Allow the hair to dry completely then take down the braids. If desired, you can use a hair-dryer on the braids to dry them more quickly, or simply heat the dried braids and allow them to re-cool before taking the hair down.

Yaya DaCosta afro hair — Yaya DaCosta - Photo: Debby Wong/Shutterstock

Use a wide tooth comb or hair-pick to fluff out the hair and use a light misting of hair spray and scrunching if you want to add a little more definition to the hair.

Remember that the smaller the sections and tighter the braids are, the fuller and kinkier the hair will end up. Similar results can be achieved by wrapping the hair on very small permanent wave rods, if you prefer a tightly curled look as opposed to kink in the hair.

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See also:

How does one get his afro looking soft like the West Indies locks?

African-American hair care