Afro/black hair help!

[Gnala]

Evening all.

Not sure how many people on here can help me but here goes!

I have very thick, very frizzy Afro hair. When I put a tonne of gel or product in it it turns in to ringlets, but without, it's a mess. A mess that I shouldn't be, but am embarrassed by.

I have my hair braided 90% of the time and usually get it done on a weekend. Problem is, my braided can only do Thursday night, and I will have to go straight from work. This means no gel in my hair. This means frizz galore. This means a whole day of feeling horrid and self conscious.

AIBU to ask if anyone knows any styles I can use that are suitable for Afro hair, that will hide the frizz, and allow me to have only very light product in it?

So self conscious and worried about what I look like...

Have you ever worn a wrap/wide headband? I think they look lovely!

There are lots of funky styles you can do with scarves.

@Aquamarine1029 a wrap could work but I'm useless at tying them. A wide headband could be okay but will only cover the front and just don't really work for me! It's amazing how much I panic about my stupid hair!

Google may be more helpful on this subject than Mumsnet.

@charlestonchaplin I'm going to google when I get home. Sure there are some ladies out there who can help me though! Worth a shot anyway.

My friend does hers in a topknot- just gathered together in a strong bobble with a light slick of gel to hold the front frizzies in place. It looks good on her and she doesnt care what the hair in the bobble is doing as its off her face and under control.

Could you do it in a thick plait with a wide headband or scarf at the front?

I bet it’s nowhere near as bad as you think.

www.naturallycurly.com

Got any pics op? Mostly just read 'thick hair' and thought 'oooo how lucky'

Worse comes to worse pineapple hair on top of head and get one of those wrap looking headbands for the roots. Don't know where you work but if it's office type wear an extra crisp outfit (sharp shirt, wide trousers, simple elegant jewellery) to offset the natural lead back chic of your barnet.

I absolutely share your problem. I’ve only just felt confident enough to wear a wrap to work (but it still feels like I just have a huge head 😂) but other than that I think that embracing it is the way forward! Other than that, pineappling it and pulling forwards the front slightly to make it look less severe is the only other thing that works.

@Spottyyellowdress thank you! Where do you get your wraps from? The struggle is so real...

My favourites at the moment are from Zara oddly enough - tried to find a link for you, I’ll keep looking! There were sort of crinkled silk squares which weren’t too big - I find with lots of the other wraps I bought that they were just massive and I don’t need the extra bulk of material with all the hair...!

And if you google a 50s housewife headscarf tying I find that works much better for me than any ‘traditional’ methods!

Wide hair bands are popular just now, river island has a few. Or would a bun do, using product to slick back

To slick my hair back you need a lot d product. Aka gel. It'd be impossible to braid it and wouldn't want to braid my hair with anything other than oil really. It'd be gross otherwise. I think the Zara headband idea is a good one!

Gnala do you know what curl pattern you have? Might make it easier to give advice.

Although I think Afro/natural hair looks gorgeous without product - I’m a 3b and have always been told, “go for definition” but then the shape and drama gets lost!

But appreciate some like definition and I’ve tried most things so ask away!

Might be helpful if you haven't any hair wraps around.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=B5inEhjNLLo

It's just like this texture apart from is below my shoulders and less defined in the front. Really fine so usually need to weight it down...

@LaLaLanded I don't mind without definition, but I just can't get it to look good! It just goes mega frizzy and is unstylable... I don't like super defined as it doesn't suit me and weighs my hair down too much but I do like a bit of gel on my edges and the front to be slicked...

Why charles?

Don’t black women MN?

If it's shoulder length can you not just spritz it with water in the morning and put it in a bun?

A suggest you follow some UK afro hair bloggers on insta. @curltureuk are a gorgeous pair who are all about empowerment and black girl magic. Dm me your insta handle and I can send a few more your way 😀

continuallychargingmyphone just the question I was going to ask too!

@continuallychargingmyphone I thought exactly the same. I've seen so many threads about greasy hair, hair curling, French/Dutch braids etc yet nobody says 'mn probably isn't the best place for this' but when a black woman asks a perfectly reasonable question about how to style her Afro hair, mn can't provide... don't usually rise to it but in this instance it's fairly obvious that's what was meant.

@Happytea thank you! I don't have Instagram (job requires me to be social media-less) but I can still google them! Thanks!