Updated: January 7, 2024
Here are 14 of the cutest, trendiest, and simplest natural hairstyles you can easily do at home.
You’ll look great at home, in all your Instagram selfies, and at the next bottomless-mimosa brunch once they let us all back out of the house.
The best part about these is — they are mostly either low-manipulation styles or protective hairstyles.
In other words, you can rest assured knowing your hair is protected and sure to grow during this quarantine. This compilation is the gift that keeps on giving!
1. AS – IS
Sometimes, all your hair really needs is to be left alone. However, we only recommend this if your hair is short enough, and doesn’t run the risk of getting tangled. Otherwise, we encourage you to keep your hair stretched to avoid the risk of single strand knots.
We LOVE to see 4C hair celebrated in all its glory.
Just to clarify, we didn’t say do Wash & Gos. We don’t recommend the heavy manipulation that goes into creating this style (contrary to what the name implies). We also don’t recommend brushing chemical gels into hair when it’s wet and at its most fragile.
Here are the two main reasons we don’t like Wash & Go’s:
1. The gel you’re going to use if not chosen correctly is going to do more harm than good in the long run. Your style will be cute, but it will starve your strands of moisture. If you must do a Wash and Go, we recommend making your own natural gel from flaxseeds, oats, or sea moss. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a recipe.
However, if you don’t have the patience for DIY, here’s an aloe vera-based gel that’s alcohol-free with a short ingredients list!
2. Overmanipulating your hair while it’s dripping wet is going to cause breakage. Period.
3. You run the risk of getting single strand knots as long as your 4c hair is not stretched.
2. Mini Braids
This is the latest natural hairstyle trend to hit social media. It seems like what most people need right now is styles that we can do ourselves at home, and offer maximum versatility. Mini braids are great at any hair length, and they don’t shrink as much as mini-twists would. They can also be styled like free-flowing strands, and accessorized to your taste. Yes, they take FOREVER to install, but they last a long time and offer access to your scalp for easy care! We say it’s worth the time investment – especially now that we have a lot of it on our hands.
3. Mini Twists
We love mini twists for the same reasons we love mini braids! However, they are a bit easier to install and don’t require as much expertise. As a result, mini-twists are what we tend to recommend the most! It’s a low manipulation style that keeps your hair stretched, supported, and organized. You also really get to know your individual strands during the installation process! It is super versatile so while your hair is in mini-twists you can wear it in buns, space buns, or any other style you like!
We have this entire post on mini-twists just to prove how much we love them!
4. Box Braids
This is the classic to slay all classics! You can never go wrong with this hairstyle since it looks great on everyone and at every hair length. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can find tons of tutorials online to install them yourself! You’d just need to order your braiding hair off Amazon here, pre-treat it with an ACV rinse to strip the chemical coating off it (here’s why), and get to work!
5. Braided Bobs
This is the time to experiment! Try super short box braids or try a color you never would! They’ll save you installation time and will look super cute all summer. Beat the heat in this style!
6. Straight-Back Cornrows
Yes, girl. You can wear your straight back cornrows out of the house now without feeling the urge to throw a wig on. You can either do this style with your natural hair or with braiding hair added in. Feel free to experiment and find what works for you!
7. Bohemian Braids
These braids are perfect for the summer! If you have the patience to learn or a little bit of experience, you can install these braids yourself at home. Otherwise, you should just bookmark this style for your stylist as soon as it becomes safe to go out and get them done.
8. Pop Smoke Braids
We’re seeing this style EVERYWHERE this year. We think it can look cute on a lot of people, but you have to be daring to try out a style like this.
9. Passion Twists
These are slightly easier to install than braids because they don’t require you to be as neat. The hair is curly and shrinks, so it looks great no matter your level of expertise.
10. Clip-Ins
This is the easiest and quickest way to a hairstyle! Not only will it look great in pictures, but it protects your hair by keeping your ends tucked away. Clip-ins are great because it gives you the look of a sew-in / weave, without the commitment. They’re also way easier to install. Most importantly, unlike a weave, clip-ins ensure that you still have access to your scalp so you can still take care of it.
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11. Crown Braids & Halo Braids
We love these because they’re a cute way to keep your hair tucked away and off your shoulders. This prevents breakage and keeps you cool now that it’s getting warmer! Depending on your hair length, you can do this with your real hair or with braiding hair pretty easily at home.
12. Wigs
We know wigs aren’t going to be a surprise to you! We love them as a protective style because they work year-round! However, there are a few things that can make a wig more dangerous than protective in the long run.
- 1. Using any kind of glue on your hairline. Yeah, I said it. The latest trend of melting your wigs is ultimately going to do more harm than good for your strands. No matter how safe you think you’re being, gluing anything onto your head and taking it down on a daily basis is not healthy for your hair.
- 2. Neglecting your hair when it’s under wigs. It’s easy to forget that you have real hair under that wig and it still needs to be cared for while it’s under them. Even when wearing wigs, you should be moisturizing your hair, and caring for your scalp as you would without the wig on.
- 3. If the wig is too tight, it is cutting off circulation to your scalp. The scalp relies on blood flow to function properly. So if this blood flow is constricted in any way, it will begin to make decisions on priority. Your scalp can decide hair growth is no longer a priority, or at worst, that keeping certain hair follicles alive is no longer possible. This means you could possibly start losing hair from parts of your hair you thought weren’t affected by the wig.
We love wigs for their versatility. But you should never prioritize the look of a style over the health of your hair!
13. Locs / Sisterlocs / Faux Locs
If you’ve ever thought about locking your hair, now is the time to experiment with the idea. You can either install faux locks, crotchet locs, or a finger coil style (which would be your starter locs). The best part about these is that you can install most of these styles by yourself! Starting down the dreadlock path is an entire journey on its own. Here is some inspiration if you’re interested in taking that leap!
14. Crotchet
You can literally crotchet anything onto your head. All the styles we listed above can be achieved in little to no time thanks to crotchet! From crotchet box braids and twists to crotchet wigs. This is the hairstyle for the impatient natural and we love it!
Featured image: source
Leave us a comment below letting us know which style you currently have in, and which ones you decided to try!
Read Next: 13 Best Ways to Care for Natural Hair Before, During, & After Braids!
