Bantu Knot Outs…Dry or Wet?

I love this video below featuring Evelyn From The Internets and Hallease because they compare their results of  doing their bantu knot outs on dry hair versus wet hair. They discuss the pros and cons between the two. The video also contains helpful tips for achieving a a cute bantu knot out.

I recently did another bantu knot out. I haven’t washed my hair since the last time I blow-dried it  two weeks ago. I usually do my bantu knot outs on “dry hair”. However, I do spritz my hair with a little bit of water so that it’s slightly damp. I think that for my hair, spritzing it with water first gives me better curl definition when I unravel the bantu knots. However, I have only done a bantu knot out without water just once. My hair got frizzy pretty fast but it was definitely the the product I used. It didn’t provide enough hold and definition for my thick hair. Below is a picture of that bantu knot out that I am referring to. This picture is from the summer of 2012 and as I mentioned, the bantu knot out was done on completely dry hair without any water. I used  SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner. Not a good idea! #Lesson learned

My bantu knot out at the start of my day

Below is how it looked by the end of that day! I was looking a little Sideshow Bob-ish. Keep in mind, it was a hot and humid summer day. However, my hair didn’t stand a chance because of the product I used! This product was not created to cut down on frizz and provide hold, or definition etc. It’s just a leave in conditioner.

Bantu Knot Out turned Afro..lol

So after the summer of 2012, I gave the bantu knot out another try for my birthday, Nov 2013, more than a year later. I was clearly traumatized, hence why it took me so long to try again…lol This time I used As I am Naturally Twist Defining Creme. Not bad! I got  a pretty good hold and curl definition. See below!However, my second day hair was theee BEST! I realized that I like my bantu knot outs more on the second day because they’re too tight on the first day.

2nd day hair

My BFF said I looked like a politician in the first day pic to the left. #SHADE That was on my actual birthday.

So  I revisited the bantu knot out for the  fourth time this past Friday (third time here) and the first day {Friday}was wiggity wack. The curls looked like they were sticking to my head. I don’t have a pic though because I was rushing to a b-day dinner. However the 2nd day was AWESOME SAUCE! And the weather was pretty nice (even though it’s snowing right now).

My roots were very  puffy and thick because I sweated a lot at the gym days before. As a result, I had to really spritz a lot of water ( on my roots, particularly in the back) and use a lot of Kinky-Curly Knot Today Leave In Conditioner/Detangler in order to get my comb through it. It was tough and doing these bantu knots definitely took longer than usual because my hair was so thick at the roots. I almost stopped because I was tired but I was too deep in. I couldn’t quit because  half of the front was already done.Below is how my hair looked when I unraveled my bantu knots the next morning { second day hair, this past Saturday}. My curls were sort of tight but loosened up throughout the day. I didn’t realize my eyes were closed until after I took this picture. I think I was still asleep {low key}. The night before I re-twisted my hair {loosely} and put each twist back into a bantu knot. I re-twisted loosely because I didn’t want my curls to lose their definition. I got this handy tip from Chizi Duru on YouTube.

I decided to lose the bow and orange earrings Less is more but I was proud of  my perfect bow :-)! I was actually trying to recreate Evelyn From The Internets look below but I didn’t feel like blow-drying my hair 😦 She looks so cute and she was the inspiration for my bow and look above 🙂

Photo credit: Naturally Curly Instagram

Photo credit: Naturally Curly Instagram

Throughout the day, my curls loosened and I sho nuff picked my roots with a pik in order to give it some umph and volume. The wind was crazy that day so that also loosened them up! The wind definitely helped add volume and bounce. I liked my big and wild curls.

Gone with the wind fabulous!

Gone with the wind fabulous!

Needless to say, this  past Saturday was an awesome hair day! I got many compliments which is always nice. I also felt quite springy! I even brought my Keds and beads out so they could play in the sun! I have a serious love for Keds (post on that coming soon). My love for beads has already been documented here 🙂

I wish my curls had lasted for the New African Films Festival 😦 The wind loosened them up too much and I didn’t feel like putting more product or water in my hair. Sunday morning, they were dead! (However, I noticed I can never rock my bantu knot outs past the second day.) Half of a Yellow Sun was an intense film and author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie signed my copy of the book. She also told me I had lovely hair, so sweet! Post coming soon because that film festival was definitely the highlight of my weekend!!! 🙂

Anywho, I think I need to revisit the bantu knot out on completely dry hair. However, I need to use a better product than I did during the summer of 2012. I want to use what Evelyn used in the video above, Oyin handmade boing!  Oyin products are available at Target now so I am going to make it happen! Evelyn mentioned in the video to always use a water based product when doing bantu knot outs on dry hair. The first ingredient in boing! is water and its description below sounds  perfect for a bantu knot out and plus Evelyn’s bantu knot out came out really cute!

You love your hair… every twist, coil, kink and curl. showcase your texture at its most exuberant, well-conditioned, softly defined best! boing! encourages your coils, cuts down on frizz, and packs in the conditioning moisture to keep your hair supple. designed to be moisturizing and easy to wash out, with a soft, touchable hold, this cream formulation gives you killer coils, fabulous finger styles, and terrific twist outs!

When doing bantu knot outs, I look for a product that provides perfect twist outs since I am two strand twisting my hair first. I also  look for a product that cuts down on frizz. I will try this next time and report back!

How do you like to do your bantu knot outs? On wet or dry hair? Or do you prefer to do it on damp hair?

Please share your preference below in the comments section.

Thanks for reading and have a great week :-)!

~Amma Mama