Woah! It’s 7:45 am and your class starts at exactly 8 am. Thankfully your dorm is only a 5
minute walk from campus, and you can get dressed and ready in an instant. But then you
remember, you have curly hair. And not just any curly hair, but thick, puffy, curly hair. You
freak out when looking at your hair in the mirror (so big!), but then you remember, you’ve got 3 go-to hairstyles for curly hair that will work any day:

(My Personal Favorite) The Some-Up, Some-Down:
This hairstyle is for you ladies who still want to add some sass to your hair-do since your
hair won’t appear as completely pulled back. Simply grab the top half of your hair and tie
it into a ponytail (or a bun!) and leave the bottom half loose. If you want, you can apply
mousse to the bottom half of your hair to give it a wet, finished look. Adding a ribbon or
flower to your ponytail or bun will give it a cute look as well.

The Messy Bun:
This is a very fun and simple hairstyle that seems to work for any occasion! (Okay, well
probably not elegant ones.) The good thing is it works on curly hair too! Now, if you
have short curly hair like me, it may not turn out the perfect size but it’s still worth a try.
The first step is to pull your hair together and hold it straight up. Then twist your hair
down to a few inches above the crown. Wrap your hair around itself until it forms a loose
bun, right on top of your head. Pin the bun in place with bobby pins. Anywhere from four
to eight, depending on how thick your hair is. (I have thick hair, so don’t feel bad if you
have to do eight too.) The ultimate goal is to have it loose but secure. Finally, pull loose
strands of hair from the nape of your neck and around your face. And there you go, it’s
done!

Double-Sided French Braid:
Oh c’mon! These are so still in style! Why do one braid and leave it dangling in the back
when you can have two and decide to leave both dangling in the front and vice versa?
Now first, the basics. Divide the hair down the center of the head. Secure one half of the
hair using either a clip or a hair tie. Separate the section you left unbound into three
sections close to the top. Hold the sections so you have one on the left, one in the middle
and one on the right. Weave the right section across the middle section, and adjust the
middle section so it is over to the side. Cross the left section over the middle section and
again adjust the middle section. Add more hair to the section on the right before you
cross it over the middle section. This is the braiding process and repeat it until you’ve
added the remaining hair into the braid. Use an elastic band or some other type of hair
accessory to secure the braid. Follow the same process on the other side of the head to
create another French braid. When you’re finished, you should see that you have two

French braids!
An alternate option: pigtails. It’s basically the same idea except you’ll have two
ponytails.

  Text: Sarah Ndjongo