I had been in a styling rut in 2014, after wearing braids and then having my hair blown out, so I turned to some of my hair styling inspirations on Instagram for some ideas! The April Create the Look challenge was a joint effort between Cherrell, Sasha, former blog feature of the Month Leslie, and myself; we each have different hair textures, lengths, and go to styles so there was definitely something to appeal to everyone! I’ve found that a lot of naturals complain that they can’t do a certain style because the length or texture of their hair does not match that of the person with the hair tutorial. But that’s not at all true! I believe we can adapt just about any hairstyle to our own hair, and changing the notion that some styles are only meant for some types of hair was another goal of the challenge.

Sasha’s Look

To start off the challenge, Sasha – a UK based blogger whose hair is kinky, curly and holds definition seriously well – did this half braided updo into a high bun!

My version was way less glamorous. For one, I can’t cornrow so I knew I’d have to do flat twists. I actually had a hard time parting my hair (leading me to self-diagnosis that it was time for a trim) so I couldn’t make them as small as I would’ve liked.

Cherrell’s Look

Cherrell was up next, and she is the queen of updos using marley or braiding hair. She didn’t disappoint, bringing us a mohawk look using braiding hair. I actually haven’t done a marley bun in over a year, but I wanted to see if I could recreate the look using just my hair.

My Look

I don’t think I have a signature look, so I chose to do a really quick updo inspired by a picture shared by one of my Facebook followers. Essentially the look was made up of big rolls separated by small flat or two strand twists. The person who I thought accomplished the look best was berrydakara!

Leslie’s Look

Leslie – queen of the jumbo flat twist updo – rounded up the challenge with a similar look to Sasha, with a braided back and twists in the front. I was in a weird space in life that week, so I couldn’t get around to doing it, but I’ve done similar looks in the past by pinning twists or flat twisting hair in the back and having fun times with the hair in the front.

Which of these looks was your favorite? Which have you tried before? Where do you find inspiration when you’re in a styling rut?

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