Ijeoma Kola headshot on green background - hairstyles for black women

Hairstyles I Loved in 2020 That You Can Try This Year

As a new mom, the last thing that I wanted to worry about in 2020 was my hair. So I decided that I would primarily keep my hair in protective styles and visit the salon for maintenance, because I couldn’t fathom having to find time to detangle while also trying to get into a rhythm with juggling motherhood, work, and my personal sanity. I tried several different looks as I was inspired by various hairstyles for black women that kept popping up on my feed. So today I’m rounding up some of my favorite hairstyles that I tried last year!

Elongated Twistout

I know I just said I spent most of the year protective styling, but when my hair is out, this is my favorite way to style my natural hair. The key to this style was starting with blow dried hair, which gave the look some hangtime that my normal twistouts usually don’t achieve. There’s a reason I went with this look for my site rebrand photos — it feels the most like me.

Spring Twists

These were hands down everyone’s favorite hairstyle of me. I think because spring twists are still not yet super popular, and because they made me look SO much like my mom! I can see this becoming my go-to protective style whenever I need a break.

Ombre Knotless Box Braids

Knotless box braids are one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century (ok they were probably not invented recently but whoever brought them into mainstream culture deserves a Nobel Peace Prize). Seriously, if you haven’t yet tried them, you’re getting your hair braided the wrong way.

The Fluffy Puff

A puff will always be one of my favorite hairstyles and a big reason why I don’t think I’ll be joining team tapered anytime soon. A great puff starts with semi defined curls, and I styled these ones using products from my partnership last year with Hair Food. What’s nice is that it’s definitely one of the easiest natural hairstyles for black women to achieve.

Curly Bob Wig

In my first foray into the world of dark hair, I really liked the shape and lightness of this Moana wig. It was fairly easy to blend, probably because Human Hair Centre cut the lace for me (I really struggle with lace cutting), and was easy to throw on with minimal brushing or styling.

Flat Twist Updo

This was actually my first hairstyle of the year after taking down the knotless box braids that got me through labor and the first few weeks of motherhood. It was a low fuss, low tension style that made me feel put together even though the days ran together and I usually had spit up on my clothes.

Bonus: 10 Natural Hairstyles for Black Women

And in case you’re looking for some more hair inspiration, here’s a video of 10 natural hairstyles I tried in 2020 and that you can rock this year too!

Which of these styles are you copying for 2021?

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