Cornrow braids are by far the most popular braids out there. Originated in Africa, cornrows have a long history that can be traced as far back as 3,000 B.C. Can you believe that? But more importantly cornrow styles are still trending and there’s nothing surprising about it at all. Cornrows suit both men and women, they are comfy, they are stylish, they are simply awesome.
And the best thing is, there are different types of cornrows out there so you have plenty of hairstyles to choose from.
As we were saying, cornrows belong to African culture. Since the texture of Afro hair is kinky and curly, such hairstyles as cornrow braids are quite useful. They help to tame the unruly hair and in general make things a lot easier for a wearer of such a hairstyle.
Once you have cornrows made, you can forget about styling for about 4 weeks. Though there’s one condition. You need to take good care of your scalp and get used to sleeping in a silk scarf. Nevertheless, cornrows are one of the most popular protective hairstyles that exist and you should definitely give them a go.
Cool Hair Braiding Cornrow Styles to Try
Since cornrows braids are braided tight and close to the scalp, you need to be ready that the skin will be partly exposed. Due to this, we must warn you that cornrows don’t suit equally all people without exception. You have to take into account your face type and head shape.
Sure thing, cornrow braid styles fit people with round face better. Though it depends. After all, if you never try, you will never know, right? Here we’d like you to look through the most popular cornrow braiding styles and get inspired. And you know what? Such styles are perfect for kids too.
Awesome Big and Thick Cornrows
Another cool thing about cornrows is that they can be of different size. You can make a lot of thin and small cornrows or go for a few thick and big cornrows. As for the latter, here you have plenty of options: from making 2 cornrows on each side of the head to braiding 4, 5 or 6 cornrows all over the head.
The point is, the fewer braids you make, the bigger they are in size. So, by experimenting with the number of braids and therefore with their size you can come to your perfect hairstyle. Though you need to keep in mind that smaller and thinner plaits keep their shape longer whereas big cornrow braids might get matted and tousled in a week or so.
Tip: You can make rather large cornrows by adding hair extensions to the braids.
Female Cornrows Hairstyles for Women with Natural Hair
As it was mentioned above, cornrows are a unisex hairstyle, though it is more common to see women sporting cornrows. That’s why we have collected the best female cornrows styles that are in trend this season. And the good news is, they aren’t going anywhere. Braids are always trendy.
Cornrows are known as a protective hairstyle, which is why they are perfect for women who want to give their natural hair a rest from constant styling with heat tools. Besides, we shouldn’t forget that such a braiding technique as cornrows was initially created for curly natural hair.
Of course, cornrows can be made on the hair of any texture, yet coily and kinky Afro hair texture fit the best. Not only do cornrow braids last longer on such hair, but also keep their shape better. Not to mention that cornrows are a God’s gift during hot summer months.
Cute Long Cornrow Braids Styles
If you want your cornrows hairstyle to last long and look neat, you need to know how to take care of cornrows. But don’t forget, even though cornrows are supposed to be worn long, you shouldn’t wear them for too long.
This may cause hair breakage and thinning-out. hair gets dull and frizzy. Do you need that? We don’t think so. So, where were we? If you want to get a cool cornrow braid style but don’t want your hair to be damaged, follow these rules on how to look after cornrows:
- It might sound too obvious, but you have to find a professional braider in the first place. This person has to be experienced and have good braiding skills.
- Washing your cornrows as you are used to doing with your hair isn’t a good idea. Of course, you should keep cornrows clean and washing is necessary, but the whole process is a bit different. So, first of all, put on a net cap before the procedure. Wet your hair thoroughly and put a small amount of mild shampoo on your palms. Press your hands with shampoo all over your head but do not massage it into the braids as if you’d usually do. Leave shampoo for a few minutes and then rinse your head. Keep your eye on rinsing and make sure all shampoo is washed out.
- As for conditioning, you should do it on a regular basis to keep your hair healthy. There are two ways: you can go for either the rinse-off conditioner or the leave-in conditioner.
- As well as conditioning, you need to do moisturizing on a regular basis. Oil-based sprays are the best choice here.
- You need to make it into a habit to sleep in a satin or silk scarf. These fabrics will protect your hairstyle and keep the needed hair’s moisture level.
- Last but not least, you need to protect cornrows during too windy, sunny or rainy weather.
Straight Back Cornrows Braid Hairstyles
Braided hairstyles and the ones with weave are different but equally awesome. You will hardly find some other braid hairstyle which would be so diverse. Thick and thin, long and short, simple or complex, natural or colorful, cornrows are great whatever they are.
After all, they have proved that they can survive the test of time and remain as cool as they were in the ’90s. There’s one cool hairstyle from the ’90s which we like the most. This is the hairstyle with cornrows put into a ponytail.
It’s one of the best ways to wear cornrows, isn’t it? Cool and chic, this hairstyle will make you look like a queen.
Simple Cornrows Braided Hairstyles
Here’s great news for you. If you have been wondering how to cornrow your own hair, we’ll give a step by step description.
First things first, you have to decide what pattern of cornrows you would like to get. Btw, we’ve got a few cool designs which might be interesting for you. Check them out here.
After the decision is made, make your hair slightly damp by spritzing water on it and then brush it to get rid of all possible knots.
Determine the size of the sections for cornrows and separate the rest of the hair with the help of sectioning clips.
You can moisturize the hair in the section you are going to braid with oil or special cream.
Start braiding a simple three-strand braid adding hair to each strand while braiding. Go along the way to the back of the head. To fix the tip of the braid, you’ll need rubber bands.
Do the same thing to the rest of the hair.
See, there’s nothing difficult at all. Of course, the process of cornrow braiding can time-consuming, but the result is so worth it.
Bet you had no idea how easy it was to braid cornrows?
African Cornrow Designs for Short Hair
Have we promised you to show possible cornrows designs? Here they are. Simple straight back cornrows may be boring, but these patterns will definitely attract everyone’s attention. They are bold and edgy!
You can combine thin cornrows and thick cornrows, you can make them straight, winding or circular. Cornrows can be of any shape and size. That’s the whole beauty of them. They are really versatile. Besides, you can always add accessories like beads, colorful ribbons braided into plaits. As well as that, you can wear bandanas and scarves to complement the hairstyle.
“How long does hair have to be for cornrows?”, if this is the only question that stops you from getting cornrows braids done, relax. The length of your hair doesn’t really play such an important role unless your head is completely shaved, of course.
Even if you wear a pixie cut, the chances are you will be able to cornrow your hair.
Half Cornrows Styles You Will Love
You don’t necessarily have to braid all of your hair into cornrows. Like, you can go for half cornrows half braids. And trust us, this is the case when your creativity knows no limits. There are tons of types of braids that can be combined with cornrows.
For instance, you can mix cornrows with box braids or with rope twists. Start making cornrows as usual but when you reach the crown of your head continue with some other type of braids. That’s it.
Half head cornrows is a great hairstyle for active women who want to remove hair from the face.
Beautiful Updos with Cornrow Braids in a Bun
We all love updos. Why? They are elegant but more importantly, they are practical. You can kill two birds with one stone by getting an updo with cornrows. Instead of just brushing your hair back and collecting it into a high bun, you can make cornrows braids that are put in a bun at the crown of your head.
You can go for simple cornrows or braid them in a more creative way so that your updo stands out. You will see that updos with cornrows are great one way or another.
Perfect Side Cornrow Hairstyles for Black Hair
In the case you don’t want to make cornrows all over your head, there are side cornrows hairstyles. What we mean is that you can get cornrows done on one side of your head or on both sides. And you will get this awesome “fake undercut” look.
To start with, you can check how you would look with a real undercut.
Second, by getting your hair braided into cornrows on one side, you can add the needed asymmetry to your image. And we all know well that asymmetry can really work to your advantage in some cases.
Third, if your face is round and slightly chubby, you can make cornrows on both sides of your head to make your face visually longer.
Last but not least, one-sided cornrows look badass! Just check these pictures out!
