On a scale of one to versatile, crochet braids are at the latter end of the spectrum. You can rock any style — from box braids to loose waves — using a crochet hook and a cornrow foundation. The look is also great for relieving tension from your scalp (anyone who’s ever had too-heavy box braids knows the struggle) and gives you the look of a protective style without the hours of sectioning and twisting. Other pros? Crochet styles can last for four to eight weeks and are easy to maintain. Just sleep with a silk or satin scarf or bonnet and keep strands nourished and frizz-free with a lightweight styling spray like Carol’s Daughter Monoi Repair + Protect Multi-Styling Milk. Keep reading for our favorite crochet hairstyles you can do at home.
Butterfly Locs
Butterfly locs are an effortless-looking style that’s perfect for summer. The style uses water wave braiding hair for a low-maintenance, tousled take on regular locs. It also takes less of a toll on your scalp than regular locs, because the hair is so lightweight. To achieve butterfly locs on your own, follow along with YouTuber Crowned K’s beginner-friendly tutorial below.
Half Crochet, Half Feed-In
If braiding isn’t your strong suit, this tutorial is for you. Starting with self-described “struggle braids,” content creator Jarry The Worst uses her fingers rather than a hook to loop her full, voluminous goddess curls into the back of her hair. She prefers to use feed-in hair on the front of her head for a neater, sleeker look.
Quick Box Braids
Box braids can feel heavy, especially around your edges. That’s why YouTuber Sashie E TV crochets her hair “as close as possible to the box, but not to the box” once she plaits her natural hair. The whole style took her less than an hour to complete, and her super-clean parts make it look like she used individual braids. Bonus: you don’t need to know how to cornrow to recreate this look.
Senegalese Twists
Senegalese twists, also known as rope twists, look gorgeous in any length or thickness and lend themselves perfectly to accessorizing with charms, shells and rings. For the most natural look, hair guru TheChicNatural starts by cornrowing all of her strands back, except for the sides, which she braids upwards. Doing this also makes your twists look more realistic when they’re pulled into an updo.
Ultra-Realistic Natural Hair
We’re not going to lie, Seun Okimi completely had us fooled into thinking she was rocking her natural hair in the first minute of the video. Turns out, she’s just a whiz at installing hyper-realistic crochet hair. To start, she braids her hair straight back and stopped halfway down her head. In the back, she connects two braids and continues plaiting them horizontally. Then, she installs small sections of 4C crochet hair.
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