Sure, any season is a good season to wear a protective style. But when that air starts to get cooler, I like to put the fro away for a while and rock some low maintenance dos. Not only do they save me time during the seasons when I like to do my hair the least but they aid in the overall health of my hair.

Here are four of my favorite protective styles for fall!

Twisted Fauxhawk w/ Pompadour

This is my favorite fancy-ish protective style. Definitely a go-to when I have a special affair to attend with limited time to do my hair. Marley Hair and I have become the best of friends ’cause it’s the perfect “fake it til you make it” synthetic hair for updos, blending in SO well with my natural texture. The style looks a lot more complicated than it is. Believe it or not, once my hair is prepped (washed, stretched) the style itself takes me no more than thirty minutes to do. It was just right for this fall photo shoot with Danielle Finney back in 2012.

Wanna see how it’s done? I GOTCHU BOO!!! Clickity click >>> HERE!

Marley Twists

This was the very first set of Marley Twists I had ever done. They were on the small side but that made for lots of versatility in styling. Buns have been my thing since relaxer days so that wasn’t gonna change. But I also liked to do a half up/half down thing as seen in yesterday’s post.

While I was able to do a lot with those twists, they took me soooooooo long to do! So I gradually moved on to doing them larger, a look that I adored anyhow. I wish I had a tutorial for you (I have one coming… eventually) but there are TONS on YouTube that I’m sure you’ll find helpful liiiike this one by Ebony Clark. Our methods are pretty much identical. Here is a little FAQ post on a set I did last summer and, if you’re so inclined, I talk a bit about the upkeep of the above style in this throwback video. Don’t laugh at the quality! LOL!

French Braid w/ Faux Braid Pompadour

After getting my hair trimmed by my friend Simeko (Meko New York Natural Hair Care Spa), she did a simple yet very cute upside down French braid to send me on my way. She braided the back nice and close to the scalp, loosening her grip as she got to the top to make it poofy. Sometime after that, I decide to re-teach myself to braid my own hair from bottom to top. It took two tries but it all came back to me.

For the top, instead of continuing the braid loosely, I decided to try something I saw in a photo on Instagram. Just by looking at it for a while, I figured out how she did it. I call it a “faux braid” because, although it resembles a braid, all you’re doing is criss-crossing one piece of hair over another. I’ve done the same type of thing with my Marley Twists. Because it’s not as taut as the loose French braid would have been, this allowed for more flexibility with the size of my pomp. For me, bigger is always better.

Nicole Melton Topknot

And then there’s THIS loveliness. You’d never know that former Essence Online Beauty Editor (now owner of Melton Digital) Nicole M. Melton created this style purely by accident. Those are the best kind! This is by far THE quickest protective style I’ve ever done so of course it made the list of faves. It’s simple enough for every day but can easily transition to a special occasion. All you need is stretched hair, some sort of hair tie, a few pins and you’re set!

I do have my own tutorial on the style but why not watch Nicole herself!

Look at the awesome styles you can create with some Marley hair, a French braid and a simple series of twists! Have fun with your hair this fall and try your hand at something new.

What are some of YOUR go-to protective styles for fall? Are there any new ones that you’d like to try in the near future? Share below!

 

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