Foraging your floral afro, and more flowery hairstyles for natural-textured hair

When Solange got married and rocked babies breath in her afro, we died. And when we heard that her sister Beyonce placed those baby flowers in her hair in the morning so that they could bloom in her hair over the course of her wedding day, we died even more.

Flowers are the oldest and most natural adornment for hair. They represent creation and a new beginning. With their scent and beauty, a few perfectly placed flowers can transform the simplest of hairstyles into breathtaking creations. For a kinky-textured bride (or groom for that matter!) the floral afro is the perfect hairstyle.

Today, we are excited to introduce you to the floral afro, and show you how to wear it. And then, because we know you want more of this ish, we will show you two other gorgeous ways to wear foraged flowers in your natural textured hair — just in case you have a wedding to attend in the near future OR maybe you need to knock out your bridesmaids' hair game plan.

First off, let’s forage some flowers. Okay, maybe you have your wedding flowers all planned out with a florist already. In that case, you will want to plan for some extras to floralize your hair game.

Flower foraging tips

Look for hearty-looking flowers, get a wide variety, and don’t skimp on greenery! Look for flowers and plants in textures to which you are drawn. Do not forage in someone else’s flower patch without asking and only take flowers which are bountiful (no endangered wildflower species, please!).

Use small scissors to cut your flowers, and keep them in water in a cool place until you are ready to do your hair. When the time comes, lay out all your flowers, trim the stems to about one inch — two inches for the larger flowers. Get some bobby pins, large and small ones.

Floral afro styling tips

Make sure your hair is clean and dry — but not too clean! Second or third day after a wash is perfect. Before styling, add whatever products you normally use in your hair.

When deciding on where to place your floral hair motif, consider where you will be standing and facing at the altar, you want to make sure your floral-side is the side that gets photographed!

Use a wide-toothed comb to pick your fro out a bit. We recommend making it quite big, and letting it be rough around the edges. The key is to give it a natural finish, and not fussing too much over it. The beauty of the Floral Afro is in its imperfections.

When your hair is how you want it, start adding flowers. Always start with the big ones first! Use bobby pins to secure the flowers by their stems into your afro. Make sure to pin the stems underneath the top layer, so that the pins don’t show.

Continue adding flowers until your heart is content. The smaller flowers may not need to be pinned, as long as you leave the stems long enough for your kinks and curls to grab onto. That is one of the beauties of kinky/curly hair — it grabs and holds like Velcro, so you can often stick things straight into it, and they won’t come out.

When you are content, give a quick shake to your head, and this will tell you if you need any extra pins to secure flowers.

Keep in mind that dropping flowers from your fro as you walk down the aisle is not the worst thing that can happen, and that flowers naturally wilt over time and that is part of their beauty. Shed those petals throughout the day with pride.

How to style a floral mohawk

Another fun way to rock foraged flowers in your ‘do is in a floral ‘hawk. To get this look, you will add a bit of extra product to the sides of your hair, and tightly brush it from the temples towards the crown, pinning it along the side of the crown with criss-crossed bobby pins to create your hawk.

Pin flowers and greenery along each side of your hawk, starting in the front, and working your way back.

May we suggest throwing some ferns in there? Because it looks so rad?

For more of a vintage vibe, we love the asymmetrical rolled look, which is super easy to do, and looks fierce with some flowers…

This hairstyle is great for longer curly hair. To get the look, make a deep side part. Beginning on the heavy side of the part, twist the hair back, adding hair to it as you twist it towards the back of the head. Check this tutorial to clarify the technique.

Secure your twist just behind your ear, with criss-crossed bobby pins.

Now repeat on the other side, bringing your twist slightly farther towards the opposite side to offset the hairstyle perfectly. Pin your second twist.

Now, add flowers to your heart's content. Stick a weirdly textured succulent in there for good measure. Show them with your hairstyle that Vintage can still be Earthy, and that you are the queen of flowers and hair.

There is a floral hairstyle for every head of natural textured hair. We suggest that you pick some flowers, put on some tunes, and play around with them. keep this floral hair inspo in your proverbial back pocket for the next wedding you attend, or participate in.