Cornrows

Can I have cornrows with short hair

Many people ask this question every day; can I have cornrows with short hair? We will look at what is included in this hairstyle, how it is done and if you can in fact have cornrows when you have short hair.

Cornrows are a hairstyle with a very long history. In fact, cornrows have such an extensive history in the African American culture, that many African people still wear them as a sign of their proud heritage.

When African American people were forced into slavery, this part of their culture almost died. It was a common practice to shave their heads as they came off the boats. This was for sanitary reason, which forces us to question the living conditions of these boats. However, as their hair came back this hairstyle did too. Not only did this hairstyle serve a cultural purpose, but it was also a neat and tidy way for them to keep hair out of their faces while working.

Cornrows have roots in other ancient cultures as well. There is historical proof that people in other nations such as the Romans and Phoenicians used to wear their hair in similar fashions. Today this hairstyle is popular worldwide and is worn by many different ethnicity.

Cornrows are small French braids that have been braided in a way that allows them to lie flat against the scalp. A basic cornrow style would begin at the crown of the head and be braided to the nape of the neck, where the remaining hair would be braided in a basic braid. However, there are many designs available for this style.

Cornrows have evolved in many ways. If you were to have your hair styled in a cornrow fashion, you would have many choices to make. How much of the hair do you want braided, where would you like the braids to start, do you want to braids straight or zigzag, and if zigzagged what designs would you like?

The length of hair needed to complete this styles varies, and depends on what design you want done. Patterns that are more complex require longer hair to work with, while the more basic styles needed less hair to be done.

Let us look at the question that was presented above. Is it possible to have cornrows done in short hair? It is possible to have it done in short hair, but it depends on how short your hair is. Typically, hair needs to be at least three inches to be able to have cornrows and even then, you would need a very skilled stylist or friend doing them. However, if your hair is not long enough to have them naturally done you can have extensions added and then cornrowed.



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About the author

thirsty roots®

Our goal is to share the beauty of Afro-textured hair and to have a place where we can come together to get examples, advice, and information of black hair growth and hairstyles. Whether you have permed, pressed, or natural hair it's still black hair and it's beautiful.

2 Comments

  • ok, i have found my question for how long our hair needs to be to get done some cornrows, which is 3 inches. But if not, if i don’t have 3 inches long hair too. Is there any possible to have just 1 inches long african hair, then add on some extensions and after that, begin to cornrow my hair ? Because i have about 1-2 inches long hair, and i really want to get some cornrows at the end of this month, but until that, my hair will probably be a bit longer. But if i wanned to, do you think i could get me some cornrows if i just add some extension first ? 🙂

  • Ididia Assefa, yor hair is a tiny bit too short. You might want to grow it out 5 months at the least to receive nice and clean cornrows that you can keep for at least 2 months! Though, if you want to receive cornrows now, they could probably only stay together a week at the most and wont have hang time at all. I hope this helped 🙂

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