At TIY, we love our girls with textured hair, curly hair, thick hair, you name it. We say: bring on the zig zags, curves, spirals, waves, coils … but we also get that this kind of hair poses a challenge that traditional hair elastics are hardly up to. For all of our four-loop tie-it-yourselfers out there, this blog is for you. Ready for some fresh inspo for styling your kinky, coily, big & beautiful hair? Read on.

1. Loose, Silky Curls 

If you have big curls and plenty of volume, this look is achievable with a medium length, layered cut and lots of pomade. The top and sides need plenty of oomph, so be sure you don’t get the top chopped off. Blow dry with a diffuser, then apply a generous amount of mousse or texturizing cream, scrunching as you go. Super dramatic, while still being silky and bouncy.

2. Borderline Buzz Cut

This super short hairstyle for textured hair is a couple of notches (or clipper guard sizes) above a buzz cut. You can leave in short curls, and a bright or unique color goes a long way in turning up the volume. This style is great for kinky hair or hair that dreads easily once it gets longer. Keep it soft, and use a longer TIY headband for when you want to sweeten it up.

3. Wild Waves with Frosted Tips

This is a simple cut, graded along the sides and long on the top with the bangs left long. If you have textured hair that spirals or curls, you get this look by blow drying from the roots out but going easy on the ends. The frosted tips are easy to achieve and look great growing out (but you will need full-on bleach if you have black or dark brown hair).

4. Sleek Braided Updo

If you want to keep length but need your hair off your face and neck, this is a great go-to style. It works with long braids or natural hair. You may need a little cream or gel to make it as sleek as possible (no flyaways). Once you’ve gathered your hair, pull it to the top of your head and twist it. After it’s twisted, wrap it around and secure it. Just about the only hair tie that will work for this is TIY, because you can custom-size it to hold it in place. Otherwise, you’ll probably be using a ton of bobby pins or clips (you can — but check these out).

5. Soft Top Bun with Angled Bangs

If you want a no-fuss look that works with majorly thick, super textured hair … but is still super sassy … this is a fun one. All you have to treat is the very ends with a little oil or cream (to keep the spiral curls smooth). Loosely pull your hair up to the crown of your head and secure into a ponytail. Then, pull it forward toward your forehead, and tug a section of bangs out over the side of your face.

6. Headband with a ‘Fro

As creators of the best hair ties for running (#humblebrag), we know a thing or two about living a wind-whipped runner life. If you have an afro or just a full head of textured hair, this is a good way to get in your daily run without hair breakage or tons of product. TIY hair ties can be looped into one large headband. Just put an elastic hair band over your head, then pull it up and back along the forehead. Our thin hair tie strands are perfect for this, ensuring they don’t put too much pressure on your ears, which can be a huge pain if you’ve got your Airpods in.

7. Half Braided Hair

Want braids but not interested in heavy hair or long-term maintenance? You can get the best of both worlds with half braided hair. You get braids like normal; they just don’t go all of the way down. Depending on how textured your hair is, the braids can be tied off or a little bit of wax used to secure the ending point. Bonus: this look is dope in duo-color.

8. Twisted Half Up with Braids

This is a great “sometimes” style if you wear long braids or dreadlocks. It looks good whether your hair is super long or medium length — it just has to be long enough to reach the top of your head and twist once. All you do is gather the top half of your hair (from about the edge of your eyebrow to the center on each side). The trick is to pull the hair completely up before you twist, then secure with a giant elastic hair tie (ours, duh). 

9. Multicolored Long Braids

A trend we are loving is the not-quite-cornrows or box braids, which gives us all types of goddess vibes. This can be a DIY style, too, which saves time. You can start at the top of your head and french braid/cornrow down or start at the bottom of your head and just braid to the ends. We like three or four on each side. The multicolor element can be a before or after situation, or you can just use different colored hair ties to add a little color to the end of each braid.

10. Long, Messy Side Braid

Think queen of dragons: this is good if your hair is super thick, textured or curly. Pull all of your hair down and around to one side of your head, then braid it down. You achieve this by being loosy goosy: don’t pull too tight (we know, don’t tell your mom/grandma). If your hair is frizzy on the day you try this, you may want to put a little smoothing or anti-frizz cream on your hands before you braid it out.

11. Rope Braids

This look is one of those sit-in-a-chair-for-a-few-hours things… but LOOOOOK. It’s beyond with an icy white or gray tinted color, but it looks sleek in any shade. It is a specific braiding technique, and you can totally pull it off with extensions, too, which may save your hair from too much breakage. We love it gathered up randomly and twisted and tied like this. 

12. Low Ponytail: Braided or Dreads

A low ponytail is a great way to save your head and neck, and we especially love it for all of the female athletes out there who are hitting the field, court or track hardcore. You can get this look whether your braids are parted or not: just pull all of it back into one bunch toward the nape of your neck. You’ll need a strong hair tie (you know which ones) to keep it held back.

13. Spacey Side Buns

Yeah, we said it: because it’s true — this hair style is a little spacey, but you can use your textured hair superpower to keep these sweet little buns from falling out. We’re getting harajuku/street style vibes from this, and it’s really simple to pull off with braided hair, too. You can be as messy as you want with the part: just divide up your hair into two bunches and put the buns right above your ears. Pull out loose strands around your face for some extra, “Who cares? I look awesome.”

14. Chunky, Medium-Length Braids

When you’re ready to whip it, this is a vibrant and fun braided hairstyle. The portioned braids are way chunky, so they give your scalp a little relief, too. This version is dreaded out at the end, but you can also tie the braids off with hair ties. A braided style like this is also a great way to show off fun color highlights and dimension.

15. High Ponytail Tuck

The best part about a high ponytail is it gets your hair off your neck and face. The worst part is that the end of your ponytail can flick you in the face. Problem solved: a high ponytail tuck is legit just a high ponytail that you don’t pull all the way through the last time. Most of us wear our hair like this all of the time when we’re at home: try it out IRL (we recommend some earrings and a super secure hair tie so your pony doesn’t droop). 

16. Natural Hair High Ponytail

Thanks to some amazing beautiful women of color, wearing your hair naturally is celebrated. We are here for that in a major way. If your natural hair is kinky, wavy, curly, you name it, why not try out some fresh styles? This natural hair high ponytail is just a ponytail at the back of the head, teased out. Explore and experiment: and when you do, we want to see it! Wait, are we friends on Instagram yet? Let’s make that happen — and tag #spottheknot when you’re rocking your TIY, or just tag us in general when you’re trying out some of these styles. Love it!

17. Sleek Low Ponytail with Volume

This look is kind of awesome whether you’re going to the Met Gala (#goals) or in spin class. You don’t have to treat your hair (unless you really need a relaxer to make it lie down on top). You *do* probably need some product, like a natural oil or pomade. Rub that on your hands then smooth your hair straight back from the forehead and to the back or your neck. Gather and put in a nice strong hair tie. Done.

18. Turban Hair Style

Is this really a hair style if your hair is hidden? Um, yes. There’s almost nothing in the world fiercer than a woman with her hair in a turban style, and there are tons of fabrics, patterns, textures and outfit options to go along with it. You can use an actual turban, a head scarf, a regular scarf, maybe not a towel … but yeah, super easy to do and you look put together in five seconds.

19. Super Frizzy Hair (Own It)

Certain seasons bring on the frizz more than others — and we feel that. But why not own it? Natural hair, coily hair, frizzy hair: it’s all beautiful because it’s part of who you are. Rather than always trying to go sleek, why not pump it up? This tease-tastic look is trending: keep the hair flat on top, then go nuts about halfway down your head (above the ears). You may want to spray it like crazy with ultra-freeze hairspray.

20. Man Bun with Textured Hair

Look, we love our guys. TIY hair ties for men are (spoiler alert) the same as TIY hair ties for women: because it’s just hair. If you’ve got it: love it. If you’re a dude with textured hair, you don’t always have to go for the coiled man bun. We love this man bun for textured hair where the ends are teased out. Go big or go home.

21. Headwrap for Textured Hair/Afros

Another opportunity to make au natural look tres chic: headwraps add a major fashion moment to any outfit, and they can work for black tie and basketball games (quite a range). We love this colorful cheetah print version, but basically anything works. Just keep the ends of your hair out, and fluff them up with a little texturizing pomade or hairspray. Bam.

22. Coily Curly Hair

Where are our Latinas at? We know the life you’ve led with coily curls. The good news is (as we’re sure you already know): diffusers exist and products don’t make your hair crunchy. We are loving hair accessories for this hair type: clips, claws, twisties, pins, customizable hair ties. There are more options than ever to add some fun and coordinate with your outfit. The best invention? Hair ties for curly hair. Seriously. No more ripping it out.

23. Half-Up Bun (for Dreadlocks)

Dreadlocks can take so many cool forms: long, short, wool, crinkle, yarn, braided — sky’s the limit. We love them, but they can be kind of labor-intensive and heavy, so you want to have some dreadlock style options. For any and every style, a half-up (half-back) bun works beautifully. Any part type works: just swoop or pull it straight back, bunch it in your hand, then twist and secure with a rubber band/elastic hair tie.

24. Fluffy Afro

Have you ever seen someone with just the most perfect, whimsically fluffy afro? Yeah, it’s adorbs. A fluffy and soft afro natural hairstyle is high on volume: it starts wet and the drying technique is key here. You can fluff-dry with your hands or use a hair pick. A lot of people need a little spray to set it. This is a sweet style to use hairbands or small clips with, too.

25. Long Bang Curly Short Hair

The shape of textured hairstyles goes a long way: with this style, you get a super cute face-frame with a longer bang. It’s great if you have wavy, curly or coily hair. Just ask for a layered cut, but the top layers should be about ear-length. Then, you blow dry your hair flat while still boosting at the roots for some bounciness.

Textured Hair Styles for Y-O-U

It’s important to feel empowered to step out as your best every day. We talk about this all of the time: being a female-led brand, we’re passionate about authenticity and owning who you were meant to be in this world. Because, you know what: there’s no one like you. One of a kind? Hell yes. And awesome, too.