As much as I am enjoying my natural hair journey, it does seem like each phase comes with its own set of struggles.

When I had a TWA I complained of my lack of versatility, and now in the awkward phase I am dealing with the, well–awkwardness. *Maybe I am just like my mother, she is never satisfied.*

I would define the awkward phase as when your curls have started falling somewhere between your ears and shoulders. Of course, I cherish every itty bitty hair on my head but come on, I miss my updos.

As luck would have it, I came across a pretty cool bun video on Facebook. A mom was showing how she got her daughter’s curls into a high bun and her hair was almost reaching her shoulders.

If this could work for a little girl, maybe it could work for me, too, I thought.

My styling secret

The trick is to make two ponytails close to one another. That way, the shorter hair near the nape of your neck do not fall out of your top knot:

I started by creating the ponytail in the front of my hair so I could make sure the placement was just right–all my girls with big foreheads know that it is all about the placement.

Next I made the back ponytail, bringing it as close to the first ponytail as possible.

I used a little bit of edge control and my fingers to sort of blend the sides to make sure there was no part line showing. For this to work, it really has to look like one huge ponytail all around the perimeter.

Now, to make an even bigger bun…

I added some Marley hair around my ponytails–this is a totally optional step.

A few precautions:

This style involves a lot of tension. It is something I reserve for special occasions as I am trying to keep my hair free from over-manipulation. I also try not to use edge control products daily and this style calls for a lot of product to keep my hair in place.

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The possibilities are pretty endless, so I guess we’d better stop calling this the ‘awkward’ phase, right? Watch my tutorial below and subscribe to my YouTube channel now!