Skip to Content

Ten Natural Hair Winter Protective Hairstyles Without Extensions To Try in 2024

The winter can be harsh on our 4c hair. This is why in this post, I want to share ten easy natural hair winter protective hairstyles you can try on your type 4 hair without adding hair extensions. These hairstyles are also great for the workplace, due to their classy look.

As someone who used to live in one of Canada’s coldest cities, Edmonton, Alberta, I know what the cold winter air can do to one’s 4c hair. Not only does your hair have to deal with freezing temperatures, it also has to go through the sudden change in temperatures every time you walk into a building with heating and step back out.

One thing to note is that protective styles don’t always mean braids and extensions. If you’re not into hair extensions due to the heavyweight, itchiness, and discomfort, you can try any of these ten winter protective hairstyles that don’t require extensions.

Make sure you read till the end of this post because I will be providing tips on how to maintain and prolong these hairstyles so that you can get the most out of them.

RELATED POSTS

10 Easy Natural Hair Winter Protective Hairstyles

1. Classic Two Strand Twists

This is my favourite and go-to hairstyle because you can style it in as many ways as you like. You can also add any hair accessory of your choice like the popular braid hair rings or a headband.

Duration: Up to two weeks

natural hair winter protective hairstyles for work

2. Halo Twists With Mini Twists or Cornrows at the Top

This hairstyle can be done on medium-length to long hair. It’s also an easy hairstyle that you can do by yourself. You can adorn it with a cute hair accessory like a headband or hair jewelry of your choice.

You can check out Haley’s YouTube channel HERE.

Duration: Up to One Week
winter protective styles 4c hair

RELATED POST: 10 Winter Commandments for 4c Hair

3. Chunky Braids

To get the thickness of this hairstyle, your hair has to be long to be able to pull it off. You can also stretch out your hair by blow-drying or wearing a bun for up to a day prior.

This hairstyle can look plain, so you can jazz things up with hair rings, headband, hair flower

Duration: Up to 10 days, depending on how you braid your hair and protect your hair at night.

winter protective styles 4c hair

4. Top Bun

This hairstyle was done on stretched hair, but you don’t have to stretch your hair out for it. You can just pull your hair up in a bun after you’ve taken down a twist-out or braid-out. You can also style the top bun in whatever style that suits you.

Sometimes I will change-up my bun all throughout the week, just to have a different look for work. You can add some elegance to this bun for a cute night-time look by adding a cute headband, such as this bronze gold bridal headband.

Duration: Up to One Week

natural hair winter protective styles

5. Simple All-Back Cornrows

This is a simple hairstyle that you can do by yourself or with the help of a hairstylist. You can also adorn it with hair rings, a headband or any hair accessory of your choice.

Duration: Two Weeks

natural hair winter protective styles

6. Cornrows with single strand twists at the front

I have to say that this is my favorite hairstyle whenever I want to give myself a break from hair extensions, while also protecting my hair.

What I like about this hairstyle is that you can style the front part in as many ways as your creativity allows. You can take down the twists for a twist out, define your curls with curlformers or rod sets. The options are limitless!

Duration: Up to a Month

natural hair winter protective hairstyles

7. Flat Twists on 4c Hair

This hairstyle can be done on any hair length, including short hair. But to have the length shown in this picture, you might need to add in some Marley hair. Or you can just use your hair and pack it up like the bottom images.

Whenever you feel like switching things up, you can add a hair accessory of your choices such as braid rings or a headband. You can also let your hair down and use perm rods to curl the ends of the twists.

Duration: Up to One Month

natural hair winter protective hairstyles

IG: @gameoffros

8. Bantu Knots

This winter protective hairstyle keeps your ends protected from the harsh winter weather. But since this hairstyle exposes your scalp, you should apply natural oils such as jojoba oil or castor oil on your scalp a few times a week. This way, your scalp will stay lubricated and moisturized.

This hairstyle can be adorned with hair accessories such as cowrie shells, hair strings or braid rings. What I like about bantu knots is that you can take down the bantu and just wear your twists down or style it in any hairstyle of your choice.

Duration: Up to One Month

winter protective styles for short natural hair

9. Rubberband Styled Bun

Rather than wearing just a plain bun, you can style the front part of your hair in any style of your choice. You can also take down the front section to wear a twist out, on days when you feel like letting some of your hair down.

Braid rings were added to this style, for some elegance. What I like about this hairstyle is that it’s great for all ages. This means that you can wear matching hairstyles with your daughter(s) with this hairstyle.

Duration: Up to one week

winter protective styles for short natural hair

10. African Threading

This is a traditional hairstyle that I wore as a child when I was growing up in Nigeria. It’s also a versatile hairstyle that is worn by all age groups in many parts of Africa. What I like about this hairstyle is that it keeps your hair protected all throughout. It also keeps your hair stretched.

If you want to grow your hair during the winter, you can wear this hairstyle because it helps you retain length and keep your hair growing. You will need a weave thread to achieve this hairstyle, even though we have a special thread for this hairstyle in Nigeria.

Depending on the creativity of your hairstylist, this hairstyle can be wrapped up and styled in as many hairstyles as your hairstylist’s creativity permits.

This hairstyle is also great for work because of its classic look. To change things up for a night out, just add a cute hair accessory such as a hair fascinator or a few braid rings.

Duration: Up to 6 Weeks

winter protective styles for twa

IG: @gameoffros

Maintenance tips for these winter protective hairstyles

Just because your hair is being protected doesn’t mean you should just forget about it. It’s crucial that you keep your hair and scalp moisturized while your hair is being protected. To do this, you will need to mix your favourite leave-in conditioner, water, and oil in a spray bottle. Then, apply some of these products in your hair at least three times a week. To moisturize your scalp, apply some jojoba oil, castor oil anti-itch oil or a hair growth oil such as the ones recommended in this post on your scalp a few times a week.

To prolong the lifetime of your hairstyle, be sure to wrap your hair at night with a silk scarf and secure it with a satin bonnet. Over time, your edges might start to loosen up, so to keep your hairstyle looking neat, just use an edge control with an edge brush to keep your edges defined.

What is your favourite winter protective hairstyle for work? Which winter protective style are you going to be trying? Let me know on the Instagram page HERE

winter protective styles for natural hair