The Kumba Out style is derived from what we call Motjo Kumbas in Suriname. It’s one of those house styles that women wouldn’t wear out. Like cornrows used to be, good to wear underneath a wig but never for the world to see.
Motjo Kumbas are simply explained tucked in plaits or plaits tucked in their base. I used to do Motjo Kumbas when I had an afro as a child but would never wear them for the public to see until I transitioned. Nowadays the Kumbas are my main house style and the Kumba Out is my goto natural hairstyle.
Always looking for easy style and easy maintenance, I discovered the low maintenance Kumba out natural hairstyle. Instead of braiding my hair or twisting after washing, I would just quickly twirl my hair then tuck it into its base, just like you do with a Motjo Kumba. This way the hair would stay put.
First I also considered this a quick temporary style to let my hair dry before styling. That is why the twirls I make are quite large. Usually I only make eight of them, twelve max. That’s how I used to let my hair dry then one day after I applied Curl Keeper and some Hair Milk, I took it out and discovered that it can actually look quite nice as an out style. So here are the instructions if you like to try it out.
- Take a part of your hair, moisturize it from root to tip then untangle the hair completely. Don’t use grease, use a natural hair butter or a leave-in conditioner that will keep your hair moisturized. As mentioned I recommended here the Curl Keeper and the Twist Out Hair Milk.
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When your hair is untangled and moisturized, twirl it around your finger. Twirl it like you would make a single strand twist.
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Once you have your hair twirled push the end of the twirl into the base of it.
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When your hair is completely dry, take the Kumbas out by taking them out of their base and twirling the hair in a contra-direction.
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Finger style and viola!
Tips:
I have been doing this style for years and this is what I’ve learned:
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If your hair is not completely dry, the style won’t work. Just like a twist out or any other natural hairstyle that you take out, it will look messy.
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It’s best to do this style one day after washing when the hair has already dried. Once the hair is dry you can spray a little water if you want but if you do it on freshly washed hair, it will take a long time for the tucked in ends to dry.
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You need a product that moisturizes but also with a little bit of hold to make the style last.
Maintenance
The great thing about this style is the low maintenance. Once you take it out it can stay up to a week if you sleep with scarf. I think the Kumba style lasts because where twists and braids kind of manipulate your coils into a nice curl, the twirls totally use your own natural hair pattern to form a curl.
Still if you want to redo this style all you have to do is to take parts, moisturize them, twirl them and tuck them in. This takes less than half an hour compared to twists that take me at least 45 minutes (big ones).
Going Natural Hair Care for Black Women, African American Men and Children
