Recently, we spotlighted the trend of crochet hairstyles, and many of you animatedly co-signed!
Besides all the perks of being healthier for natural hair and being more affordable and more realistic looking than traditional weaves and wigs, the fact that crochet braid hairstyles are easily DIY gives me life!
This article is a highly requested follow-up to a previous article on the site, but this time around, we are teaching you how to install popular crochet braid hairstyles categorized by difficulty level. If you give it a shot, you can absolutely do this yourself, and get your hair exactly how you want it. Can't braid? No problem! There are so many braidless crochet techniques. YouTube is everything sis!
Related: These Crochet Hair Styles Are Giving Weaves & Lace Fronts A Run For Their Money
So, go get your supplies, crochet needles, and hair of choice ready ladies! It's time to DIY your crochet protective style!
Easy: Braidless Crochet Puff
Styling Time:
45 minutes
What You'll Need:
A Crochet Pen, Edge Control, a bristle brush, a ponytail holder, a pair of scissors
Suggested Brand:
Jamaican Bounce Sensationnel African Crochet Hair
How To:
Do you want a crochet style option that is not only easy to do, but takes the least amount of time to install? Try making a ponytail or high bun using crochet hair.
For this look, the most you will need is two packs of hair. Slick your ponytail into your desired updo and lay your edges down with a heavy holding edge control gel. Don't be afraid to get funky with it! You can do one big puff or two. Or maybe you want a nice sleek low ponytail look. Whatever you choose, it will take no time to install!
Watch the full tutorial here.
Medium: Pre-Looped Defined Curly Fro
Styling Time:
2 Hours
What You'll Need:
4-7 Packs of Hair based on the texture, a weaving needle and thread, a crochet needle, a pair of scissors, a Fine Tooth Comb
Suggested Brand:
Deep Twist Bouncy Curl Curly Crochet Havana
How To:
This crochet hairstyle is a bit more involved than the puff because you must create a basic braided base. Creating a simple 8 to 10 cornrowed pattern going straight to the back will be the longest part of this install. Not good at braiding? There are plenty YouTube tutorials on how to flat twist, or connect single plaits together to create a pattern. Check some out below:
Now, for the fun part! Select your pre-looped and defined crochet hair of choice.
With a pre-defined curl, there will be no need to custom curl your hair with hot water, or do a more time-consuming "invisible part method." With a fuller hair texture, you can install your crochet pieces more spaced apart. The two-finger method is a great way to evenly install and space without using too much hair.
Directions:
- Choose the best braiding pattern for you. The best way to get the cleanest look is to use an 8 to 10 braid pattern going straight back. Tuck away any hang time with a few stitches of needle and thread.
- Start from the nape of your neck, crocheting each single strand of crochet hair into the braid
- Place the crochet needle through the braid. Now take the pre-looped strand and place it in the open crochet hook.
- Close the latch and pull the crochet hair through the braid.
- Tighten and secure the loop by pulling the end of the strand through the pre-looped hole, wrapping it securely around the braid.
- Keep working your way up your entire head until you have filled in your braid pattern. Be mindful that you want to keep them closer together toward the top. Feel free to cut, style and shape the style as you see fit.
Watch the full tutorial here.
Hard: Crochet Vixen w/ Custom Curl Pattern
Styling Time:
4-5 Hours
What You'll Need:
5-8 packs of hair depending on the texture and brand, a weaving needle and thread, a crochet needle, a pair of scissors, a Fine Tooth Comb, Butterfly clips, Rollers/flexi-rods, Hot water, Towel, Mousse
Suggested Brand:
ISIS Collection Afri-Naptural Definition Braid or Latched N Hooked Hand Dyed Braiding Hair for a natural dyed ombre look
This versatile crochet Vixen hairstyle will have people scratching their heads trying to figure out if your crochet is actually your hair! With this style, you can wear your hair in multiple parts and style it in natural, inconspicuous ways. This style will take a more intricate braid pattern to gain the most natural look. Non-pre looped braiding hair is usually the way this look is achieved.
If you have the time, and the willpower, this could be the most natural-looking crochet you ever install! The best part is, you don't have to stick with the blown out look. You can achieve all kinds of roller sets, braids, and twist outs by dipping this hair in hot water and blending it with your natural leave-out.
How To:
- This style takes a more detailed braid pattern. Braid your leave-out around all your edges, and in the shape of a lowercase "t", or "+" down the middle of your head.
- Braid spider web patterns in each of the four quadrants you've created, being sure not to include your leave-out by keeping it in the separate braid.
- Stitch down your hang time.
- Grab the crochet needle and begin to install small portions of loose braiding hair on to the braid pattern until complete.
- Around the edges, you might want to opt for the "Single Strand Invisible Part Method," for the flattest blend with your natural hair.
- If you want to rock this blown out look, do it sis! But, if you would like a custom curl pattern, set your crochet hair in any rollers or Flexi-Rods that you want. For a wavy look, plait single braids into the crocheted hair.
- Grab a pot, or tall insulated cup of hot water CAREFULLY, using your towel to dip the hair in the hot water for 10-20 seconds.
- Keep the set in until fully dry. Unravel to see your beautiful curls.
- Grab your moose and rub it into the hair to tame any frizzies.
- Make sure you set your leave out in a same pattern for the best blend.
Would you try one of these crochet styles?
- NO LEAVE OUT - Watch Me Slay & Style these Crochet Braids ... ›
- 40 Crochet Braids Hairstyles for Your Inspiration ›
- 48 Crochet Braids Hairstyles | Crochet Braids Inspiration ›
- 47 Beautiful Crochet Braid Hairstyle You Never Thought Of Before ›
- Top 50 Crochet Braid Hairstyles in 2017 ›
- Crochet Braid Hairstyles | Essence.com ›
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So, we handpicked one hundred It Girls who embody that palpable It Factor moving through us as young Black women, the kind of motion lighting up the world both IRL and across the internet.
It Girl 100 became xoNecole’s most successful program, with the hashtag organically reaching more than forty million impressions on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Yes, it caught on like wildfire because we celebrated some of the most brilliant and influential GenZennial women of color setting trends and shaping culture. But more than that, it resonated because the women we celebrated felt seen.
Many were already known in their industries for keeping this generation fly and lit, but rarely received recognition or flowers. It Girl 100 became a safe space to be uplifted, and for us as Black women to bask in what felt like an era of our brilliance, beauty, and boundless influence on full display.
And then, almost overnight, it was as if the rug was pulled from under us as Black women, as the It Girls of the world.
Our much-needed, much-deserved season of ease and soft living quickly metamorphosed into a time of self-preservation and survival. Our motion and economic progression seemed strategically slowed, our light under siege.
The air feels heavier now. The headlines colder. Our Black girl magic is being picked apart and politicized for simply existing.
With that climate shift, as we prepare to launch our second annual It Girl 100 honoree list, our team has had to dig deep on the purpose and intention behind this year’s list. Knowing the spirit of It Girl 100 is about motion, sauce, strides, and progression, how do we celebrate amid uncertainty and collective grief when the juice feels like it is being squeezed out of us?
As we wrestled with that question, we were reminded that this tension isn’t new. Black women have always had to find joy in the midst of struggle, to create light even in the darkest corners. We have carried the weight of scrutiny for generations, expected to be strong, to serve, to smile through the sting. But this moment feels different. It feels deeply personal.
We are living at the intersection of liberation and backlash. We are learning to take off our capes, to say no when we are tired, to embrace softness without apology.
And somehow, the world has found new ways to punish us for it.
In lifestyle, women like Kayla Nicole and Ayesha Curry have been ridiculed for daring to choose themselves. Tracee Ellis Ross was labeled bitter for speaking her truth about love. Meghan Markle, still, cannot breathe without critique.
In politics, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Jasmine Crockett are dragged through the mud for standing tall in rooms not built for them.
In sports, Angel Reese, Coco Gauff, and Taylor Townsend have been reminded that even excellence will not shield you from racism or judgment.
In business, visionaries like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye and Melissa Butler are fighting to keep their dreams alive in an economy that too often forgets us first.
Even our icons, Beyoncé, Serena, and SZA, have faced criticism simply for evolving beyond the boxes society tried to keep them in.
From everyday women to cultural phenoms, the pattern is the same. Our light is being tested.
And yet, somehow, through it all, we are still showing up as that girl, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Because while the world debates our worth, we keep raising our value. And that proof is all around us.
This year alone, Naomi Osaka returned from motherhood and mental health challenges to reach the semifinals of the US Open. A’ja Wilson claimed another MVP, reminding us that beauty and dominance can coexist. Brandy and Monica are snatching our edges on tour. Kahlana Barfield Brown sold out her new line in the face of a retailer that had been canceled. And Melissa Butler’s company, The Lip Bar, is projecting a forty percent surge in sales.
We are no longer defining strength by how much pain we can endure. We are defining it by the unbreakable light we continue to radiate.
We are the women walking our daily steps and also continuing to run solid businesses. We are growing in love, taking solo trips, laughing until it hurts, raising babies and ideas, drinking our green juice, and praying our peace back into existence.
We are rediscovering the joy of rest and realizing that softness is not weakness, it is strategy.
And through it all, we continue to lift one another. Emma Grede is creating seats at the table. Valeisha Butterfield has started a fund for jobless Black women. Arian Simone is leading in media with fearless conviction. We are pouring into each other in ways the world rarely sees but always feels.
So yes, we are in the midst of societal warfare. Yes, we are being tested. Yes, we are facing economic strain, political targeting, and public scrutiny. But even war cannot dim a light that is divinely ours.
And we are still shining.
And we are still softening.
And we are still creating.
And we are still It.
That is the quiet magic of Black womanhood, our ability to hold both truth and triumph in the same breath, to say yes, and to life’s contradictions.
It is no coincidence that this year, as SheaMoisture embraces the message “Yes, And,” they stand beside us as partners in celebrating this class of It Girls. Because that phrase, those two simple words, capture the very essence of this moment.
Yes, we are tired. And we are still rising.
Yes, we are questioned. And we are the answer.
Yes, we are bruised. And we are still beautiful.
This year’s It Girl 100 is more than a list. It is a love letter to every Black woman who dares to live out loud in a world that would rather she whisper. This year’s class is living proof of “Yes, And,” women who are finding ways to thrive and to heal, to build and to rest, to lead and to love, all at once.
It is proof that our joy is not naive, our success not accidental. It is the reminder that our light has never needed permission.
So without further ado, we celebrate the It Girl 100 Class of 2025–2026.
We celebrate the millions of us who keep doing it with grace, grit, and glory.
Because despite it all, we still shine.
Because we are still her.
Because we are still IT, girl.
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list of honorees here.
Featured image by xoStaff
It’s not like it has to be a bad thing. In fact, studies say that somewhere around 15 percent of engaged couples actually met through a friend. All I’m saying is, before you entertain someone’s “I’ve got someone I want you to meet” invitation, it would benefit you to interview them first — for the sake of all parties involved.
The questions that I recommend asking? The following six are what I think can get everyone on the same page, so that there is more pleasure than regret from the hook-up attempt.
1. Why Are They So Invested?
GiphyTwo things that I recently watched over again are the series Survivor’s Remorse (the writing is so damn good) and a movie called Trapped in Temptation (both are currently on Tubi). Something that both of them made me think about is the fact that motive reveals a lot when it comes to why people say and do the things that they do.
When it comes to the movie, specifically, without giving the film away — let me just say that, if you are in a relationship, be really careful about listening to individuals who try to talk you out of maintaining it. More times than not, the motive is shady as hell. And honestly, sometimes people who are close to obsessed with you being in one deserve a bit of side-eye too.
Now, if it’s someone who loves all things love, they are in love and they want you to experience something similar — that’s sweet. Just make sure that they are approaching the set up from a healthy space. What I mean by that is they don’t see singleness as some sort of relational handicap or they aren’t trying to override what you want for your life as if they somehow know better (there are so many ways to be a control freak, y’all).
Hmph. Now that I think about it — make sure that the set-up crew isn’t trying to use you to “save” some male friend or relative of theirs. I say that because I once knew a mother whose son had — count ‘em — 10 kids and she was FOREVER trying to get me to date him. Girl, that wasn’t for me. She was looking for a Holy Ghost Jr. for that child of hers. I’ll pass. HARD PASS.
Bottom line with this one — if someone wants to set you up with someone else, the first thing to ask is why? Make sure to really listen to what their answer is. Then pay attention to if your mind, body and spirit are at peace with their answer(s).
2. Do They Know What You Want?
GiphyI don’t know about y’all, but the people (and let’s be honest, by far, it’s usually women) who have tried to set me up with someone? They didn’t even know what my preferences or type was. Hell, they didn’t even know my thoughts or timeline as it relates to being in a serious relationship were either. And what that boils down to is they were trying to hook me up based on their agenda, not mine — and that usually meant that the guys who they came up with? Yeah…I was good on them. LOL.
Yeah, if someone wants to hook you up, you definitely should ask them if they know what you are looking for in a guy when it comes to his looks, personality, passions, spirituality, relational desires and goals, location, etc. Because, indeed, what is the point in going out with someone who is fine as hell and yet, you want kids and he doesn’t (or vice versa) or who has a great personality yet he isn’t even in the same ballpark of your spiritual beliefs?
If your friend really wants to help you out, valuing your time should come with that — and that means bringing someone into your life who complements your lifestyle. No wiggle room here.
3. Are They Aware of Your Deal-Breakers?
GiphyLast year, I wrote an article for the platform entitled, “Should Bad Sex Actually Be A Relationship Deal-Breaker?” The thing that I think needs to go on record about deal-breakers is they aren’t exactly standards that you have. No, a deal-breaker is something that can’t be worked out even after trying to negotiate or compromise. When it comes to relationships, a deal-breaker might be how long two people should date before becoming exclusive or getting engaged. Another deal-breaker might be if being religious is more important than being spiritual and how that manifests itself (church or no church, etc.). And yes, another deal-breaker may be what each other’s sexual needs and expectations are.
When someone is setting you up, it is imperative that they know about your standards. For instance, for me, I am not interested in dating a divorced person, pretty much ever (I Corinthians 7:10-11). I’ve had friends who have tried to hook me up with that demographic before and it has always been a moot effort. The fact that some of them have gotten frustrated with my convictions has absolutely nothing to do with me. Some have tried to get me to compromise my deal-breakers too — like a long-distance relationship. Is it a firm “naw”? No. However, it’s not really something that I am interested in, so why not just…recommend someone local?
Yeah, if someone thinks that they know you well enough to hook you up, they absolutely should be well-versed in what your deal-breakers are before they do. And if they’ve never asked, all they are doing is assuming — and we know what that typically means. LOL.
4. What Is Their Track Record?
GiphyIt’s kind of wild that we now live in a time when more couples meet online than they do through “old-fashioned ways” like via their friends (although some reports say that Gen Z is getting back to that) — and yet, here we are. Still, if you are willing to let someone play pseudo matchmaker in your life, you are well within your rights to inquire about their track record in that department. Have they hooked others up, successfully, before? Has any of their “Cupid work” caused both people to get exactly what they wanted out of the situation? If/when things went awry, why was that?
I know someone who is constantly trying to hook people up. Thing is, maybe 10-15 percent (no joke) of their efforts have proven to be positive and fruitful — and we’re talking about close to close to two decades of them doing it. Listen, time is too precious to be out here doing stuff ONLY to please other people. That said, if someone wants you to devote some time to one of their grand ideas, you are well within your rights to ask about their past and current success score when it comes to it.
5. Can They Keep Their Own Feelings Out of It?
GiphyWanna know if someone who is offering to do something for you is actually doing it more for themselves? If they try to make it be about them when things don’t go the way they would like, that is a dead ringer. An example? They post a message about you on social media and then question you about why you didn’t do the same thing in return. Another example? They do something for you and then throw it in your face during an argument. Still another example? They set you up with someone, it doesn’t work out, and suddenly you’ve put them in a weird spot. No dear — you put your own self in that position by trying to hook two people up in the first place.
I promise you, it will spare everyone unnecessary energy spent (or even drama experienced) if, before you agree to be hooked up, you get the matchmaker on record stating that they will keep their emotions out of it as much as possible. MEANING — they will do the introductions and then let the chips fall where they may. If they can’t do this, my two cents (save it or spend it) would be to decline the offer. Because all you need is someone texting you about why you haven’t called their cousin back or having an attitude with you when you break up with some guy at their church who they thought was the perfect catch (P.S. These aren’t hypothetical examples — LOL).
6. Will They Respect Your Boundaries? Start to Finish?
GiphyYeah, this final one is a biggie. Just because someone sets you up with another person, that doesn’t automatically or necessarily mean that they should have the right to the details of the dynamic. I don’t care if it’s the first date or the 10th date. I don’t care if you decide to just be sex buddies or to have a full-blown relationship. I don’t care if you stay together or break-up — it’s your relationship which makes it your business. Whatever you share is privileged data.
Yeah, I would say that probably the most challenging thing about being hooked up by someone you know is they have a tendency to think that they are a part of the relationship too — and that is a lie. If things go well beyond a couple of dates, you and the guy should discuss what you will both share with the person who introduced you and then agree to stick to that boundary, no matter what. It’s a great way to protect the dynamic, to keep “outside voices” from influencing the growth and to navigate how you want to move, moving forward.
Someone who hooked you up for the right reasons and knows how to honor limits? They will understand. Will they ask questions? Absolutely. Will they pry? Nah.
___
Should you sit and let someone hook you up? I mean, you never know how your blessing will come. Just make sure that they are prepared for you to do some digging into their mindset before they start sweetly meddling into your love life.
It’s only fair. Hell, and right. LOL.
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Featured image by PeopleImages/Shutterstock