All The Things I Learned At A Beginner's Cornrow Class

This article is part of Black Ballad's advertising partnership with JOHNSON'S®.

I know it has been said many times, but learning how to cornrow isn’t just a time saving and money saving skill. For us, as black women, it can often feel like a life saving skill. As a mum of two, spending time with my daughter as I do her hair is a special bonding experience and learning how to cornrow has felt like an integral step adding both creativity and protective styling to our hair days. 

As I’m not the fastest learner, when Johnson’s asked to collaborate on a cornrow class, I jumped at the chance to refresh my skills. While getting the chance to re-learn the most fundamental skill for afro hair, doing the class both reminded me and introduced me to important mum lessons that we could all remember from time to time… 

Be patient with… yourself 

Learning a new skill is hard and I would be lying if I said learning how to cornrow came easily. Yet, as I was learning how to cornrow, it reminded me that motherhood at any stage is a new learning experience. I’ve been in the motherhood game for four years and everyday I feel like I learn something new and I have to be patient with myself as not every aspect of motherhood comes naturally to me.

A little goes a long way…

This is a bit more of a practical hair tip. I am guilty as charged when it comes to using copious amounts of product in my and my kids' hair. Yet as Ebuni, our teacher and founder of Untype Hair Salon in Southwark, explained with Johnson's Curl-Defining Shampoo and Leave In Conditioner a little goes a long way. When we shampoo our kids' hair, yes, we should make sure we touch all parts of our little one’s heads but with the products being full of argan oil and protein silk, which is super moisturising to their beautiful coils, there's no need to use half a bottle in one washing session to ensure our little ones’ hair is left feeling moist.

Mistakes are ok… 

It is perfectly fine to make mistakes in motherhood. There have been so many times I went wrong when trying to learn how to cornrow and there are so many mistakes I’ve made in motherhood but it is not the end of the world. Like learning how to cornrow or any new skills, mistakes are bound to happen. It’s about the ability to keep going- again that is what motherhood is all about right? 

Enjoy it...

Being in a room full of amazing black women all learning was a joyous experience. We all spoke about the silly but special things our children do and how it brings such joy to our lives. It was special to be in a room full of black women learning and laughing and I don’t take it for granted. It was a reminder that between all the things we need to do as mums – keeping up with school commitments, extracurricular commitments, laundry and wash days – we should try our best to enjoy motherhood when we can. Sometimes that can be easier said than done, but if it means taking time away to come back refreshed to our littles ones so we have that joy. then so be it. 

Community is important...

Our Johnson's cornrow class was more than a lesson in how to do hair, because when we gather as black women it always feels so special. I felt grateful to be in a room full of mums discussing motherhood and more. So what feels like the most important lesson of all is to ensure you have your community, as doing motherhood without it can be hard and you need other parents around you to encourage you. That was exactly what I saw on that Saturday when we all came together to learn how to cornrow, thanks to Johnson's.