Rumbie Mutsiwa believes in the transformative power of hair. As a hairdresser specializing in curly, wavy and afro hair, Sydney’s Rumbie & Co. He saw many defeated-looking customers entering his salon. As she leaves the salon, she says: “Their eyes are opened and they see themselves and they feel good. They see their hair for the first time.”
Her knowledge of curly and afro hair has enabled her to take on a behind-the-scenes educational role at Australian fashion week, where expertise is sometimes lacking. “What breaks my heart is that the models [with curly hair] “They walk on set and their hair is barely touched,” she says. “That’s why they don’t feel safe walking down the catwalk.”
In recognition of her work in the industry, Zimbabwean-born Mutsiwa was last week named one of Australian fashion week’s 2024 “changemakers” alongside Indigenous model Elaine George, Outland Denim founder James Bartle and fashion archivist Kim Russell.
Here, Mutsiwa explains how to create four runway looks for curly and afro hair.
Preparation: Hydration is crucial
“By nature, curly hair needs moisture,” says Mutsiwa. This means applying moisturizing products, such as a leave-in conditioner, to clean, dry or semi-dry hair. He says that a care spray should be applied for thin or looser tissues, and a cream should be applied for thicker and more curvy tissues. Frizz is a sign that your hair is dehydrated and needs more moisture-containing products. “Once you do this, you’ll find that you can actually step out of the elements and the style will last,” he says.
1. Moving forward naturally
Mutsiwa says the key to a natural afro is to make sure it’s defined. “So whether those curls are tight and small as the tip of a pencil or as thick as your pinky finger, we’ll still see that definition.”
The first step to achieve this is to wet the hair so that it is slightly damp, then apply a moisturizing gel or cream with your hands. Then apply a holding gel on top to lock in moisture. Dry your hair with a hair dryer with a diffuser attachment; turn it to low-medium speed and remove about 70% of the moisture.
If you want to exaggerate the texture, run your hands through your hair to separate curls and create more volume. “But the hair will defy gravity anyway,” he says.
2. Shaping braids
“People often struggle with braids because they overthink it,” Mutsiwa says. The key is to keep it simple, so she suggests styling the braids by pulling them back from the face and pinning them at the base of the neck, either pinning them in place or using a bobby pin to create a low ponytail.
If you’re using bobby pins, she recommends curling the hair on the sides of your head away from your face and pulling it back to where you want to pin it in place. When sliding the bobby pins into place, be careful not to catch the hair, as this can be particularly painful.
Mutsiwa creates a low ponytail with an elastic hair tie, while attaching two bobby pins to either end of the elastic; so if she pinches the two strands of the elastic in the middle, the bobby pins dangle from both sides. She then uses one of the bobby pins as an anchor under the ponytail and wraps or wraps the elastic band around the hair. To secure it, she slides the second bobby pin along the first from the opposite direction. To cover the elastic, she’ll take a braid, wrap it around the top, and tuck it into the bobby pins at the bottom of the ponytail.
Mutsiwa says that after the hair is shaped, using strong hold gel or hair spray on the edges of the face catches the baby hair and fixes it to the hairline to make it look neat. Then run the diffuser over the edges to make sure they are dry.
Finish with some shine spray “to achieve a healthy, beautiful, shiny look,” she says.
3. Half in, half out
This look resembles a ponytail where the hair is pulled back from the face but has an afro in the back. Mutsiwa says to start by defining the curls as you did in step one; shaping a natural afro. Once the hair is dry, take a wide elastic band and wrap it around the hair, sweeping it away from your face so that the elastic band sits just above the head.
“If the hair is short, make sure you put a generous amount of strong gel on top to keep it lying flat,” she says. “Otherwise the hair will actually stand back up because of the strength of the curl.”
It is important to make sure the hair is completely dry after applying the gel. To do this, she says, take a thin, lightweight scarf and tie it around the front of your head and blow dry the top using a hair dryer with a diffuser on high heat and high speed. After the hair is thoroughly dried, remove the scarf by pulling it from front to back. Sometimes Mutsiwa applies a serum to the back of her ponytail to add some shine.
4. Tight bun
Relating to: How I learned to love my Afro hair: ‘I went from tolerating it to enjoying it’
“The nice thing about curly hair and afro hair is that it is very styleable,” says Mutsiwa. To pull curly hair into a tight bun, Mutsiwa says to start by straightening the hair with a blow dryer. Make sure the hair is slightly damp and apply some conditioner and anti-humidity spray or oil. Then use a paddle brush and hair dryer to extend the hair straight.
“I’m obsessed with using wavy brushes; “If you remove a lot more hair, you can get better tension,” he says. “Move the hair upwards, starting from the ends.”
Mutsiwa says it’s not necessary to straighten all of the hair, just enough to get the look you’re going for. Start at the hairline around the face and work your way up to where you plan to part. Once this is done, use a comb to create definition in the part and pull the hair away from the face towards where the bun will sit.
To pull the hair into a bun, use the same technique as styling braids, with the hair elastic and two bobby pins attached at each end to create a ponytail. If someone has very thick hair, this may require two people to help and separate the hair into two parts; You can tie the lower ponytail first and secure the second part of the hair to it. It’s important to make sure the model is comfortable, she says, because too tight can cause pain.
The final stage is deciding what the bun should look like; for example, “If we’re going to style the bun loosely or tightly into a really nice, possibly low bun or top knot.”
“Then secure the ends of the hair with bobby pins and that’s it,” says Mutsiwa. Finish the look with a strong hairspray followed by shine spray.