By Choya Randolph
I was scrolling through TikTok like the bored person I am and I stumbled across a video that has changed how I will style my hair into a “fineapple.” As a natural, you should already know what a fineapple is. You may call it the high puff but it’s basically putting all those beautiful coils and curls in a ponytail. Instead of putting the hair from the ponytail in a bun, you leave the hair out so it looks like a puff or what I interpret as a pineapple with some “jenny say quan.”
The fineapple or high puff is a style that every natural should master. It’s quick, easy, and super cute. If you’re no stranger to the fineapple then you probably have your own way of styling it that most likely involves a hairband, brush, gel and some water. The fact that it takes so little to style is one of the reasons why us naturals love this style so much. But what if we could elevate the way we do our high puffs? Well this TikToker, idontbekarennn, has a cool alternative that will have you like “Why didn’t I think of that?”
The TikTok starts off as a usual hair tutorial. She’s obviously about to put her hair in the fineapple we all know and love. Usually, to get your fineapple style, you brush your hair up using gel. Then you use your hairband to catch all those hairs and put it in that classic high puff. Some of us have our hairband alternatives such as shoe laces for when our hairbands get too stretched out or tight. In the TikTok, Karen uses Marley hair instead of a hairband. Yep, you read that right. Marley hair.
If you’ve worn your hair in protective styles such as jumbo twists, havana twists or faux locs, then you’re probably familiar with Marley hair. It has a kinky texture perfect for people who want to wear protective hairstyles that look more like their hair texture than kanekalon hair. Just like any protective hairstyle, once you’re done getting your hair done, there is almost always hair left over. That’s why many of us have a collection of crochet hair, kanekalon hair and hopefully Marley hair somewhere in our closet. Take a piece of that leftover Marley hair and wrap it around the perimeter of your head as you probably would do when styling your fineapple. Pull the two ends of the hair. As you pull, it’ll collect all of your hair until it looks like the classic high puff.
What’s great about high puffs is that you don’t have to put it into a tight ponytail. Leaving some room for your puff to thrive gives your puff more volume. Once your puff has the volume you desire, wrap the pieces left over of the Marley hair around the puff similar to when you wrap hair around a weave ponytail to hide the tracks.
This method is great for those who may have broken their last hairband but has some Marley hair laying around somewhere. It also can be used for those who like to incorporate more than one puff into their hairstyle. Plus, because the hair looks just like natural hair, it’s easier to disguise. A hairband or shoelace may get the job done but Marley hair will get the job done while serving a more natural look.