Protective styles are a great way to give your hair, whether natural or relaxed, a much-needed break. Not to mention, they can really help you to maximize length retention. With that said here are 3 critical mistakes I made when I did protective styles:
1. My install was too tight
I will never forget the time I spend over 200 dollars on a crochet braid install, and ended up having to take it out after only a few days, simply because I did not speak up and tell my stylist that it was too tight.
I’m not tender headed, by any means, and it’s normal to have a headache after getting your hair braided. However, I had an intense headache for multiple days, and it was painful to sleep at night, because my head was in so much pain.
Tension from tight weave or braid installs are not good for your scalp, and can cause massive breakage, and sometimes irreversible bald spots or thinning around the edges. So, speak up!
2. Forgetting about my natural hair underneath
I can’t even lie, but I am so guilty of this. I used to totally neglect my natural hair underneath a weave install it was literally out of sight out of mind.
However, with any install you should be sure to make sure you still moisturize your scalp and hair regularly. The easiest thing to do is invest in a spray bottle, or a tube with a pointed nozzle, so that you can get in between your scalp and parts.
3. I left a style in for far too long
Now, I know that we all want to get our money’s worth, when styles are costing a couple of hundred dollars, however, no temporary style is worth compromising the permanent state or health of your hair.
Leaving styles in too long can cause breakage, because once your hair is growing underneath the protective style, the weight of the added hair can cause stress and tension on the new growth. Not to mention, matting.
Once I left a crochet install in too long and had to deal with a matting nightmare. To fix the matting I had to cut off a large portion of my hair my own hair. 4-6 weeks is the recommended time frame to keep a protective style installed.
Have you ever made any of these protective style mishaps? If so, comment below, and let me know!
