2. Braiding technique
Suffice to say, tight braiding along the delicate front hairline leads to hair loss known as traction alopecia. Along the same lines, tight braiding along the shaft of the hair keeps the hair under intense tension for the duration of the style after which during take down you will notice intense breakage and thinning.
In this case protective styling will have done you more harm than good. If you braid your own hair learn to use a light hand while braiding or if you cannot then get someone else to do the braiding for you.
Be very careful when getting your hair braided even by a professional and don’t be afraid to speak up if you think that they are braiding too tight.
3. How long?
A friend of mine told me a while ago that she’d had major breakage and matting after her last weave. When I asked her how long she’d had the weave in for, without batting a eyelid she said 5 months.
Come on now, it’s not difficult to see the problem there is it? When you keep a weave in for that long, the shed hair that is not able to fall out combined with the build up from months of sweat, natural oils* and products cause extreme matting.
The breakage you are likely to experience while detangling that mess will likely offset any growth you gained while ‘protecting’ your hair hence it will seem like your growth has stagnated.
For most people I would suggest 6-8 weeks as an absolute maximum for any braided protective style and only 6 weeks if you have very kinky* high shrinkage hair as this hair type is quite prone to matting.
4. Timing
When you braid your hair is every bit as important as how long you keep the braided style in for. For example, braiding immediately after relaxing your hair is a huge no no. After a relaxer your hair has lost a lot of amino acids, notably cysteine during the chemical process and until this is restored by way of a hard protein treatment, don’t even think about braiding your hair.
Natural ladies should also make sure that their moisture-protein balance is in check before braiding. Personally I like to do a light protein deep conditioning* treatment before every braiding session. Your hair is going to go through stress during braiding and fortifying it beforehand makes perfect sense.
5. Your hair type
No I don’t mean the 4a, 4b, 3c hair typing thing. I mean the thickness of your individual strands. If you have fine hair, the minimum of manipulation is what’s needed to get your hair to grow long so you may find that braided protective styles just won’t help you retain length.
If you choose braided styles, make the braids big and relatively loose and keep them in for at least a few weeks at a time to avoid excessive installs & take downs. If you have thicker strands, your hair can withstand more manipulation without excessive breakage so you will be able to get away with shorter periods between re-styling sessions.
In conclusion…
Braided protective styles are the best at keeping the ‘hand in hair syndrome’ at bay for a few weeks at a time and as such allows you to retain the most length. But if you are still experiencing breakage or thinning after braided protective styling, then low manipulation styles may be the best way forward.
Think high buns, braid outs & twist outs, faux bobs, ponytails or updo’s. You won’t be able to retain as much length as you can with braided styles so you may not be able to reach your own terminal length but you can still achieve wonderful length retention if you use low manipulation styling wisely in your regimen.
Nice
Orange _0-
It breaks my hair off.
I’ve had my hair in 2 French braids for 3 days and it’s time for me to take them out and wash. I could never keep a style for weeks because my scalp gets so oily.
Some things I can agree with but you would just have to be smart about how you do your hair (not tight etc), the right time frame to leave your hair in a protective style, and maintenance.
Yes
But I wear two strand twists offten
My next hair do
Works wonders for me !
No those styles feel uncomfortable
I asked before about putting styling gel in my hair keeping it in a ponytail could that be one of the reasons my hair isn’t growing like I want it to or as fast
Yep! slapping gel in hair and keeping it pulled back in a ponytail is not a protective style. Gel can cause dryness and breakage, not to mention you could be causing stress to your hair fro the constant tension of wearing a ponytail.
Yes i have healthy strong thick hair that hasnt had heat to it in over a year
Lovely!!!!
Very Good For Me!!!
Works for me, my hair is n braids now
Yes. I LOVE my wigs!
No my hair likes to be free it grows faster being free and left alone
Last summer I had my hair braided and when I took them out in August i found my ends to be ravaged. I had to trim it. Also I found caring for my hair more difficult despite my best efforts. I want to try it again but worried it really wont be a benefit.
Different experiences for everyone. And depending on how protective styles are achieved, maintained, and removed can also be a determining factor in the outcome of the overall health of your hair…
Braids and twist break my hair off 🙁
Thanks
Love my hair in braids. My hair seems to grow faster and I moisturize daily. I like alternating between braids and twists. I just braided my hair yesterday and I love it!
Great article. Now I only keep mines in for 3 weeks at a time. No matter how much oil I put on my scalp EVERYDAY, my scalp itch. I wash my hair weekly, spritz the hair with water & conditioner mix. I installed the braids myself so they’re not tight, but still refused to leave em in longer than 3 wks, 4 wks is my maximum until my hair start to get matted .
But this routine gives me length. I just started this routine about 6 months ago but notice the amount of length I can retain just by doing this.
Well, I don’t do my own braids because I don’t know how and I go to a professional who’s very gentle. There’s nothing wrong with individual braids. If I knew how to braid, I would take them out, but I don’t, so I’ll take care of them until my hair grows back. Not everybody that wears braids has a bad experience, so don’t try and discourage those that wear them.
And not everybody gain weight back after weight loss. I struggle with depression, which affects my weight, not because I eat badly at all or on purpose. And try to be active as much as I can.
This was a really great article. Too many women style their hair and then forget it still needs to be cared for. I came across this article and thought I’d share. Its along the same lines as this one.
http://curlkit.com/protecting-hair-protective-styling/
I have to braid my hair or have my mom do it . I wear cornrow braids now and I tried two strand twists now . I tried weaves and braid extensions before but my hair was ichy I had dandruff and it broke my hair off i also hate fake hair so I don’t do it anymore .