Taking Out the Braids

Taking out your braids can be a long process if you don't work smart. If you have braids that are 24 inches long and your hair is only 4 inches long, then look at where your hair is comming out of the braid and cut the braid before your hair starts. I would cut the braid and inch after where the hairs is coming out of the braid and where braid gets thin.

As you can see, I cut all of the braids and then I took the braids out. I combed the braids out as if I was taking out regular braids. When it got to the end I unwrapped the braid from around my hair. I then combed my hair. IF YOU DO NOT COMB YOUR HAIR IT WILL LOCK UP! YOU WILL HAVE TO CUT YOUR HAIR OUT!

After all of the hair came out this is what I looked like. You can see that my hair is longer! YAY! You can see that my edges took a small loss from those tight small braids.

This is all the hair that I had to comb out of my head. If you do not comb this hair out then it will lock in the hair that did not shed. If you can see what I am point to, it is a ball of dirt. Over time your hair will collect dirt. And if you are oiling your hair like you are supposed to it will collect dirt. You must comb this dirt out.

After I took my hair out I put in a pre-poo. The ingredients is what is in the picture on the side. I left that in over night. I washed my hair with Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Then Dr. Browner's Castile Soap. After that I conditioned and de-tangled with Aubrey Organics Conditioner that I blogged about previously.

All Done!

Never Ever Will I...

GET SMALL BRAIDS!!! My edges aren't out due to the styles I put my hair in but these pics show you why you must be careful with braids and your edges... Hair period.

You can see how the braids are sliding off of the small hairs in the front of my head. It looks like my hair is hanging on for dear life. It is causing the hair follicles at my temples to be tender. That is why I am taking them out this weekend. these braids did last 7 weeks which is great. I will post pics of my hair with the braids out.

Protective Hair Style Day!

Today I am getting braids. The style of braids I am getting I have had many times before growing up. Some people call them long braids, others call them goddess braids. I just call them braids. This hair style costs $200 dollars and it takes up to 12 hours to be done. The price does seem a little high but these braids are done with quality from a professional that I have been going to since I was 11.

Positives of Braids:

• Can last for 2-3 months
• Protects your hair better than other protective styles (in my opinion)
• Can be styled
• Very Pretty (lol im such a girl)

Negatives of Braids:

• Takes a long time to do
• Hurts
• If not done properly, can pull out hair
• Braids too small can pull out hair

As much as people love Micros or Invisibles, Those small braids can pull your hair out especially your edges. Only a few strands are put into the braids and the weight of the hair can pull out your hair. There is a hair to braid hair ratio and your edges are very delicate. So when getting your braids choose carefully. Some times the hair can make your scalp itch, but this is rare.

Yes! You can get braids cheaper. I heard that in New York braids are $60 because there are braid shops every where n competition. I know there is cousins or home girls that can do braids cheaper as wel. But me personally I like going to professionals.

Protective Hair Styles

Your hair is a very sensitive body. When it is out it is fighting a war. It is fighting:

-Sun

-Each Other Hair Strand

-Fabrics

-Dirt and Debris in the Air

Because your hair is fighting all of this it is good to get protective hair styles and to keep your hair up off of your neck. Hair on your neck is constantly rubbing up against fabric from your non-satin shirt, your necklace, and your hair. When your hair is in a protective style it rubs up against stuff less. It also is protected from all of the other things listed. So what exactly is a protective hair style. Here is a list of some examples:

Curls: flexi rods, bantu knot-outs, curlers, etc

Braids: Braids w/ and w/out fake hair (kanekelon, etc), French braids, etc

Twists: Kinky Twists, twists w/ and w/ out fake hair. Sanglenese Twists.

Others: Buns, Ponytail w/ fake hair, corn-rolls, flat twists.

When you have these styles, your hair still has to be moisturized on a daily basis. You can wash and condition most of your protective hair styles as well. When you hair is protected you optimize its ability to grow because it is not rubbing against stuff and breaking off.

My Hair

I have very kinky very coiled 4c hair and my hair is the weakest. It breaks very easily. It also does not retain moisture well either. And because it is very coiled it curls up around itself and causes other hairs to break off. Once my hair got very short on the crown of my head because of hats, scarves and coo-fies. Because my hair breaks so much I need to keep it in protective styles. One of my styles is the picture on the right. In this picture I have very large braids. They are like the Poetic Justice, Sista Girl braids, lol. These braids lasted for 4 weeks. They could not last longer because my hair is short and it came out of some of the braids. If the braids were smaller then I would have kept them longer. Protective hairstyles are a plus and very well needed.