• ⏰ Welcome, Guest! You are viewing only 2 out of 27 total forums. Register today to view more, then Subscribe to view all forums, submit posts, reply to posts, create new threads, view photos, access private messages, change your avatar, create a photo album, customize your profile, and possibly be selected as our next Feature of the Month.

4 mos. wear of weave + constant washing = matted mess? Yup

⏳ Limited Access:

Register today to view all forum posts.

Ediese

Well-Known Member
Well, I've never been that great with math, but I have to admit that 4 mos. wear of weave + constant washing = matted mess!

I was originally planning to leave my sew-in for 6 mos. In my 4th month, I started reading a lot of horror stories on here about sew-ins being matted after take down. Although I've worn weaves for years and never had a problem with it (well only once and it was my fault), I started getting so paranoid thinking that my hair would be really matted if I took it down in August. See the thing is, I've kept it in for five months last year and never had a problem, but that's when I didn't take care of it..probably washed once a month if that often. This time around I stuck to my regimen and kept washing biweekly, and even more often whenever I decided or if I went to the pool. All of that washing w/airdrying and product buildup cause serious matting issues over a prolonged period of time.

I had a coworker take a look at my hair under the weave yesterday to see if she could see any matting, and she told me that one part looked really suspect. Of course, as soon as I got home, I took it down. I wasn't about to come this far, and have a stupid setback. It took me about 2.5 hours to take down the braids and weaves, and 5 hours to detangle. Lo and behold, my hair was starting to matt. I had to gently pull it apart. I didn't suffer any setback, and didn't have any serious breakage because I made sure I took my time detangling. I think this is the reason alot of people have breakage when their stylist is taking down their weave. Usually, stylists won't be as patient detangling your hair as you would be. If I spent 5 hours detangling, I could just imagine if I had a stylist do it and rip through my hair.:nono: Thanks for the tips ladies! You guys definitely put the fear of God in me.

Anyway, I'm not going to straighten until August, but you guys can get a sneak peek at the progress that I've made so far.







You can go to my fotki to view more if you'd like.
 
Last edited:
Wowww!! You've made excellent progress. Thanks for sharing. Good thing you took it out early. I currently have a weave in and plan to keep it 2 months.
 
Great progress!! I'm so glad you didn't have any setbacks since there does seem to be alot of that going on lately with weaves. I really want to stay weaved up until I reach full APL (and I'm barely neck length in some places right now) so I'm glad to see the progress that you've made. I will definitely keep the possibility of matting in mind!
 
4 months is way too long. :nono: 12 weeks is the longest recommended time and even that is pushing it.

But I'm glad your hair hung in there. Nice progress. :yep:
 
I left a message on your fokti. I wonder why you had success before and had matting issues this time?
 
I left a message on your fokti. I wonder why you had success before and had matting issues this time?

The reason is that I hardly washed it, and never moisturized so there wasn't any buildup to cause matting. :blush: This time around I washed it a lot, and applied megatek to my scalp daily. I could imagine that even though I washed, I still have buildup/conditioner that wasn't washed completely out of my hair. Also, I believe that since I airdried all the time, the dirt/product product and airdrying worked together to cause the matting.
 
im glad you took your time! i know that i usually tend to get frustrated and start snipping when i cant detangle :nono:. i am amazed you can leave your weave that long! will you go shorter now? i think its good that you though to have someoen check!
 
Wow, that is a long time. I know you missed your hair. Wonderful thickness!!

:yep: I really did miss it. It probably didn't help that I was on the boards everyday looking at everyone's progress, and wishing I could see mine. Thanks!! I love how thick it is.
 
You have a ton of new growth on the sides. I am so happy that you didn't have a major setback. :yep:

Thank you! I sure as heck am happy I took it out too. I think that it grows faster on the sides, and it is so much easier to see on the growth on the sides because I have about 50% natural/50% relaxed ends. I just took some pictures of me stretching the back too, and put in my fotki. I think I need about 4" to be full BSL. I'm not planning to claim it until my hair gets to the bottom of my bra.
 
im glad you took your time! i know that i usually tend to get frustrated and start snipping when i cant detangle :nono:. i am amazed you can leave your weave that long! will you go shorter now? i think its good that you though to have someoen check!

I think usually leave it for 3 mos, but was strapped a little for cash so I just decided to leave it in a little longer. I probably will stick to the 3 mos. in the future. I did get a little frustrated while detangling esp. since I was so tired and sleepy, but I just kept going. Thanks!!
 
Thanks everyone for responding. I'll definitely leave it in for 3 mos from now on, or if I decide to ever leave it in longer than that then I'll stop applying so much things that could cause buildup.
 
Wow, I am sorry to hear that...Good thing you didn't have any major hair loss...

I am taking down my weave on Sunday and it's been in since April. I don't keep my weaves longer than 10-12 weeks. I've never had any issues with matting because I am constantly checking my braids for it.

I know you stated that you washed/conditioned your hair more regulary this time, but did you ever go to sleep with wet braids (not fully dry)? If so, that could have contributed to your matting issue.

Good thing, you didn't lose much hair!
 
Thanks Ladies!!

Yellow08: I went to sleep with it wet ALL the time! I never thought about it.:wallbash: Oh well thank goodness I didn't lose any hair (except from shed hair of course)
 
same thing happened to me after wearing a weave for 3 months...my hair matted badly...I was almost in tears...it took me forever to comb out my hair and I was lucky that I didn't loose my hair...I think 4 months is way too long...I also think a lot of rubbing in moisturizers and rubbing while washing contributes to matting...now I only use spray on moisturizers and use a spray bottle to apply shampoo... now 8 weeks is my cut off point for weaves...
 
Back
Top