Best method for braid outs .....

[delitefulmane]

Ladies,
How do you get the best braidouts, large braids or small braids? It is the larger braids get you more defintion or the other way around?

 

[vainღ♥♡jane]

i wanna know this too. i must be doing it wrong because my braidouts are not cute enough to see the light of day lol.

 

[Sweet Charm]

The smaller braids seem to look too crimped for me. I put 4 large braids or sometimes 6 if I have more time and in the morning finger- comb it and put on a cute headband. My hair looks more wavy

I have a picture in my album from when I did just one braid

 

[yamilee21]

I asked about this a few weeks ago when my braidout results left something to be desired. People suggested that I do more braids, and that worked well the next time I tried it, so I would say more braids, which I guess means smaller ones.

 

[delitefulmane]

Can any more braidout gurues chime in?
B/u/m/p

 

[MsEllie]

I wear them all the time... I love them... my hair is really fine and thin... the smaller ones work great on my head... I tried the bigger ones like 4 and didn't care for it much so the next time I doubled it and the results were nice.

 

[tiffers]

More braids will make your hair fuller, also putting a braid or two at the top of your crown will add more body, so the top of your head isn't just flat

I always use a creamy leave-in topped with a serum to keep the frizz at bay and add shine

Doing braidouts on damp hair gives better and fuller results than doing it on wet hair

 

[cmw45]

This is a photo from January of 2008.

The top shows the size of my braids and the lower pick is the resulting braid out. I have found out that the following is true:

1) The smaller the braids, the more defined the braid outs.
2) The heavier handed I am with the product, the more defined the resulting braid out.
3) The wetter my hair is when I braid it, the more defined the resulting braid out.
4) If my hair is still damp when I take the braids out, the fluffier, less defined the resulting braid out.
5) There is a difference between having a defined braid out and having "big hair." The older a braid out is, the "bigger" my hair. If I take my braids out while my hair is still damp my hair will be big but look more like an Afro and less defined. My favorite braid outs are defined braid outs that are a couple of days old.

Tips for defined braid outs:
1) Don't take the braids out until the hair is completely dry.
2) Don't dry your hair artificially. I have natural hair and it takes my hair at least 6 hours to completely dry naturall when I have smaller braids. The smaller the braids the less time it takes for the hair to dry.
3) Consider doing a braid out on a a non wash week adding very little product to your hair. My best braid outs are when I wet my hair a week after washing and braid it up. I add very little oils to my hair at all.
4)I like the ends of braids to be curly so I just put a little shea (or whatever oil) on the end and twist a bit.
5) I only use shea butter and I have found that butters work better on my hair than oils.

I think that's it. If I think of anything else I'll be back.

 

[Vshanell]

I like big braids. I don't do anymore than 8-10. I'm more into twist though. Braid-outs usually leave my hair un-defined and frizzy after the first day.

 

[rainbowknots]

I've attempted braidouts twice now, both times I did 6 big braids, and both times it came out looking a hot a** mess LOL... I think my hair is just too shirt to get a cute braidout, so I'm going to try and wait 1 full year before I make another attempt.

 

[Whimsy]

OK for me, I do 8 braids max. I usually do 4 and sometimes 6.
I do it on damp hair.
I think what gives definition for me is products (coconut oil) and time (letting the hair dry completely before unbraiding).
When the inside of the braid is damp my hair puffs into a frizzy mess.

 

[lipyt]

I attempted a braidout for the first time this week.
I'm transitioning
the result pics are here:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=365385

At first I had 4 braids and I liked it but I like it a lot better when I did 6 cornrows. There was more definition. And it looked fuller.
I did it on dry hair and slept with it over night. For me I like it to be a touch frizzy I don't like it to be perfectly intact crinkles.

 

[isawstars]

I do six or seven. I have them in rows... 2 at my nape, 2 above that, then 2 or 3 at the top of my head. I wet my hands with water when I divide the sections and spritz each braid 2 or 3 times with S-curl moisturizer then braid plaits. I've been doing this forever... I normally where a headband because my hair is thick (i'm texlaxed) and would go crazy if lose. I get loads of compliments from guys.

 

[Denise11]

I do 4 cornrows, and my braid-outs always comes out pretty. When I was doing the braids, my braid-outs were horrible!

 

[MummysGirl]

I do 5-6 cornrows on 80-90% dry hair:

 

[delitefulmane]

http://www.pikistrips.com/clicked/21117092

This is a photo from January of 2008.

The top shows the size of my braids and the lower pick is the resulting braid out. I have found out that the following is true:

1) The smaller the braids, the more defined the braid outs.
2) The heavier handed I am with the product, the more defined the resulting braid out.
3) The wetter my hair is when I braid it, the more defined the resulting braid out.
4) If my hair is still damp when I take the braids out, the fluffier, less defined the resulting braid out.
5) There is a difference between having a defined braid out and having "big hair." The older a braid out is, the "bigger" my hair. If I take my braids out while my hair is still damp my hair will be big but look more like an Afro and less defined. My favorite braid outs are defined braid outs that are a couple of days old.

Tips for defined braid outs:
1) Don't take the braids out until the hair is completely dry.
2) Don't dry your hair artificially. I have natural hair and it takes my hair at least 6 hours to completely dry naturall when I have smaller braids. The smaller the braids the less time it takes for the hair to dry.
3) Consider doing a braid out on a a non wash week adding very little product to your hair. My best braid outs are when I wet my hair a week after washing and braid it up. I add very little oils to my hair at all.
4)I like the ends of braids to be curly so I just put a little shea (or whatever oil) on the end and twist a bit.
5) I only use shea butter and I have found that butters work better on my hair than oils.

I think that's it. If I think of anything else I'll be back.

Thanx the bolded was exactly the defintion I was looking for!!

 

[curlcomplexity]

I do 8 braids. The two in the front are cornrowed and the 6 in the back are individuals. They come out pretty full.

 

[cookie1]

More braids will make your hair fuller, also putting a braid or two at the top of your crown will add more body, so the top of your head isn't just flat

I always use a creamy leave-in topped with a serum to keep the frizz at bay and add shine

Doing braidouts on damp hair gives better and fuller results than doing it on wet hair

.

yeah..what she said..except smaller braids on my thick hair looks more crimped/ or afro like. Medium/big braids look more wavy and I prefer them. I use cholesterol and castor oil on wet hair and my hair looks soooo luscious.

 

[half.cadence]

I do about 5 cornrows. Wet or damp hair. I braid going straight back. When I take them down I dont do much I just kinda..massage my scalp so that no parts show.

I use different things. Aloe vera gel, kccc, but mostly I use a leave in and a little oil.

 

[Ltown]

Great information, my braidout are always frizzy.

 

[mkd]

Great information, my braidout are always frizzy.

ITA. Mine are frizzy and undefined. They do not look cute by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[cmw45]

Thanx the bolded was exactly the defintion I was looking for!!

NP. I love braid outs and I hope your's turns out nicely. Over the past year I wore braid outs exclusively and while my hair didn't suffer, wearing braidouts for a week or so in a row (I like the braid out the last few days) did cause issues with dryness and I could have maintained more length.

 

[Whimsy]

damn, i wish i could cornrow so i could try braidouts that way.

 

[FindingMe]

I think it depends on your hair. If you have shorter or finer hair, I think more of the smaller braids will work better and give more definition. If you have more coarse or longer hair, I think larger fewer braids will work better.

I do braidouts weekly (transitioning, 13+ months post). I do no more than 10 braids, but I have very thick coarse hair. This works better for me and gives me more definition and control. My weekly braid-out regi:

http://public.fotki.com/FindingMe/1-year-post-relaxer/my-weekly-regimen/

ETA: I also think if you do the larger braids, you have to do cornrows or there is too much diference in defintion and texture between your natural roots and where the braid starts. Mine always look more natural when i at least conrow the top and front of my head. Sometimes if I'm having a hard time detangling and combing or if I'm shedding more than usual, I'll divide my hair in half horizontally and just conrow the top half in 4-5 rows and do 4-5 box braids on the half underneath.

 

[FindingMe]

This is a photo from January of 2008.

The top shows the size of my braids and the lower pick is the resulting braid out. I have found out that the following is true:

1) The smaller the braids, the more defined the braid outs.
2) The heavier handed I am with the product, the more defined the resulting braid out.
3) The wetter my hair is when I braid it, the more defined the resulting braid out.
4) If my hair is still damp when I take the braids out, the fluffier, less defined the resulting braid out.
5) There is a difference between having a defined braid out and having "big hair." The older a braid out is, the "bigger" my hair. If I take my braids out while my hair is still damp my hair will be big but look more like an Afro and less defined. My favorite braid outs are defined braid outs that are a couple of days old.

Tips for defined braid outs:
1) Don't take the braids out until the hair is completely dry.
2) Don't dry your hair artificially. I have natural hair and it takes my hair at least 6 hours to completely dry naturall when I have smaller braids. The smaller the braids the less time it takes for the hair to dry.
3) Consider doing a braid out on a a non wash week adding very little product to your hair. My best braid outs are when I wet my hair a week after washing and braid it up. I add very little oils to my hair at all.
4)I like the ends of braids to be curly so I just put a little shea (or whatever oil) on the end and twist a bit.
5) I only use shea butter and I have found that butters work better on my hair than oils.

I think that's it. If I think of anything else I'll be back.

Girl, your braidout is HAWT!!!!!

I am doing a braidout on my friend's natural 4a hair next week and I will keep some of your tips in mind!!!

 

[CaramelPrincezz]

I just cornrowed my hair for a braidout a few days ago. I made the braids small and ended up just keeping them in. I'll take em out tomorrow but I like em better with medium sized braids.

 

[Ltown]

ITA. Mine are frizzy and undefined. They do not look cute by any stretch of the imagination.

you are not along I feel the same. I'v tried cornrow, single braids, twist.

 

[NikStarrr]

I prefer bigger braids--and always a roller on the end. I hate to see braidouts where it waves down to straight frazzled looking ends.

 

[pookaloo83]

I put about 8 braids in my damp hair then I put the braid in a bantu knot. I never have to use a roller and the ends are curled.