okay. yay an answer! Thanks GIJane s. I was always wondering why ppl used synthetic... like maybe there was a reason. plus I read online this person said neveragain because she had to cut it out...in re to human hair. Do you have to follow a different timeline? Like how long did you keep it in? Any tangles or breakage? I have never added hair before when braiding so I want to be extra cautious
In addition to price, a lot of people use synthetic because you can get just about any length easily, while human hair longer lengths are not sold everywhere. What's more, some people shudder at the thought of wearing someone else's hair, while others just don't like the idea of wearing hair that may have been acquired at another's expense. (Many in Indians who sell their hair get peanuts for it...while we pay tons for that hair; major exploitation.)
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luckiestdestiny, I use human hair and I do my own braids and I wear them continuously for a year or 2, redoing each braid as needed but never taking them all out. I have been doing this for years so I feel very comfortable doing it. But if you're new to this, I always suggest following the regimen on Robin's webiste:
http://www.growafrohairlong.com/braidreg.html and then adapt it as you see fit when you get more comfortable with braid extensions.
I don't get tangles or breakage with braids because I continue my trimming regimen while in them, snipping off a little whenever I redo a braid. So I may rent a movie and then start from back redoing braid at a time, and snipping the end. Because I do this, I don't have to be tied down doing my hair for hours if I don't feel like it. I can stop and continue another time when I feel like it. I can tell the braids I haven't yet got to because the new growth will make the base loose I can complete the dusting and have freshly done braids.
I share more tips of how I'm able to enjoy such long periods of extension braids without damage in this post:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=9337956&postcount=7
(I don't know if I mention this, but contrary to popular belief, I use NO products when in braids. I think this is why my hair doesn't mat and because I baggy nightly and wash/condition/ACV rinse twice a week, my hair doesn't seem to lack in moisture. You can see how
easy it is to undo my braids because I don't have any matting/knots. Also when I apply conditioner when I wash my hair, I am careful to skip the inch or so closest to my scalp. So I never have to worry about conditioner residue getting caught in there and creating knots/clumps.)
ETA: Why *I* like human hair is because it's light so doesn't add too much weight to my head which could rip hair off since it'd be hanging from a head not used to carrying so much weight; and I also like that it behaves like hair and I can do practically all the styles we can do to our hair and even use heat without burning it.
. I can rest my fears now.
