i used to do braidouts and twist outs every 3 days over the summer. i would wash my hair every 3 days and start fresh on wet hair. once i stretched my braid out to 5 days, which is a record for me. now that its colder, i only do them on thursday nites and wash it out on my wash day sunday.
the only way i could maintain my braidout was to re-braid it every nite and lightly spray it every few days with set lotion or mousse.