Braid & Weave Wearers - Moisturize, Condition & Seal

[ilong]

Don’t make the same mistake I’ve made for TOO MANY years. My hair is under braids or weaves 95% of the time. My hair would grow, but when I took it down – I combed out all of my new growth. Why? Because it was DRY – DRY- DRY!! I would spray some hair sheen oil on my style every now and again – but all I was doing was – spraying the purchased hair. I was not aware of, understood and therefore did not practice the discipline of keeping my hair moisturized, condition and sealed (MCS).

I shudder when I recall the “tennis ball” sizes of hair I would comb out. Of course this is before I became a full-time student at LHCF. My rationalization for the comb outs was “my hair always breaks off”, which was true –– because my hair was never moisturized. My two take downs this year (after consistent moisturizing, conditioning and sealing) resulted in very very little comb out. The weave hair I’m wearing now – loves MCS more than my own hair. It is amusing watching it respond to the regimen.
A big thanks and hug to @MzSwift :blowkiss:- in the Waist Length 2013 thread she replied to me “you'll find that one tip that takes your retention to the next level!!” Within minutes I thought of my comb outs of the past and realized my hair grows quite wonderfully but I did not retain the growth because it is dry. Don’t ask me why it registered after her comment – but it did. (Sometimes “events and realizations” have no explanation.)

So ladies - if you do not do anything else while wearing your braids and weaves – MOISTURIZE, CONDITION AND SEAL FAITHFULLY!! Even if you have to come out of the style earlier than anticipated – do it!!!
.

 

[MzSwift]

Glad I could help!

Yay, I love hugs! LoL

 

[LongLeggedLife]

Oh yeah, I wear braids, I def spritz nightly, moisturize &seal with a heavier glycerin/water based Motions Clear, and evoo or whatever oil I have.
I kinda squeeze the knots near the root to make sure it feels moist.
When I take them out, my hair feels almost wet!

 

[ilong]

Glad I could help!

Yay, I love hugs! LoL

MzSwift - You are always a help!

Now if you can just come and grow my hair - life would be gooder !

 

[ilong]

LongLeggedLife - thank you. - I make sure my hair always has something on it NOW. And you are right, during my last take down it was very wet, soft, manageable and very very little comb out.

 

[Curlykutie]

Help me with this. I'm using a tea of chamomile and lavender plus I added horsetail and rosemary herbs. I added aloe Vera juice and coconut oil to it. I spray my hair in the morning and at night. Do I need to add anything else to it? I would appreciate all help with this. Thanks in advance.

 

[ms.tatiana]

With this install (just got it on Sept 7) and I have being using water/olive oil/tree tea oil/argan oil every other night because my hair was dry. Now it feels a lot better.

 

[ilong]

Curlykutie - I am not sure what your tea rinses are classified as in the world of hair care (clarifying, cleansing, moisturizers, conditioners) but coconut oil has moisturizing and conditioning properties. I am in the NJOY sulfur challenge using another oil mix but prior to that coconut oil was part of my sealing phase (oil blend with castor oil, olive oil, coconut oil, etc.) in the MCS process.

You may want to add an oil (castor, rosemary, olive oil) to your process to seal in the moisturizers/conditioners.

My current MCS regimen is:
Water mixed with a conditioner (except clarifying conditioner) in a spray bottle. (Moisturizing and Conditioning Phases) - Every day
Apply Sulfur/Ayurvedic oil mix and massage (Seal Phase) -
Put on plastic cap, put satin bonnet over plastic cap (Baggy Phase)

HTH

 

[DarkChyld]

Subscribing.

 

[Monaleezza]

When my hair is in a weave I would make a mix of water and coconut oil and put it in a bottle with a nozzle. Then I would squirt right to the roots onto the cornrows, ensuring not to get the mixture onto the weave.

After I washed my hair, (in the weave) I would quirt, an oil mix onto my hair to seal in moisture with my nozzle bottle. LOVE my nozzle bottle. It works better than a spray bottle when I've got weave in, because I'd have more control over where it goes.

When I released the cornrows after 12 weeks of an install, I would have soft and moist hair that would be strong enough to handle any detangling and comb out.

 

[virtuenow]

Well said. I might have to tag you (or add this thread link) to the Weave thread.

 

[Caramel Hottie UK]

Perfect timing for me, I am still practicing some bad weave habits.

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[ilong]

Ladies - check out NaturalJael's Middle Back Length (mbl) thread she started today (link below). Be sure to click on her link and read details of her journey
This is precisely what I experienced and what we all want to avoid in the future.
Had I kept all of the hair I combed out over the years I could probably double./triple the amount of hair shown in the picture.


http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=644393

 

[Nonie]

Just wanted to point out that getting "tennis balls" of hair when you undo braids that have been in for a long time is no cause for alarm. Considering a hundred hairs shed every day, you should expect to have thousands of hair if your braids have been in for a while. A month would be 3000 hairs shed; two months 6000.

Then this is where I show you all what I weirdo I am. I find that my hair thrives when I don't moisturize or seal when in braids. My hair doesn't get dry because I shampoo and condition twice a week when in braids and I baggy every night. I believe not using product is why my take down is so easy as there is no matting from product residue at the base of my hair. When in braid extensions, I keep them in for at least a year redoing one at a time as my hair grows...and thus removing shed hair and also moving the extension hair to new growth. In this video you can see how easy to undo my hair is.

And this is how long my hair was in April 2007 (about 3 inches stretched) when I put in braids and this was my hair in June 2008 when I undid one section to straighten for a discussion we were having. This was my hair in August 2008 when I undid my braids.

So as you can see, for me not using moisturizer or sealing works well for me.

 

[ilong]

Nonie - thank you!! That is a good share and proof that everything is not for everybody. Your regimen did provide your hair some conditioning and moisture (baggy). Considering my last two take downs (very little hair shedding), my hair may is doing better with MCS. I anxious to see the results of my next take-down.

 

[abioni]

This thread is just what I need as I plan to braid my hair soon.

I would appreciate any tip on keeping hair in box braids moisturized and strong. I want to retain as much as possible when I take down the braids.

 

[ilong]

I just took out an 11 week weave and lost only a little hair. I actually think the hair I did lose was normal shedding.

Here are the steps I took:
Pre-take down:

• MCS my hair regulary (no less than 3 times a week)
• Baggy (no less than 3 times a week)
• Wore hair bonnet (every night)
• Washed frequently
• Deep conditioned weekly

At takedown:

• Used dressmaker's seam ripper to break/remove weaving threads
• Applied water/conditioner to my braided (tracks) hair (after removing weaved hair)
• Put on plastic cap and bonnet, waited two hours
• Started taking down braids using fingers -(used hair utensils very little)
• Finger combed hair after all of the braids were removed.
• Applied conditioner and sulfur/ayurvedic oil mix
• Massaged scalp

After Take-down:
Braided hair in 6 braids

• Put on plastic cap and bonnet for the night
• In the morning, took out braids
• Shampoo with clarifying and moisturizing shampoo
• Did aphogee protein treatment w/ Aphogee conditioner
• Applied leave in conditioner.
• Braided hair in braids
• Applied sulfur/ayurvedic mix

I believe MCS contributed greatly to better retention. (pics in Njoy's Hair Sulfur concoction Challenge at http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=638593&page=29

 

[AXtremeTakeover]

The first time I had a sew-in 2007 I took it out and my hair was so dry and brittle I had to get a hair cut. I knew for sure it was the weave but I did my research and found out it was bc I didn't properly Moisturize it. So I started using s-curl spray on my cornrows and found out that work really great. I washed and conditioned regularly too. So now I'm starting to see great results And actual progress. I wondered why my hair would retain great length while in braids versus the sew in.... But I was using my braid spray and grease on the regular. So now I got the weave and braid regimen on lock. I'm in braids now hope for some great length when I take them down in a couple of months.

 

[LaidBak]

I'm wearing a crotchet braid weave at the moment. I love the idea of doing something to my hair everyday to keep it soft, but I can't figure out the best option. Creamy moisturizers cake up overnight, and oils and silicones end up leaving my face shiny and aggravating my acne situation. Its winter so I'm hesitant to use glycerine for fear of making the dryness worse.
At the moment I use an occasional spritz of water/grapeseed oil, but that's mostly on the weave hair itself. I wash and condition my hair once a week after I swim. I use a squirt bottle to get the shampoo/water mix into the braids. I'm not as diligent with the conditioning, but I am a fine 4a/b, so I guess I really need to be.
Any advice on what type of product to use or how to apply so that what I put on my scalp doesn't end up on my face?

 

[winona]

I am in Texas so my winters are kinda mild. I use stay sof fro. I don't really get buildup from this and my hair stays moist

Sent from my iPad using LHCF

 

[LoveBeautyKisses]

What is MCS? (DUMB QUESTION)

 

[thickness]

moisturized, conditioned, and sealed. Its in the OP.

 

[ilong]

Bumping - as a reminder

 

[smores]

Bumping - as a reminder

Thanks for bumping!!!

 

[DarkJoy]

When I wear crochet I:

-shampoo the scalp weekly
-Use rinse out condish (v05) after shampoo (but left on to marinate as I finish my shower)
-Use a leave in by slathering each and every cornrow
- Use a butter to slather each and every cornrow

Repeat the last two steps 2x a week until next wash day. Repeat cycle til takedown.

Always super m oisturized at takedown. No tangles unless I've neglected my regimen. Sometimes its OVER conditioned and mushy so I gotta hit it with a hard protein immediately.