Braiding Ladies

[kisz4tj]

I'm considering getting medium sized box braids. My question is what do you do to protect your hair when taking the braids out? I fear a tangled mess with breakage..yada yada

 

[cherish]

I use some oil (sometimes nothing) to ease taking down the braids. For me, the important step is to detangle and remove shed hairs (using my fingers) as I take down each one. Then I twist up every 4 or so sections (with some leave in if my hair feels dry). That way, I have less tangling to deal with when my whole head is done.

Be prepared for your hair to be at least a little dehydrated. You will have to put a lot of that moisture back in, and it may take a couple of weeks for your hair to feel "normal" again.

HTH

 

[bettydavis]

I think that the key is to procect your hair WHILE it's in braids. Using braid sprays a couple times a day will really help. And washing with diluted shampoo at least once a week. Don't make the mistakes I did, ignoring your hair while it's in braids, because I lost so much hair doing that. If you've taken care of your hair the whole time, when it comes time to take your braids out( I recommend no more than 2 months later) your hair will be healthy, and like Cherish said, use your fingers to detangle first. There are unbraid sprays that you can buy, but what I slather my hair with a creamy leave in ( I used profectiv breakfree this time) as I'm taking my braids out, mostly on my ends, to prevent breakage. I don't put too much near the roots, where there's more buildup and knotting. HTH

 

[kisz4tj]

How do you wash hair with braids in?

 

[bettydavis]

I have a big tupperware basin I keep by the shower. I fill it with about 2 cups of water, then I add shampoo and a squirt of honey( for extra moisture) and dissolve it in the water. Then I just dump it over my head. I gently massage my scalp and rub down my braids. Then I rinse, making sure to get all the shampoo out. I also use conditioner after I shampoo, but I try to put it only where the ends of my real hair are. I avoid the root area because I don't want buildup around there. Your braids will get frizzy a little faster from weekly washing, especially around the roots, but it's definitely worth it. For me, hats and headbands really come in handy the second month.

 

[kisz4tj]

Gotcha.

 

[JenJen2721]

Definitely, keep your braids moisturized while they're in. Spraying them with SCurl turned out to be a very good way to keep them moisturized. When you take them down, make sure you comb thru each one as you take them down...down wait until all of them are out to comb thru your hair. Detangle as you go...

 

[BronzeBrown]

Moisturizing your hair while it's braided will minimize breakage once you're taking the braids down, however there will be an accumulation of lint where the extensions were added to your real hair. The lint is unavoidable so it's essential, as Cherish said, that you really take your time to slather on the water & oil in order to minimize breakage.