Curious: Why Wear Protective Styles You Don't Feel Attractive In?

[hairedity]

I've worn many unflattering PS', because usually it's some braid or weave I had "professionally" done; cost me and arm and a leg and then I just end up wearing it trying to get my monies worth and at the same time I know that my hair is benefitting. but it's a great question because while my hair and financial pocket is being saved, my self esteem is going downhill while wearing one of these "ugly" protective styles.

 

[Triniwegian]

Hmmm, I do it because I am lazy. But I like the bun.
I wear make-up and I put on nice earrings, so I am looking a lot more put together than in any braid-out or twist-out that I have ever done.
I don't like hair fuss...couldn't be bothered.

 

[Maracujá]

its simply due to my "hair growing" regimen, I retain so much length in protective styles that i'm willing to sacrifice looking cute. i'll admit its hard, but my hair is longer than its ever been, i feel more in control of my of my hair growth. in the past my hair simply never got longer, now i know exactly how to get it longer ,so i'll be sticking to it until i reach my goal

Same here!

 

[mariofmagdal]

I bun all the time. When I add a part or leave some hair loose in the back, I find that people notice.

 

[sunbubbles]

For me its 2 things. 1) I need to learn more protective styles in general, when I think of protective styles I automatically think of braids. I know that that's faulty thinking. 2) my hair is not long enough to do buns unless its straightened. I do love my braids (I just finished another set of mini braids) however I wish I could expand my protective styles. I have all these ideas of what styles id love to do with my hair, but when I'm in the mirror faced with a daunting fro that needs detangling and stretching b4 I even THINK about doin some of those styles, I run away with my tail between my legs and put it in braids! Lol hopefully ill be able to broaden my horizons soon cause I'm getting the itch to do something drastic.. :-(

ETA: Maracuja, where is ur regime girly?! I drool over ur hair every time I see it!!

 

[I Am So Blessed]

thanks youuuu BMP for posting this!! im tired of wearing a bun and twist outs<--currently texlaxing so i dont have to do those anymore, but thats just me). i was so bored with ps!!! thats why im trying to get into doing beautiful rollersets!!!

 

[beans4reezy]

I feel like most of the ladies that complain about PS just do not know how to attain the other, more creative PS styles that exsist. But if you aren't willing to do your research and try some styles out on your own- then it' only your fault if you are walking around feeling frumpy in a bun.

 

[Whimsy]

Am I the only person that doesn't feel frumpy in a bun?
Lol, they were perfect for me at my corporate job, and so easy and useful.

I wouldn't do a PS that made me feel yucky 24/7.

Buns and braidouts were my go to styles.

 

[gissellr78]

You are so right OP. I haven't been styling my hair out of being lazy but I went out yesterday and bought some nice hair toys and a cute hat.

 

[shandaw]

So I can reach my hair length goals!

Yep, me to.

Shanda

 

[BlkOnyx488]

I am in the middle of an experiment to see if I can go 4 weeks without touch my my.
My hair right now it a hot mess
my braids are fuzzy and not fresh looking at all
normally I would have changed this style after about a week. My first attempt I only lasted 8 days.

It's ok for me though because I just keep my hair under a silk and satin all black scarfs
so no one sees the fuzz.
My next style I am going to attempt crochet braids I hope that will hold down the fuzz better

 

[glamazon386]

I actually like buns. People consider the bun my signature style. It's either that or big curly hair. I never feel frumpy in one and I get tons of compliments on my buns. :shrug:

 

[Whimsy]

I actually like buns. I never feel frumpy in one and I get tons of compliments on my buns. :shrug:

Same here. Everyone loved my lil side bun....
Maybe cuz they were accessorized?

I dunno, i heart my buns.

 

[Mrs. N Lugo]

I feel like a librarian when I wear a bun. I look like a plain jane. Other women look elegant when wearing a bun, not me.

I love a lose flowing ponytail, but that's not protective.

 

[glamazon386]

Same here. Everyone loved my lil side bun....
Maybe cuz they were accessorized?

I dunno, i heart my buns.

I don't even accessorize mine. I just pull it back and go. As long as it's neat I don't see the problem.

 

[NaturalPath]

I personally wear buns and I do not feel attractive in them, unless they are full and textured. I wear them because I feel I can retain the most length with them. I am really desperte to make WL this year lol

It doesnt bother me because I have a man, not in the same city so who should I look goof for.

 

[yardyspice]

I think we are assuming that people feel frumpy in protective styles other than braids, wigs, and weaves. I can't braid/corn row, I have a big head so wigs look kinda off on me so I wear them infrequently, and if I can't do a weave like Ediese then forget it. That leaves me with some sort of bun as my ps but that doesn't mean it's frumpy. I have a drawer full of scarves in all colors that match my outfits or have pins or clips that I use accessorize.

 

[NikStarrr]

If I don't feel cute, I'm not wearing the style--period. Luckily buns and twists, which are the only TRUE protective styles I've worn/wear, look really good on me. But in all seriousness, my regimen is more low-manip than true protective styling for that reason which I feel is a good compromise. If I hate buns--I'm not going to be wearing one 5 days out of the week!

 

[My Friend]

Does anyone have a tut on making hair toys?

 

[teacherjess]

I agree completely.Why wear something if you're not happy. For one thing, I LOVE cute accessories for the hair. Cute clips, jeweled pins, flowers, decorated headbands. I just have SL hair, but when I throw an accessory in, it ups the glam factor big time, for day or night.

I also like adding a bit of drama to a regular PS. I don't do a full traditional bang b/c its just not cute on me (face too round), but I love a good side bang with a french roll, or flexirod curled hair swept up with a cute pin/ clip, or just flexirod set worn down with an embellished headband (although this is more of a low mani style, not protective).
Since discovering LHCF, protective, and low mani styles I feel I look prettier than when I wore it down & flatironed everyday. I love the texture & volume plus the cute accessories!

But just a straight back pony or bun w/ no splash and drama and I would be unhappy.

 

[Mdmommy99]

I don't typically wear styles that I feel really ugly but there is a big learning curve when it comes to being able to make your styles look cute. I'm the first one to admit that I am not a hairstylist. Even trying to watch tutorials and do the same style mine don't come out looking like that often. I've gotten better over time, but in trying to experiment, yeah I've ended up with a jacked up style on more than one occasion. So I end up in a bun a lot by default. It's not my favorite look, but I don't feel ugly in it and I feel better just going for the bun than spending a bunch of time on something to have it look bad in the end.

 

[chelleypie810]

any way i wear my hair, i have to feel cute. I am also an accessory whore which is why i also like wearing my hair up. The thing with me is that if I just add a bang the style looks good. I would never wear a normal, pulled back bun my forehead is entirely too big. But yea if you don't think a ps is cute I don't see the point in wearing one.

 

[LadyPaniolo]

Hmmm peer pressure? Bunning isn't for everyone. For that matter neither are crow rows braids ect. I personally hate braids/twists/ect. Peoeple tell me I look better with my hair pulled back and besides I have ALOT of hai when it's do it honestly annoys the heck out of me. I think people should do what they want. If you don't feel beautiful, people will know.

What are crow rows? I've never heard of that style.

For myself, I'm not a big hair styling person. I want my hair to be LONG... I don't really care about the style. Wigs are fast, fully protective, and easy, so I do those. Now, once I can sport the Yulia Tymoshenko, I will be high-stepping like knowing that my hair looks cute AND is being fully protected at the same time. I can't wait for that day!!! My mom used to do my hair like that when I was a little bitty girl.

I notice lots of posters confuse protective styling with low manipulation styling. If your ends are out, that is not a true protective style, but it may be low-mani.

 

[brucebettye]

I don't feel frumpy in my protective styles. I like buns and I add flowers to them to jazz them up. Now I add a bang in the front with my buns and I love it. I always get compliments on my flowers. It has really jump started my retention.

 

[sharifeh]

I absolutely love buns and ponytails. I think they are cute....

Messy buns are the cutest thing.

My hair looks a lot better roller set then it does air dried, so even though roller setting takes forever, I roller set then bun, instead of airdrying then bunning. Air drying gives me some crunchy hair!

Am I the only person that doesn't feel frumpy in a bun?
Lol, they were perfect for me at my corporate job, and so easy and useful.

I wouldn't do a PS that made me feel yucky 24/7.

Buns and braidouts were my go to styles.

 

[yardyspice]

Do you mind expanding on this? Because this is what I thought too, that your ends have to be hidden for it to be a protective style, a la Wanakee.

I notice lots of posters confuse protective styling with low manipulation styling. If your ends are out, that is not a true protective style, but it may be low-mani.

 

[blackbarbie]

Am I the only person that doesn't feel frumpy in a bun?
Lol, they were perfect for me at my corporate job, and so easy and useful.

I wouldn't do a PS that made me feel yucky 24/7.

Buns and braidouts were my go to styles.

No, I absolutely love a bun. It is so sleek! In fact, there are certain outfits that I wear and I really don't want my hair to take away from the outfit (or my face), so I wear a sleek bun and really play up my makeup!

 

[LadyPaniolo]

Do you mind expanding on this? Because this is what I thought too, that your ends have to be hidden for it to be a protective style, a la Wanakee.

Yes, exactly. Your ends can be damaged not only by rubbing against clothes, upholstery etc but also from losing moisture into the air. Your ends need to be up and away for the style to truly be protective. Now, some folks feel that just having those ends up and off of their clothes is sufficient for them to avoid damage, and for that particular woman she may have a lot of success with those styles or not.

What I do hear a lot is posters saying how they have twists and therefore they are protective styling. Yet when you question them further you find out they haven't put those twists up into a bun or a chignon... they have those ends rubbing all over everything in the universe! Twists are a low manipulation style, though, because they allow you to avoid combing your hair for the length of time that the twists are in.

ETA: when I was doing Crown and Glory braids, I put my braids up into a bun 90% of the time, and I often covered that bun with a satin scarf to provide yet another layer of protection. Some folks might find that to be extreme, but I'm happy with the results I got.

 

[CurlTalk]

Results!
As with anything in life, the final goal/destination pushes me through the less glamorous; i.e. I don't really like my hair pinned up/bunned, even accessorized, however, I am fully aware of the results that I will get/ have gotten from protective styles, and so continue to wear them with the goal of longer, healthier hair in mind.
That said, I do have days where I wear my hair out to give myself a break; these days, IMO, are necessary.

 

[LadyRaider]

Hey what's the verdict on braidouts/twistouts/bantu knot outs? I thought they were a low manipulation style, but not a protective style.

I have been wearing a bun all semester to work. I figure I'll take it down in March. I call myself protecting my ends from the cold. I think I look okay with a bun. My hair is shoulder length and I heard that that's the dangerous length for growth.