Hair braiding w/ extensions. I have questions.

[WhoIAm]

I need to get my hair braided to give it a rest and I haven't had extensions since being natural. I'm clueless.

I'm leaning towards twists, but I'm open to suggestions.

What kind of hair do I need to use that will match 4b hair?

Do I need to blow dry or stretch before I go?

How do I prolong the fuzz (without not washing for over 2 weeks)?

TIA.

 

[Nonie]

I need to get my hair braided to give it a rest and I haven't had extensions since being natural. I'm clueless.

I'm leaning towards twists, but I'm open to suggestions.

Hi @WhoIAm, I have never done twists with extensions myself--although I had them done on me as a teen by a stylist--but personally I don't feel like twists hold as well as braids. However, @MizzBrit (I meant Mook's Hair) is a pro at doing kinky twists and she probably could give you tips on how to make them last. When I had them done, my stylist braided the base to secure the hair then twisted the rest. I don't think MizzBrit does that though.

What kind of hair do I need to use that will match 4b hair?

None of the hair I have ever used has perfectly matched my own. But I always went for the less than glossy hair because it was "closer" to my own. I am partial to human hair because I find it more versatile and I am able to wear any style that one could wear on their hair and I can even use heat to curl it so that I'm never bored. So the type of hair I've used has looked like this:

in 1B not ^^that red, rather than silky shiny slippery. Wet N Wavy (or Water Wave) became my love because on days I didn't feel like doing anything, the ends would just look cute and wavy after I washed it...so I could just wear it like that:

I also like human hair because it is so much lighter than synthetic...and I find it doesn't matt. Back when I used synthetic, I used it once and done. Also I had to burn the ends to have it looking neat coz hot water just didn't cut it. Human hair gives a nice finished end, even if it unravels, it's not faned out in a stiff and ugly way. *shrug* Yeah, I'm biased.

I took the photos below to show that even though my hair doesn't match the hair I use to braid perfectly, once the braids are done, you can't really tell.

My hair is never as silky as even the least silkiest of human hair but once I braid, it's hard to see that difference:

As long as you try to match your hair color, it's only obvious if someone comes really close. Except for black girls who know about extension and get it, most people I met used to think that was my hair. They never knew me any other way and even after I took the braids out and wore twists, they still thought it was the same thing. I think using little hair also makes a difference. MAKE SURE YOU USE LESS EXTENSION HAIR PER SECTION OF YOUR OWN so you're not carrying too much weight. I only use 1 pack and an 1/8 of the second pack for my whole head in that pic^^. I think that looks more natural. If you have too much hair it looks so fake and ahem painful!

Do I need to blow dry or stretch before I go?

You do not need to blow dry or straighten. In fact if you do, you're just asking for your braids to get messy faster. You may braid it to stretch it as it will be easier to part when it's somewhat stretched but you don't want it more than the wavy straight you get from braiding because what will happen when you wash is it would shrink and cause an accordion effect to your braids...and hence the fuzz. By not stretching it and braiding in a semi shrunken state, there will not be that much shrinking so that when you wash, the hair still looks the same. Below is what happens when I wash braids. The part that doesn't contain my hair unravels, but the part with my hair doesn't and stays neat. Maybe only one or two braids need redoing but all the others stay neat. And that's because shrinkage didn't take place.

How do I prolong the fuzz (without not washing for over 2 weeks)?

You can delay fuzz by making sure your hair is as close to shrunken as possible when you put the braids in. I wash my hair twice a week when in braids and they stay pretty neat. If they start to look messy, then soon after a wash, I may redo the ones along the part I create when I style since they will be ON TOP and visible. I then cornrow the braids in prep for a braid-out.

Why? Coz a braidout is a good disguise for messy braids:

That buys me time to redo more of the braids in the next couple of days...working on the top ones that will hide the ones underneath. Wash day may come before I've done them all (coz I never put myself through any punishment but do my braids when relaxing watching TV working on one at a time and stopping when I feel like it) so I wash, and if most of them look good, I may wear my hair down and straight or put it up in a style that keeps them all in place hiding the messy ones....Till all are redone and I'm back to looking neat. But they usually don't get messy until after several washes. And my hand-in-hair disease means I can't stop feeling for braids that are loose at the base due to growth so I rarely ever have too many braids looking messy. The incident I just described above happens if for some unknown reason, I am able to keep my hands out of my hair for weeks.

Otherwise, this is how freshly done braids look after a wash (shampoo, conditioner, ACV rinse):

Also braid to the ends. That will ensure a better hold. Human hair will unravel though when new. This is a close up of how the ends o my hair looked after ^^that wash:

The waves are due to the type of hair I used: Water Wave by www.hisandher.com (I never get the Italian Mink coz it'd be too silky and I use any human hair even the BSS Wet N Wavy. I only spent more money on hisandher because I needed a length I couldn't find at the BSS. The waves only show where my hair isn't because my hair forces the waves straight in the areas that contain my hair. And the waves at the ends only show after I wet it.)

And the pic below show my hair after a wash when the braids were ten months old:

The one thing that happens as the hair gets old is it doesn't unravel as much as it does when it's new...but it does look a bit "dead" so braidouts or Curlformers can help put some oomph into the do:

Or you could just wear it in buns, French braid, etc.

How you wash will also make a difference on keeping fuzz at bay. Do not pile braids up on your head. Some people feel more comfortable putting the braids in big loose plaits with friendly elastics at the ends. I am OK not doing that. I just leave them hang loose and after letting the showerhead wet them, I apply shampoo (undiluted) onto my fingers and then feel through the braids to my scalp to apply. I then massage it into scalp to clean. Once I feel good about the scalp cleaning, I spray my head with water and as the shampoo suds start running down my hair, I squeeze them to clean the length of my hair. If the suds look dark/dirty, I will repeat the process. But with the frequency I use to wash my hair, one shampoo is usually all I ever need.

Once I've rinsed fully, I then put my hair in a loose cornrow roing forward or braid. I then pull out a few braids from the back and apply some conditioner to fingers and then relaxer style I apply to those braids from an inch away from scalp all the way to end of MY HAIR not the extension. I leave that hair hanging down while I pull out another few strands. This ensures I'm not missing any. When I have a few applied, I will hold them together pony style and squeeze in stages along the length to encourage conditioner to penetrate.







There are two reasons why I skip the inch close to my scalp:

• I believe conditioner has no business on my scalp and is meant for hair and coating my scalp would give me itches so I just try to keep it off;
• By not applying it to base of braids, I don't risk gunk collecting at the base and forming that knot that causes breakage.

The reason I leave the braids hanging down is that conditioner can stay away from scalp and drip to ends of my hair where it's most needed. I may wear a plastic shopping back over my head so that I don't have conditioner dripping over my body while I let it do its thang and complete my shower. I then rinse using the same squeezing motion along length I used to rinse shampoo. I keep squeezing till I don't see any frothing--which means the conditioner is out.

Lastly I mix a 1/4 cup ACV in about 2 gallons of warm water in a basin and dunk my head and massage my scalp to my hearts content. Voilà!

ETA: I meant @Mook's hair not MizzBrit. (Sorry MizzBrit for dragging you into a thread that wasn't about you. *shameface*)

 

[faithVA]

I'm leaning towards twists, but I'm open to suggestions.

What kind of hair do I need to use that will match 4b hair?

Do I need to blow dry or stretch before I go?

How do I prolong the fuzz (without not washing for over 2 weeks)?

WhoIAm

I have had both braids and twists but I lean moreso towards kinky twists. I find that kinky twists are lighter to me. I think I have pics in my album (those are self installed).

For twists I use Marley Hair for braids I just use regular braid hair. I usually just go to the beauty supply store and say I want braid hair and they know what I want. Don't know the name of it. Braid hair is usually $.99 to $1.99 a pack and Marley Hair is $4.99 a pack (in my area).

For both you want to wash, condition and stretch your hair prior. The process will go better and faster and they will look better.

If you look at my kinky twists, you will see that it doesn't matter if they fuzz because of the style of the hair. It really isn't detectable. And they actually look better after they have been washed. With braids, I haven't been able to stop the fuzz. But I usually don't wash my hair the first two weeks with either.

 

[Poutchi]

I am lately learning about nubian twists...check them out

 

[WhoIAm]

Bless you Nonie, faithVA andPoutchi, that's exactly what I needed.

 

[FindingMe]

subbing..i want two strand twist extensions, but the salon is charging $250-$300 for my hair bc they said they would have to be almost waist length to pass my natural hair. I want to learn to do them myself.

Nonie: your braids are BEAUTIFUL... THANKS for being so through, sis!
faithVA: how do you attach at the root/your hair? Any utube vids that you would recommend?

 

[SkySurfer]

Voilà!

You are always so amazingly informative! You have helped me to understand many things during the course of my time at LHCF, you don't even know!

 

[faithVA]

subbing..i want two strand twist extensions, but the salon is charging $250-$300 for my hair bc they said they would have to be almost waist length to pass my natural hair. I want to learn to do them myself.

@Nonie: your braids are BEAUTIFUL... THANKS for being so through, sis!
@faithVA: how do you attach at the root/your hair? Any utube vids that you would recommend?

FindingMe, that price sounds about right. with 3" of hair I paid $160 which was on the low side here. If your hair is that long, put on your seat belt It will take you while to do them. You will probably have to do them across several days.

I don't know of any yt videos off hand. You will probably want to watch a few though. You can start them with either a braid or with a twist. I do a twist because they are easier to take out that way. Now let's see if I can explain it.

Take a section of hair and split it into 2.
Take a section of braid hair about the same size as your hair section.
Pull the braid hair to stretch it and remove scraggly pieces
Take my right thumb and forefinger and grip the braid hair near the center and then grab a section of hair
Take the forefinger and thumb of the left hand and take the braid hair and grab the other section of your hair
Take the left forefinger and hold your hair and braid hair taut to the scalp to keep it from moving.
Twist the braid hair and your hair that are in your right hand (I do clockwise) and then hold it
Twist the braid hair and your hair that are in your left hand (clockwise)

Then take the two sections and twist them together counterclock wise.

You will probably need to see this for it to make sense. And you will want to practice on small sections in the front before trying your entire head. It took me a while to get it and to make them tight enough to stay.

I really don't think this was helpful But I tried to explain it.

 

[FindingMe]

FindingMe, that price sounds about right. with 3" of hair I paid $160 which was on the low side here. If your hair is that long, put on your seat belt It will take you while to do them. You will probably have to do them across several days.

I don't know of any yt videos off hand. You will probably want to watch a few though. You can start them with either a braid or with a twist. I do a twist because they are easier to take out that way. Now let's see if I can explain it.

Take a section of hair and split it into 2.
Take a section of braid hair about the same size as your hair section.
Pull the braid hair to stretch it and remove scraggly pieces
Take my right thumb and forefinger and grip the braid hair near the center and then grab a section of hair
Take the forefinger and thumb of the left hand and take the braid hair and grab the other section of your hair
Take the left forefinger and hold your hair and braid hair taut to the scalp to keep it from moving.
Twist the braid hair and your hair that are in your right hand (I do clockwise) and then hold it
Twist the braid hair and your hair that are in your left hand (clockwise)

Then take the two sections and twist them together counterclock wise.

You will probably need to see this for it to make sense. And you will want to practice on small sections in the front before trying your entire head. It took me a while to get it and to make them tight enough to stay.

I really don't think this was helpful But I tried to explain it.

Thanks!!! I found a couple of vides on utube for kinky twists...

Mook's vid and
GnyseGirl's vid Pt 1 & GnyseGirl's vid Pt 2

faithVA; thanks for explaining it, sis! It was extremely helpful to see in action. I think I might try to do it myself this summer. I would do them my self bc I would only keep them in for 5-6 weeks knowing my fickle self and I can't see shelling out $300+cost of hair for that short a time period.

 

[naturalmanenyc]

I have Senegalese twists in right now and had kinky twists in a few weeks ago, first extensions since becoming natural.

I purchased Janet Collection Kinky Afro hair for my kinky twists and liked the look. I used more Janet Kinky Afro hair for my Senegalese twists and then purchased Marley hair to finish the style. My hair is 4a.

I did not blow dry my hair before having the twists installed. I figured when I wet my hair it would make it fuzzy too fast, if done on straight hair.

I have not yet washed this set of twists (was told to not wash my hair for 3 weeks). I intend to clean my scalp with seabreeze & cotton pads.

I moisturize my hair with a combination of Infusium 23 moisturizing leave-in and Chi Keratin Mist.

Senegalese twists (second set of twists)

I need to get my hair braided to give it a rest and I haven't had extensions since being natural. I'm clueless.

I'm leaning towards twists, but I'm open to suggestions.

What kind of hair do I need to use that will match 4b hair?

Do I need to blow dry or stretch before I go?

How do I prolong the fuzz (without not washing for over 2 weeks)?

TIA.

 

[diadall]

How long do you keep your braids in?